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What's your opinion of i-docs? Do you think they offer an alternative platform for documentary filmmakers, and people seeking a voice?

This concept, however allows the audience to take the story into their own hands and allows them to take full control on how the story plays out and in what manner.  For documentary filmmakers, this is an open platform for creativity and experimentation.  This avenue to film making also allows directors to explore multiple different avenues within one construct of a story and in turn break the concept into multiple parts in which could appeal to multiple audience types.

Do you think your documentary idea, presented in your Assignment 1  treatment would be suitable for development as an i-doc? If so how? If not, why not?

I personally believe that this could be a unique and creative documentary style in which my concept could thrive from. Separating multiple parts within Triple J that interest me and could benefit from multiple short documentaries. This style of film making would allow me to seperate my documentary into parts and allow audiences to explore the parts in which interest them , instead of losing audience members half way through due to detachment from the subject and story.

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Compare and contrast the different directors' style.

How does the narration (flow of story material) differ?

The narration in I'm Not Your Negro  differs significantly to that of Lousy Little Sixpence. I Am Not Your Negro uses narration in a way which draws the audience into the life , mind and idealistic of James Baldwin and tells the story through his eyes and his words. Comparatively ,  Lousy Little Sixpence, draws the audience in through narration and makes them empathise and understand the situation through the stories told by the five elders of the stolen generation.

Identify How is archival footage used and do you think it effective?

Within I Am Not Your Negro , Peck uses a large amount of archival footage to bring Martin , Malcom and Medgar's stories and struggles to life. Also within this , Peck effectively uses archival footage from the 50's and from present to show the similarities in the fight that black Americans are still fighting for and how culturally , society has never had a place where they can fit in and feel accepted. Although the issue of racism and equality is no longer as it was in the 50's , Black Americans still struggle for freedom and acceptance in our modern day society. Peck also creatively uses interviews and thoughts of the original visionary for the film , James Baldwin , to set the light on the situation and the importance of this issue to him up until his death in the 80's

Lousy Little Sixpence manipulated archival footage to create a backstory  in which the story is built on. This shows the conditions, treatment and the beginning of the stolen generations in 1910's. This gives audiences a small view into the struggles that were faced daily for the children of the stolen generation and what became of them after they were forced into slave labour at the age of only 13.

Who is 'speaking' in each documentary and in what way is the author's voice obvious?

Within I Am Not Your Negro there are many peoples voices that are heard throughout the film , but they ultimately represent one voice , the voice of the Black Americans. This is very important and the authors voice is highly obvious in the way the documentary is presented. This documentary forces the audience to bear witness to the abuse and mistreatment which in itself is the voice of Mr Baldwin.

Although we only hear the personal stories of the five elders , the documentary speaks for all Aborigines affected by the Stolen Generation and the impacts upon their lives and families which were destroyed. Lousy Little Sixpence shows the authors voice prominently through the selection of archival footage , interview contents and the area in focus for the documentary.

Identify salient stylistic qualities in each film.

Within I am Not Your Negro, there is a large use of archival footage ,photos, music and news clippings. Peck also effectively uses the unfinished writing of Baldwin to allow him to tell the story throughout with the use of narration and his civil rights speeches.

Lousy Little Sixpence , features an array of talking heads and archival media. Following a classic documentary style , the film overall highlighted the issue of the stolen generation and in turn showed a raw approach to the documentary instead of stylistic.

How do the films differ stylistically? Do you think the style is effective? Why?

Stylistically , Lousy Little Sixpence and I Am Not Your Negro differ significantly. There are many classic documentary stylistics in both , as I Am Not Your Negro is a more recent documentary , it features more uncommon documentary techniques and Hollywood cinematic style.  Lousy Little Sixpence ,however features common documentary stylistics including the use of talking heads , archival footage and narration.
Both the classic and modern stylistics within these documentaries effectively highlight and expose the issues within. Whilst both documentaries effectively inform the audience on the subject matter , I personally believe that I Am Not Your Negro was stylistically and informatively more interesting and intriguing as a viewer.

