Documentary Evaluation

 Evaluation for Documentary

When I first started this project, I set out to create a psychoanalytical documentary on graffiti. The theme of the documentary was to get an insight into why graffiti writers do what they do and in some cases what makes them risk their life to do it. The start of the project when I was planning went very well and I organized everything quickly, got in touch with some people I know who actually do graffiti and most of the planning part was done. Looking back on the planning side of things, if I was to go back and do it again I would ensure that even though it is hard to get in touch with them as they are quite mysterious characters, I would try and get more graffiti artists involved in the film. This way I would gain mixed reactions to questions and it would also give me a deeper insight into why they do it.

Not long after planning I started filming. The first bit of filming I did was in Birmingham. The reason why I chose Birmingham as a place to film was that it has one of the biggest graffiti scenes in the country, especially in the Digbeth area. What I wanted to get from Birmingham was lots of different shots of different pieces of graffiti. I wanted to do this because I had planned for a big montage at the beginning of my documentary that would be a really quick paced edited montage of lots of graffiti. This day of filming actually went quite well and I got some good footage from the Digbeth area.

Once I had got footage for my montage sorted I arranged a day for filming the graffiti artists. On the day of filming what I set out to do was film them doing graffiti in normal and night vision so that there was a good mix of different shot types. This part went really well and I got some really good footage. After we had finished filming at that location we went to another to shoot the interviews. The location I chose for the interviews was a place called “Stoney Road” which is an abandoned part of a quarry that has turned into a key location for graffiti artists to display their work.  The shots I filmed for the interview turned out to be some of the best bits of filming (framing wise) I’ve ever done. The downside to the footage and what I could have done better was the sound. It was a really windy day and for some reason I didn’t take the boom mic or any external mic with me, and I simply relied on the mic in the camera, which isn’t great. So, reflecting on that day if I could go back I would most definitely take a boom mic with a windshield to go over the top as well, even if it was not windy.

As well as the footage I had taken so far, I put in my production log that I would get some interviews with people from the general public and/or business that have been affected by graffiti in different ways. One person I was supposed to interview was the landlady of the Railway Tavern Pub in Nuneaton. The reason why I chose her to interview is that there is a few graffiti artists that go down that pub and a few have been “tagging” the toilets there. This means that she has to keep paying for the toilets to be re-painted over and over again. Because this keeps happening she has spoke to a few of the respectful graffiti artists about how to stop it and they have devised a plan to turn one of the walls in the pub into a legal graffiti wall so that people can paint on that and display there work legally without fear of getting caught and also it means that they will hopefully stop doing it in the toilets because there is now a place for them to do it and are allowed to do so. I realise that it was a huge mistake not to take advantage of what could have been some great interview footage for my documentary as it could have helped get to the point of why they do it. I really regret my decision and if I could go back I would take advantage of the opportunity.

Once I had got all my footage done I started to edit. Whilst editing I encountered a few problems. One of which was the sound of the interviews which I didn’t notice until it came to editing. To solve this problem I spoke with my teachers and we decided it would be effective to use boards with the questions in script on them and also the answers the artists gave.

Before I started filming I was doing research into other documentaries with a psychoanalytical theme. One of which was “Grizzly Man”. This documentary is about a man called Timothy Treadwell who was obsessed and had a great love for bears. He spent over 13 summers out in the wild living amongst the bears risking his life to get close to them. Unfortunately Treadwell died from being attacked and eaten by a wild grizzly. Whilst watching different documentaries and psychoanalytical films I learnt a few theories to apply to them. One of which is what Lacan talks about which is the Lack. By learning this and other theories I could analyse the films a lot better and I gained a deeper insight into why some people in the documentaries do what they do. To this documentary I applied Lacans theory of the ‘Lack’. The lack is when some one has a missing piece to their jigsaw of a life and strives to find this missing piece or void. In this case Treadwell did not know what his missing piece was which is why he became obsessed with the bears because he thought this was his lack. By replacing his real lack with the bears and the extremes he went to fill this void ended up with him being killed by it. This theory of the Lack is what I wanted to apply to my documentary as graffiti artists go out every night painting their name on a wall in the hope of finding the “perfect spot” to display their work. I found it very difficult to apply this theory to my film and remember to do so whilst filming. It was also difficult to get good answers from the artists themselves on why they do it which could also mean that they don’t really know why, it could just be that they feel they need a purpose. 

