On the ever-engaging questions of documentary ethics, these recent reads had me thinking…
I just finished editing and writing an hour-long film with a third-person/omniscient narration, and it’s the first time I’ve done that in almost 15 years. It’s interesting to return to that task with new experience. At first I was resistant to concept, but in the end, it was definitely the right choice for this particular film. So I was interested to see this piece in the Guardian about the broader trends for narration over the years, and what the underlying cultural significance may be regarding our attitudes towards the familiar narrative tool.
Unfortunately, our current era of fake news (both the actually fake kind and the Orwellian use of the term for distrusting real journalism) is another topic that easily grabs my attention. I was drawn to these discussions on Roadrunner, Viewing Booth, and the incredible In Event of Moon Disaster. (The latter is available here, and I highly recommend watching the short film if you haven’t.)
I enjoyed reading this conversation, Documentary Storytelling With Care: A Learning Process, about listening to, learning from, and protecting those who are centered in the film. Taking this ethos into the editing room is why I always feel the initial watch-down and selects process is so much more work than it might otherwise seem. The listening, learning, unlearning, and attempting to deepen an understanding of the subjects’ intentions takes serious focus and presence of mind. When editing begins, we are inevitably going to be altering their words, imposing juxtapositions, collapsing time, etc. Holding on to what we gained from those initial experiences of deep listening is crucial to keeping our manipulations as truthful as we can. And we can continually return to them as something of a compass. Not only it is important for honoring and protecting the subjects, but ideally the film benefits immensely when a deeper, more nuanced, emotional truth and integrity of character is infused into the work.