The ABC include additional resource material. Explore this material and consider how it extends the story and information not available in the documentary.  Would you include any of the information in this resource into the broadcast documentary? Why?

These extra materials can be used for many reasons such as study material , extra informations , outcomes (from court cases etc.) and/or extra parts of interviews not used. all these materials are very valuable in there own sense and allow the audience to delve into the story even deeper than within the documentary. This information is not necessary to be added within the documentary as interested viewers will seek this information after watching the documentary and creates a strong talking point. This can be seen within many documentaries and is common within modern documentaries.

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How did the filmmakers try to convince you of the position that the film supports? Look for appeals to logic, emotion, and prejudice. Also refer to the readings in your response.

During Untold Stories From Australian WWI Memorials, the film maker tries to position the audience to feel sadness as they explore the lives and stories of the tragic sacrifices of the men in WWI, in particular the Elliott brothers in episode 1. This can be seen through the way the documentary uses archival material and statistics about only the loss that Australia encountered. The documentary also included the use of talking heads through the granddaughter/great niece  and her own knowledge of the situation.

The Vietnam War documentary explores the stories of the Americans, French and Viet Minh and The south Vietnamese. The filmmaker carefully positions the audience to feel for the Vietnamese and the difficult situation they were placed in by the French. The audience is put in a difficult position when feeling for the north and south Vietnamese as they both have strong reasons for their position in the war. The audience is positioned this way through the strong use of emotion created throughout with the documentary exploring the war as a whole.

Describe any cinematic techniques used in presenting particular scenes, images, or sounds which were designed to appeal to the viewer’s emotions and to encourage the viewer to agree with the position advocated by the film, without reliance upon fact or logical argument.

Untold Stories From Australian WWI Memorials , features a large array of cinematic techniques such as talking heads , archival footage and primary material from the Elliott Brothers. The documentary effectively manipulated these techniques to appeal to the audience and spark emotion. The documentary featured no information that supported the information that Ann portrayed about her great uncles other than small parts of archival information and the stories she had been told. The audience was set in the position the filmmakers intended when Ann revealed the brothers thought they were coming home.

Vietnam War  revels in a large amount of cinematic techniques throughout , including the exploration of the years and progression the the war and vital key characters such as HoChiMinh. The documentary carefully blends political footage and war footage to add explanation to the grey areas of war and Americas involvement. The documentary uses techniques such as talking heads , archival footage , music , archival voice recordings and much more , in which positions the audience to look at the war as a whole. The documentary shows the good and bad of all involved but overall portrays the war itself as the antagonist.

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How does he use VO narration?

Thornton effectively uses voiceover narration throughout the documentary to portray his stories with either the chickens or the dog , which in turn shows his solidarity and his venerability to the audience. Thornton throughout these segments shows the audience moments of his life in which he felt ashamed , happy , depressed etc.

How does he 'treat' theme each ep?

Thornton effectively treats theme as a progression throughout every episode. The theme continues to develop and change as Thornton learns and develops through his solitude.

How does Thornton use pace?

Thornton effectively uses pace throughout the documentary in his fast paced movements in contrast to the still , slow , calm movements of the land surrounding him. Pace is manipulated quite effectively throughout this documentary series as it is always moving with the emotion of Thornton. Throughout , these moments are broken apart by montages of Thornton cooking , peaceful and purposeful.

What is Thornton's authorial and creative style?

Thornton's creative style effectively shows a solemn story of a man transforming his life.  This is seen through his limited use of narration or interview except for completely necessary moments or stories. This 'show don't tell' stylistic is very effective for this type of documentary and shows the authenticity to the experience. The documentary shows a deep emotional story through the passion of Thorntons cooking and progression in hunting.

What do you think this series reveals about Thornton? Why?

This series delves into the heart of Thornton , his demons , his solitude and search for forgiveness , connection and growth. This series explores a much loved Australian director that has struggled with himself and his mental heath. For Thornton , this is a very personal story to tell the way it is displayed is an insight into his creative mind in a very stylistic display.

