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NON-FICTION FILMSAN INTRODUCTION
FICTION VS NON-FICTION• Fiction films / Feature films
• Fictional in nature.• Tell stories.• Stuff you’d see at the AMC
• Non-fiction films / Documentary films
• “Document” real life• Tell stories…about “real” people• Unlikely to see at the AMC
• For every one Dark Knight, there are probably HUNDREDS of documentaries made!
We use these terms interchangeably!
WHAT MAKES A FILM NON-FICTION?
Facts drive the story
Vs.
The story includes or is based on facts that are molded to fit the narrative
FACT-BASED VS. FACTUAL FICTION
NON-FICTION FILM = DOCUMENTARY
“A documentary film is a factual film, which is dramatic.”
-Pare Lorentz, American documentary filmmaker known for his films about the New Deal.
DOCUMENTARIES CAN BE ABOUT ANYTHING!
BUT…• EVERY text has a bias (some perspective / slant)
• Even documentaries have biases.
• Think…”for” or “against” a topic.• Making a topic look good, bad, silly, serious
• There is a spectrum of bias
• Stuff you watch in biology class is “less biased”
• Life Cycle of the Bee – less bias here!• Others may be more biased
• Super Size Me, Freakonomics – more bias here!
MODES OF NON-FICTION (THERE’S A PODCAST ON THIS LATER!)
At one end of the spectrum:
-Attempts to be unbiased
-Life “as is.” Filmed as if from the perspective of a fly on the wall.
-Biographies, profiles, historical, educational
WHAT’S TYPICAL?Viewed on TV channels such as Discovery, History, Animal Planet, and PBS … rarely shown in mainstream cineplexes EXCEPT as IMAX releases.
Topics:
-World War I -Space exploration
-U-Boats -Oceans
-Civil War
-U.S. presidents
-Sports
MODES OF NON-FICTIONAt the other end of the spectrum:
• Argues a perspective, sometimes without balance
• Uses cinematic conventions of editing, sound, lighting to make that argument.
• Involves a call to action, often political in nature.
WHAT’S TYPICAL
Made for theatrical release on par with fictional films.
Topics:
-Political corruption (Fahrenheit 9/11)
-Corporate greed (Inside Job, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room)
-Animal abuse/cruelty (The Cove)
-Human exploitation (Born into Brothels)
CONVENTIONS OF NON-FICTION (PODCAST ON THIS TOO, LATER!)
-Archival film footage
-Interviews
-Re-enactments
-Following subject(s) over a period of time.
-Features “real” people not actors
-Low(er) budget
NON-FICTION FILMSAN INTRODUCTION