I applied the theory of “The Lack” to my documentary because I wanted to have a conclusion as to why Graffiti artists do what they do. Why go out in the middle of the night to spray your name on a wall? I believe it is so that they feel gratified by seeing there name in big letters on a wall where everyone who goes past that place will see it. It could also be argued that it gives them a sense of fame, which leads to the art being a form of escapism. Maybe it is their own way to escape there boring everyday lives and break free from the rules the government and society expects them to follow. By applying this theory I believe that they do it for a purpose, they don’t want to abide by the rules and regulations set for them so rather than being a “decent member of society” they decide to be the “menace”.  This role gives them a purpose in life or a role to play in society, which could be argued to be the reason behind them doing this.

FINAL DOCUMENTARY

          

The Machinist

                                                                
 The Machinist

The first film we watched to start our psychoanalytical research was "The Machinist". This is directed by Brad Anderson and the protagonist " Trevor Reznik" is played excellently by Christian Bale. The films narrative is that Trevor suffers from chronic insomnia, so bad that at the factory he works at he ends up causing a man to loose his arm in an engineering machine. In the film Trevor meets a man called Ivan that he has never seen at the factory before but he begins to be obsessed with who this character is. This deals with Lacans theory of obsession and it later turns out that Ivan is nothing more than a figment of Trevors' imagination. Ivan was constructed because Trevor couldn't come to terms with a terrible act he had committed. As the mind protects itself from pain, Trevor is not aware of this but is compelled to uncover the mystery. This is very similar to the film Fight Clubs narrative as "Tyler Durden" turns out to be a figure of the protagonists imagination.

The other theory to apply to this film is "The Id, Ego and super ego". This is a theory by Freud and the "Id" is the " dark inaccessible part of our personality" the "Ego seeks to please the id’s drive in realistic ways that will benefit in the long term rather than bring grief" and the "Super Ego is the organized part of the personality structure that also deals with the Egos ideals". This theory is applied to The Machinist because "Ivan" is "Trevors" "Id", this is because we later find out in the story that "Trevor" was in fact involved in a car accident which resulted in the death of a young child. This is a memory which he had repressed as he thought of himself as a monster, this is shown through "Ivan" who is made to look beastly looking with his deformed hand and his strange teeth.

Trevors' insomnia had caused this repressed memory to come out in a negative representation. By doing this Anderson shows how by repressing emotions and memory's then they resurface in destructive and malevolent manifestations. This is similar to Fight Club as "Tyler Durden" is the "ideal" of the protagonist, which comes from the "Super Ego"trying to please the "Ego".

'Vertigo': Analysis

The first film we watched for our psychoanalytical research was Vertigo directed by "Alfred Hitchcock". The film is a psychological thriller which revolves around a retired detective "John Ferguson" or "Scotty" who has a crippling fear of heights, having to come out of retirement to follow a mans wife as she is acting strange. We later find out that the woman "Madeline" is acting strange because she has, supposedly, been possessed by an Ancestor from the 1800's. John starts to take care of Madeline after she attempts to kill herself which really starts the psychoanalytical narrative as John then becomes obsessed with her. The narrative is driven by John's desire to be with Madeline and his obsession of following her, this is because he is trying to find his missing piece which turns out to be Madeline. Here I can also apply Freuds' take on " The big O and the missing piece" as through the entire film this is what John becomes obsessed with discovering. At the end of the film it takes a big twist as the man who employed John to stalk his wife is trying to frame him for the murder of Madeline but we find out at the end that she is still alive and living a secret life.

The film explores psychoanalytical themes of obsession and desire as it focuses upon Scotty's fascination for Madeline. This becomes a 'drive' which leads to his complete immersion in seeking to possess the female character. He's completely unaware of the influence she has on his personality and this is represented in the choice of camera angles and framing for many of the scenes. When Scotty follows Madeline to the art gallery we as an audience track Scotty's point of view and become emotionally involved with his need. Hitchcock chooses to keep the viewer visually dependent upon Scotty's observation of Madeline and we develop a similar interest in her character. Scotty's obsession dominates the narrative at the expense of any real reality and he builds up a picture of the character as some sort of ego ideal. It's at this moment that his desire overwhelms his rational thought processes and thrusts him (and the viewer) into a quest to attain his goal. The non-diegetic score at this point also makes the audience feel intrigue and suspicion, even though it is Scotty's desire which is the real drive.

Cinematically Hitchcock has shown that the thirst for desire consumes an individual and fulfils what Lacan would call 'lack'. Madeline fills the void that Scotty has, even though he is unaware that he had one. His vertigo is therefore a plot representation of something he tries to avoid.

Screen shots

 

These are some screen shots of my editing so far. They are two of my favourite shots that I have done. The first is taken from the interview which I feel I have framed really well with the artist aggressively dominating the frame centrally. I had also chosen a good location for my mise-en-scene as the area is associated with the activity - an abandoned building site. Graffiti artists frequent these types of locations, constantly risking prosecution for trespassing. Psychologically they are are pursuing their desires at great personal risk - why? 