Referring to Reading 2, how do you think  Thornton's voice becomes obvious? What is he saying?

Through reading the article , it becomes apparent that Thornton’s voice can be seen though his use of cooking throughout. Cooking for Thornton is an activity that allows him to calm himself and reset. Another thing that has become obvious is that Thornton also expresses his voice through his bold clothing choices. Thornton struggles to express his emotions and The Beach was a bare all moment for him. Through his love of cooking and his bold clothing , Thornton tells a story of self expression and self worth. He delves into the emotions he once felt about the way he dressed and how he learnt to embrace it. Thornton also tells a story about how even the most successful people need time to reflect and detox mentally and physically.

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In article 1, what are the two arguments put forward? What are the arguments about the use of empathy as a story device?

Within the first article about My Octopus Teacher, the two arguments put forward in reference to the personification of the octopus throughout the documentary and if it is moral to portray the natural world through human ways. The other argument that is raised is the empathy to action that is seen within My Octopus Teacher can cause viewers to back welfare groups surrounding the issue displayed or in turn, the negative side of this argument is letting empathy act as moral judgement for conservation as it may negatively affect the structure of the ecosystem as the actions of the film could affect conservations that must exterminate feral, invasive species. The arguments that are suggested about empathy as a storytelling device is empathy to action and empathy for a non-human. These two arguments explore the morality and perspective of the situation as seen through the eyes of another. These arguments explore the positives and negatives of personification of the octopus within the documentary and the ways this can distort the viewers empathetically and the interpretation made throughout watching the documentary.

Article 2 begins by asserting that "A good story has been the hot commodity of nonfiction films in recent years – but they only give viewers the power to identify with their subjects rather than understand them." Do you agree with this premise? Why? What arguments does Story make in the article that debunks this premise?

Personally, I do not fully agree or disagree with this statement but do see the point in which Simran is suggesting. The cinematic format of documentaries are very current and seen within a large range of documentaries. This for me is the need as a human to have a clear structure to the story (introduction, climax and resolution), this, in turn, allows audience members to feel satisfied by their viewing as they go on a journey to resolve an issue and in the end the issue is resolved. Throughout the article, this theory is debunked through the reference to They Won’t Call It Murder in which the director explores the stories and lives of the women in an intimate filming style as well as an unembellished display of the stories in which have been otherwise ignored by the mainstream media

Do you think there is a 'Hollywood' narrative at work in this documentary?

From watching the documentary, it is obvious that the documentary is clouded with the overwhelming use of reenactments, which added to the narrative and portrayed a Hollywood style to filmmaking. The documentary featured a coming of age story for the main character of Lucy, the audience is introduced to the character of Lucy and the story progressed as would a coming of age film. This included the issue of her growth into an adult chimp (sexual maturity), the inability of her 'parents' to control her rebellious behaviour, her journey of self-discovery before her unfortunate death.

What are your thoughts on how the story is presented in Lucy The Human Chimp?

Although the story was represented as a documentary, I found it hard to watch as the chimpanzee is represented not as a primate but a human. This in turn altered my viewing as an audience member and changed my perspective on the situation as I was positioned to view Lucy as an intelligent humanoid where as the story would have been less interesting and emotional  if she was represented by Janice as a primitive primate.

Who is speaking in  Lucy The Human Chimp?

The voice that can be heard throughout this documentary is the representation of Lucy. This is altered as the story is told by Janice and the Temerlin's in who viewed Lucy as a humanoid. This in turn can create jaded information as Janice and the Temerlin's answered for Lucy.

What are your thoughts on ethical issues in Lucy The Human Chimp?

Ethically, I believe that Lucy The Human Chimp thoroughly manipulated the audience through the use of morality and the perspective of the situation, but also the empathy to action that is seen within. Lucy's character and the situation was framed in a way that Lucy was human and Maurice and Jane represented her as 'their daughter'. This ultimately affected Janice's life as she too seen Lucy as a humanoid and was morally affected to stay with Lucy on an uninhabited island for nearly 7 years. This can be represented in the documentary as the ethical issue of empathy to action as Janice let empathy act as moral judgement.

