In this week’s [insert crescendo here] “Reviewing Documentaries with Joel Evangelista!” we will be featuring three different types of documentaries. A feature film, a documentary style television series, and something I am really excited for, the interactive documentary.
In my RT-203 Documentary and News Production class, we learned about a new hybrid of mass media documenting, utilizing the Internet. This is the new interactive style of documentation; our featured project is that of “The Goggles’” very own, Michael Simons and Paul Shoebridge. The two geniuses are most notably known for "Adbusters", a magazine dedicated to worldly issues, introducing a culture shock of amazing visuals and writing.
Simons and Shoebridge were in the midst of writing a book about forgotten towns and cities, when they came across the story of “Pinepoint.” Pinepoint is a town that was demolished after the main industry, mining, was proven to be dead. A website was molded, to commemorate the story and life of Pinepoint, by a past resident named Richard Cloutier. Cloutier had designed the site with voice commands after he was diagnosed with MS, permanently removing the use of his limbs. The Goggles found Pinepoint the most interesting story to document and instead of publishing it in their book, they decided to phoenix born Pinepoint into a commemorative interactive documentary website. This documentary focused on the life of Pinepoint when it wasn’t a barren land of asphalt and dust roads, the life of the people who happily lived in a town, designed to be “lived” in.
The site begins with a subtle introduction that is scored by an indie rock band called “The Besnard Band.” The site visually resembles an arts and crafts book with handrawn pictures, cut-outs from old photographs and magazines, and torn magazine clippings. Pinepoint featured on NFB is a very visually pleasing site, that surely captivates its audience and makes them feel for the loss land. As you flip through the “pages” of the online book documenting Pinepoint Revisted, you encounter videos, mainly archival footage, flash animation, interactive photographs that you can scroll through, and short readings. To be quite honest, this was my type of documentary, you can tell that love and care was put into each and every animated piece. The interview style was also featured in this piece, but in an odd but creative way. Two brothers were mentioned in one of the “pages” of the online book, and showed footage of each brother as they stare at you, over this audio of there voices are talking, but is very subtle so not to distract the viewer from reading the book. This overlay of audio from the interviewees is used throughout the whole book, audio is an important piece in this site, featuring ambient b-roll audio for each and every page: laughing children, cars driving, people talking, glasses cheering, and parties abroad.
Pinepoint is featured on the NFB website and is accessible by everyone. I am sure that this website has done it’s job in showing the ex-residents of Pinepoint to see what has become of their wonderful home and how they can still feel love for the place they grew up in. Pinepoint is an example of never forgetting a town or city or home that was once physically visible, but now is not.
Michael Moore is a famous documentarian because he pokes at the wonders of American society. Moore’s “Sicko” (2007) focused on how flawed the American Healthcare system is, and how the government is supporting it for the sole purpose of making another dollar.
Michael had introduced the documentary with very powerful voiceovers that bridged together sequences on some of his main subjects, americans who are living proof that the system does not work. “Sicko” much like “Supersize Me” confronted corporations, or in this case big time “Health Care Insurers” who claim to be for the people. One of the main subjects, or interviewee, is Mr. Noe who was trying to be approved for a Cochlear Implant for his daughter Anette Noe. As soon as Moore claimed to be making a documentary on the flaws of the American Health Care system, Mr. Noe had mentioned to his Health Care insurer, who had declined the surgery for the implant for Anette, that Moore was going to making a film about their organization. Anette’s surgery was approved moments after with a message from the board of their Health Care Insurer. Moore’s vision and message had helped and he had not even released his documentary. The American Health Care system is flawed and is surely proven by Moore’s “Sicko”.
Moore’s “Sicko” is a powerful documentary because, like most of the feature length docs that I’ve watched, utilizes every tool in the tool box to make an effective and captivating doc. Because “Sicko” included all the main and essential ingredients of a documentary (interviews, art direction, voiceovers to bridge sequences, the sequences themselves, archival footage, show and tell, and a great soundtrack) all that was left was the edit. To say the least the edit was entertaining, the introduction to the piece alone was very playful yet straight to the point. Moore says “But this is not about them, this is about you, the ones who have healthcare,” which sets the tone for the rest of the film. The edit considering all of the different tools utilized, was very easy on the eyes and did not feel cluttered or jam packed at any point, overwhelming would be one of the worries, but Moore had constructed a perfectly easy to watch documentary, where he can get his message across, and still have fun. Archival footage was mainly used as comedic relief, or tone setting with different interviews (16:24 in the film is an example.)
“Auction Hunters” is a conventional broadcasting television show that has documentary elements. Because I’ve reviewed “Storage Wars” already, this may sound similar, but I can’t help but show my love for the storage container auctioning series’.
“Auction Hunters”, unlike “Storage Wars”, follows one pair of bidders, Ton Jones and Allen Haff, two quirky individuals who know how to scope expensive storage units and have fun with it. The interview portions of the show are filmed in a green screen room and sadly have the same backgrounds and lighting. With the exception of the odd character they will encounter trying to find out if their finds are worth anything.
Ton and Allen in this weeks episode had travelled out to San Diego, which is a great port of storage containers from around the world, an auction hunter’s dream. The start of the day looks grim as amateur bidders are physically looking in containers, and one of the locals is buying all of the containers. The last two crates are all or nothing for Ton and Allen and prove to pay off. One contained a military footlocker with expensive assault rifles and scopes, the second containing a very expensive “fighting chair” (a one seat chair that is rigged to fight hooked fish, most commonly found on a yacht.)
The camerawork for “b-roll” or show and tell and live footage was shaky at times and not very well lit. Backgrounds were hot from the gleaming waterbeds behind our subjects, and the lighter colored wooden containers acted as a reflector in which the camera op did not account for. The show overall was decent and should only be watched as a “Conventional Broadcasting series.”
Thanks for checking out this “exciting” blog, it’s time for me to play Skyrim. FUS DO RAH!!!!
Joel Evangelista