The second is taken from the shot which I filmed all hand-held as I wanted it to be shaky and not perfect, this adds a better sense of realism to the documentary and is typical conventional technique. I also wanted to capture us walking to these "gritty" and abandoned places that they will travel far and wide to get to with the purpose of just writing their names on a wall.

Pre-production

 Progress

So far my documentary on graffiti is going well. I have looked back at the footage I have filmed so far and it looks really good apart from a few where I didn't keep it in focus as much as I should have. My favorite pieces of footage so far are the interviews. I think I framed the artists really well and chose a good location for the mise-en-scene. I have currently edited three and a half minutes of footage and am hoping to get up to between four and five minutes.

Things to do

There are a few things that I still need to do for my film. One of which is to try and get an interview from one more graffiti artist. I have spoken to him about it before and he seemed up for it which is good as he is a big name in the local scene. Another person that I need to interview is the landlady of the Railway Tavern pub. I want to interview her as a lot of graffiti artists drink in the "Tav" and she supports what they do when its done in a legal space and not vandalism. She also has problems with people tagging the pub doors and toilets as every time it happens it costs the pub money to clean it. Because of this she has decided to create a legal graffiti area on a wall in the pub. For these reasons she would be a good person to interview.

I also need to find the music to use in my documentary. As graffiti originated from The Bronx in New York on the Hip Hop scene I thought it was only right to use some Hip Hop. Artists I have considered are, Souls of Mischief, Gangstarr and NWA. I am still yet to decide whether I am going to do a narration over the top of documentary or narrate through on screen graphics.

The final thing that I need to do is to get a lot more of quick shots of graffiti. The reason for this is because the intro to the documentary is a big montage of graffiti so I need as much as possible to make it a really quick cut montage. I am hoping that I can get all of these things done by the deadline for the project so that my documentary explores deeper into why they do what they do.

Production Log

Production log

0-5- Opening shot is of Dave who is the artist and protagonist making a statement on his ideology of graffiti. He will be framed infront of a graffiti wall in the garden of the Railway Tavern pub. The camera will be at a low angle only getting his mouth in the shot.

5-10- Stock footage of graffiti on the news (mixture of good and bad etc Banksy)

Music to be edited with the footage with correct connotations.

10-15- hand held footage of the protagonist and my self walking to the location he has decided to paint which should be at Stoney Road. Music starts (Hip Hop).

15-20- Multiple panning shots of the wall protagonist will paint on at Stoney Road.

20-25- more footage from interview asking how he started, framed the same but containing cut aways of his hands or cutaway to a side shot.

25-30-Interview with some one affected by graffiti, shop owners etc. Framed behind the counter/bar if a business.

30-35-Close up shot of spray can when artist is starting to paint. Diegetic sound of spray can rattling and spraying.

35-40- Long shot of protagonist painting. Framed in the centre of the shot. Music starts (hip hop)

40-45- Interview footage asking if it’s an obsession whilst cutting away to show his hands again.

45-50-interview footage from some one affected Framed in front of location or in front of some graffiti if still there.

55-60-Stock footage from news of a graffiti artist that died on the train tracks. Non diegetic sound of music over the top but so you can still hear what the news reader is saying.

60-65-back to long shot of protagonist painting. Framed to the left of the shot so the other graffiti on the wall gets in the shot. Non diegetic music starts.

65-70-staged or real chase scene located at Stoney Road. Diegetic sound of running.

70-80-interview with him answering a couple of questions about does he get scared when he goes out in the middle of the night. Camera cuts away to side shot.

80-85-close up of protagonists hands with paint on them and different panning shots and hand help camera movements of graffiti walls located around Digbeth in Birmingham. Non diegetic sound from music.

85-90-footage of trains going past in a field that’s located at the bottom of my street (a lot of trains with graffiti on go past). Diegtic sound of trains going past.

90-95-hand held shot of walking through the field at the bottom of my street. Non diegetic sound of music.

95-105-interview with victim on if its affected their business. Framed behind counter/bar.

105-110-stock footage of what’s classed as vandalism (tagging). Diegetic sound of news reader.

110-115-interview asking why he does it. Cutting away to over the shoulder shot just getting his mouth in the shout.

115-120-shot of him showing me different pieces he’s done in various locations. Diegetic sound of him explaining where hes painted.

120-125- ill ask the protagonist if he has ever been caught or if he’s had any close calls.

125-130-panning shot of the wall as he’s painting it. Non diegetic music.