What are some of the stylistic  and cinematic ways that the director "allows real life to intrude on and puncture the dramatic shape of "  Lucy the Human Chimp?

Throughout the documentary, there are multiple voices heard and multiple ways that the director stylistically presented them. The director uses many different stylistic ways to present voice such as voiceovers, self-recorded tapes, archival footage and interviews to authentically portray the multiple voices. within the voiceovers of Maurice Temerlin (Deceased), the director cleverly married the use of archival footage and reenactments to ‘enhance’ the authenticity and the real-life situation. Lucy was portrayed through these voiceover and interview moments as a human, the daughter of the Temerlins. Throughout, the director used a high amount of editing and reenactments which ultimately manipulated the focus of the story. Although Janise was mostly seen through reenactments, the use of sound and music made the vision on screen feel authentic to the events she recalled.

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Identify the people, places, events, or aspects of people, society or nature that are the focus of one of the films shown this week. Describe and clarify the significance of each.

'The Beach' focuses on Warwick Thornton in his isolated beach life in WA as he seeks redemption for his wounded soul. 'The Beach' is significant in the fact that the audience can see Warwicks struggle with boredom , hunting and his own demons in which is the reason for his self-exile.

'S.O.P' Focuses on photographs taken by military police from the United States and the torture and abuse of Iraqi prisoners. 'S.O.P' focuses on the corruption and unorthodox treatment and practices surrounding the soldiers and prisoners. The significance of this documentary is showing these images in a negative portrayal which in turn exploited the Military Intelligence and US military police.

‘Gas Lands’ focuses on Josh Fox and the process of harvesting natural gas. Fox is on research journey through the documentary to learn more about fracking and the implications on his land and the lake running through the property.

'Planet Of the Humans' much like 'The Beach' focuses on the journey of the director, Jeff Gibbs and his investigation into climate change , pollution and the development and transition from fossil fuels to green energy. Through this, Gibbs explores the benefits of green energy and if it is going to be able to suffice in an every growing consumable world. The significance of this participatory documentary type allows the director to investigate and ask the hard hitting questions which is very significant when exploring the environmental elements in which is focused on within the film.

List three facts described in each film that impressed you and explain how each fact relates to the film’s premise or theme.

‘The Beach’

- Even the most successful people can with come to the struggles of life. This relates to the entire premise of the documentary following Warwick Thornton , one of Australia’s most celebrated Director.

- Thornton completes daily tasks such as cooking , hunting etc. For Thornton these tasks act as a discipline for him in his journey to self healing and enhancing his bond with country. This relates to the theme of hope and healing which is prominent through the documentary

-  Many people have mental health issues and it isn’t weak to speak about these issues. Thornton shows this though the documentary with conversation with his chickens, this is showing his weaknesses and his motivation to heal.

‘S.O.P’

- Throughout the documentary, the soldiers became desensitised to the torture and abuse of the prisoners and believed that there actions were “standard operating procedures”

- “It seemed normal to deprive someone of things if they weren’t listening to you” - Jeffery Frost and the other soldiers were convinced into believing that what was happening were completely normal. This goes back to the films premise of what is difference between s.o.p in a war and torture

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‘Gas Lands’

- Some of the home close to the fracking sites had ‘flammable water’ in which residents could ignite and were told by natural gas company representatives that the water was safe to drink. This strongly leads back to the films premise of doing your own research to find out the facts and consequences of actions

-Water was deemed contaminated but not toxic which leads to more environmental questions and questions about the chemicals used in fracking and why it’s allowed to be adjacent to water reserves

-Endangered species are also affected by the gas wells as there migration paths run straight through the gas well sites. These species are in turn drinking the water which runs off from the wells and breathes in the toxic air. This relates to the theme of nature vs destruction.

‘Planet Of the Humans’

- “A human controlled apocalypse” for me this quote really impressed me in the way to put earths stability in perspective that it is us and only us that control the worlds sustainability

- Population growth is one of the largest issues when it comes to sustainable development and the sustainability of earth. Gibbs demonstrates this by the collage of multiple scientists backing up this claim.

- Biomass energy does more harm then good due to habitat loss damage to water systems and supplies and the time it take for the forests to recover from biomass logging

Can you identify why the documentaries chosen in this module might be questioned regarding ethics?

'The Beach' can be questioned in regard to ethics as Warwick Thornton the subject of the documentary was also the projects director. Ethically this is a questionable as the subject had ultimate control over the fine cut of the documentary series and could contain ethical issues in regard to country.

'S.O.P' can be questioned ethically in many ways as many of the interviewees were soldiers who were participating in the unorthodox treatment of the prisoners, who were also compensated for their interviews. Ethically these effects the bias of the film and many other underlying issues. S.O.P also deceives views through the use of editing and framing with archival material as images are cropped and altered.

‘Gas Lands’ can be questioned ethically as the ……

'Planet Of the Humans' can be questioned ethically as the director ultimately has the fine cut control as well as the use of outdated archival footage. The documentary was released in 2019 yet a large amount of the footage is archival and from years previous. 'Planet Of The Humans' shows a strong POV from Gibbs and the interviews are directed this way through editing.

Identify the style. Does it work for you? Why?

'The Beach' was very interesting in the sense of a fly on the wall lifestyle documentary. I personally have never seen a lifestyle documentary like 'The Beach' that tells such a detailed story in limited to no dialogue during the first 10 minutes. This concept to me was very smart, unique and useful for this particular documentary and the story behind the documentary. This personally incapsulated me and made me want to watch the rest of the documentary and learn more about Warwick’s life.

'S.O.P' is a crime and war, American documentary. Personally, I do not like these styled documentaries as the show a high sense of bias and lack of exposition. The documentary is also very hard to stomach as this was the director’s intent but can affect the larger scale of possible audience members.

‘Gas Lands’ is an amateur research documentary. This style is very effective as it is filmed in a simple way and hold a strong amount of researched information and interviews. This documentary makes the information seem more real and documentary styled.

'Planet Of the Humans' is an American Eco Documentary like many of Michael Moores films , 'Planet of the Humans' contains a large amount of participatory documentary feature. This stylistic of documentary film making can be hard to create your own view on the situation and POV based. This type of style does not work for me as it does not allow for the audience to gain any personal response to the documentary other than the one the director provides.

Did the story capture you emotionally? Where you called into action?

The Beach was very emotionally encapsulating for me as the themes and story can be easily related to many situations even though the reasons for his self-isolations may be person and not relatable to most audience members, many have experienced the same feeling within isolation. In contrast within the first episode of the documentary, I felt there was a small spark of call to action to heal yourself and self-care in which progresses throughout the documentary.

During the beginning of S.O.P , The audience is positioned to feel emotional for the victims of torture and the 'unwilling' soldiers that tortured them. Throughout the documentary and progression of interviews, the audience position is shifted and emotionally the audience does not feel sorry for the soldiers that took part in the dehumanising torture that occurred. From this, I felt that the call to action was in turn to speak up when something is not right and that all actions have consequences as well as images can be perceived in many ways with limited context to situations.

‘Gas Lands’ emotionally captures the audience with the mix of witty humour and sadness for the residents affected by the gas lands toxicity. This creative and smart mix keeps the audience captured into the story that Josh telling. The call to action is to research into issues if you are unaware of what the consequences are and the effects they could have on the people and environmental around you.

'Planet Of the Humans' begins with an emotionally empowered director who is adamant to save the world and generate cleaner green energy. Throughout the documentary , Gibbs seems to lose hope as all of the “clean green energy” contain some kind of fossil fuel. The documentary also shows the people that are donating billions of dollars to start up clean energy stations are politicians and billionaires that only see profit and not a environmental factors. The call to action is to change our views on a green world and our own consumption. Although we try to save the planet, we refuse to change our  way of life to in fact save the planet.

Who is speaking in each of these documentaries? What do they have to say?

‘The Beach’ contains the voice of the land and Warwick Thornton. Thornton and the land both equally have their own parts within the documentary and speak on the search of redemption and healing.

‘S.O.P’ speaks through many voices and images and shows multiple people’s opinions. Unfortunately, there is no voice from the victim or those effected by the military other than images in which leaves the message unclear and not representative of the actual story being about the victims. The selected images can serve as a cover and are misleading as they do not speak the whole truth to the situation with lack of story and context.

‘Gas Lands’ speaks through all of the residents that have been affected by the natural gas fracking and the contamination of drinking water. Through the camera and eyes of the director Josh , ‘Gas Lands’ explores the detrimental natural effects of fracking and the effects of living within the areas of these fracking sites.

‘Planet Of the Humans’ speaks through Gibbs in his journey to find clean green solutions and is stumped through the seemingly hopelessness of the situation. Unfortunately, the POV of this documentary is focused on one view in which Gibbs interviews many people and all of the interviewees share the same opinions and views to reiterate the POV of Gibbs

Comment on the ethics in Wolfpack and the ethics of documentary filmmaking article in The Conversation.

The ethics within this article , it is evident that Crystal Moselle ethically effected the documentary “The Wolfpack” through the use of staging and editing , archival material and the complete deception of viewers trust to show the “higher truth”. Moselle carefully selected archival materials to try to portray that the boys were in a ‘failed cult’ this ultimately creates ethical issues through the manipulation of material and the factuality of the documentary. Moselle also stages certain events to show the boys first experiences since the ‘breakout’ the editing is also an ethical issue as the story is show in chronological order in which is a reverse order in which the documentary was filmed. There are many other issues that are within the article including consent , protecting the talent and many other example throughout.

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Research on Flume
https://www.triplejunearthed.com/article/100-best-discoveries-triplejunearthedcom

https://www.triplejunearthed.com/article/nice-meet-you-our-first-interviews-flume-amy-shark-more

Research on Sticky Fingers
https://www.triplejunearthed.com/article/100-best-discoveries-triplejunearthedcom

https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/music/2018/jul/03/sticky-fingers-withdraw-from-music-festival-after-calls-for-boycotts

https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/sticky-fingers-interview/9646656

https://stickyfingerstheband.com/bio/

Research on RUFUS

https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/musicfeeds.com.au/gig/rufus-the-forum-melbourne-231015/amp/

https://www.triplejunearthed.com/article/100-best-discoveries-triplejunearthedcom

Research on Triple J Unearthed

https://www.triplejunearthed.com/comps-and-resources/about

https://www.triplejunearthed.com/article/complete-history-triplejunearthedcom

https://www.abc.net.au/doublej/programs/the-j-files/10-years-of-triplej-unearthedcom/10274600

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Within my documentary I aim to explore the unearthed artists program created by ABC’s triple j and the explore the opportunities that come from the program. From this , I will show the stories of artists in which have grown both national and international success from this such as Flume , Sticky Fingers and RUFUS. This documentary will explore the lives of these artist whilst apart of the unearthed program and their success and in some cases downfall within the international stage.

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- Deathrow Unchained
This is a doco surrounding the “Deathrow unchained” sanctuary in which helps save animals from certain death and animal cruelty situations

- Heart Of Gold
This is a doco following a biker from Brisbane that has travelled over the world supporting animals in less fortunate situations including supplying homeless people supplies for their best friends

- Bleed Green and Gold
This doco will follow the construction and the process of the Brisbane Olympic Games in 2032 in which has been announced in recent times

- Grey Nomad
The concept of this doco is to experience the life of an elderly nomad that is taking the opportunity to travel Australia in their retirement and the changes and life changing events they endeavour

-Unearthed
Unearthed is a documentary following the underground musicians of Australia. This documentary will target a small amount of artists in the “Triple J Unearthed” program and artists that have found success from this program

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It is a story about ABC’s Triple J who has given the chance of musical success to many Australian unearthed artists such as Flume , Sticky Fingers and RUFUS , exploring their success or downfalls in the limelight