130-145- montage of lots of different shots with people painting graffiti edited at a quick pace with non diegetic sound of the song souls of mischief -93 til infinity over the top.

145-150-back to interview and asking if theres any political reason behind what hes doing or if he just enjoys vandalising stuff.

150-160- more close up shots of him spraying the wall at Stoney Road. All diegetic sound of the can.

160-165-Interview with victim asking them if they find any part of graffiti as art or whether they see it all as vandalism.

165-180- Another montage but of different pieces of stock footage that contain victims of graffiti. This is to show two sides of a story through two montages. Non diegetic music will be used over the top.

180-200- Interview with Katrina, a trainee police officer to get her opinion on the effects of graffiti and how it could be prevented.

200-205- interview with protagonist asking him if he ever feels bad for the damage hes caused whilst cutting away to a side shot or close up of the mouth.

205-210- Non diegetic music starts again with him painting  the wall located at Stoney Road. Filmed at a low angle.

210-220- Interview with land lady of the railway Tavern pub getting her opinion of graffiti and the people that do it as a lot of graffiti artists drink in there. Framed in front of the big graffiti wall.

220-225-panning shot of the graffiti at the Railway Tavern pub to show how good the artwork looks and how its not just vandalism. Non diegetic music.

225-235- A time lapse of the protagonist painting from a long shot whilst on screen graphics show stats taken from Nuneaton council on how graffiti has risen or fallen in the last so many years. Non diegetic music.

235-240- Final statement from one of the victims of graffiti to conclude their side of the story. All diegetic sound.

240-245- Final quote from protagonist to get his final say on the effects of graffiti. All diegetic sound until music starts to get louder at the end of the film.

Influence

                             

This is the trailer for a documentary that follows a street artist called "Roadsworth". From watching this I have had an idea to actually interview people who's lives graffiti may have damaged to get their side of the story. I intend to adopt a similar exploration approach to my film. I would hope to explore why artists are compelled to perform such activities.

Influence

                           

This documentary called 'Infamy' is another one of the main influences for my work. This documentary focuses a lot deeper into why graffiti artists pursue their art. It does this by interviewing not only the artists but their mothers, girlfriends and best friends. The documentary reveals that some of the artists began it because of a gang background and others do it because they ran away from their dysfunctional homes. This clearly confirms my initial idea that the characters that are the focus of documentaries do have something missing, a 'lack'. Also regular conventions of the documentary format are interviews with family and friends - an approach I could adopt. it also focusses on another character called Joe Connolly who is a self described Anti Graffiti Guerrilla to show the effects that graffiti causes to other people.

This documentary has gave me the idea to not only explore the graffiti artists mind but to also explore the people effected by graffiti. I will do this so that i have two sides of the story, the cause and the result. I will also take influence from this documentary to help accomplish the brief as the miss en scene has been chosen carefully to pretty much always capture the artists on the streets or in some form of "rough" area. I will also film my characters in "rough" areas and on the streets as it helps reflect the physiological impact roaming the streets most nights has had.

Referenced Documentaries

So far I have studied three documentaries and have been applying the concept of the 'Big O'. This was originally a short story for children that the Cultural Philosopher Slavoj Zizek examined and believed explained how people psychologically have a 'lack' which they have to fill. Zizek explains this concept theoretically as how everyone is a metaphorically a circle with a piece missing, as a consequence we constantly strive to find this missing piece to fill the void.

In each of the documentaries this idea of a 'lack' is essentially what is being explored, in my opinion this appears to be the central narrative role for any documentary. The concept applies most strongly to 'Married to the Eiffel Tower' and 'Exit Through the Gift Shop' more than in 'Grizzly Man' as the woman in M.T.T.E.T has found her missing piece through loving objects. In E.T.T.G.S all of the street artists featured constantly search for that one special spot for their work and are always doing more graffiti every night and when will enough be enough? In 'Grizzly Man' the subject matter. Timothy Treadwell, follows his desire to be a as close as he can to a community of bears with disastrous results. All of these characters desires are fairly extreme but they do explore a very human experience, if an individual has a 'lack' they are consumed with pursuing something that will complete them or fulfil them in some way.
 
By watching these three documentaries I have made a final decision that I will be making a documentary film for my practical work. From these documentaries I have gained a psychological insight into what drives individuals to follow certain pursuits as a desire to fulfil needs. This is the type of question I want to answer in my own documentary on graffiti. I will need to establish what are the drives lead graffiti artists to go out in the middle of the night to write their name on a wall whilst risking getting arrested and in some cases their life. The questions will be asked in a formal interview technique as some of my reference documentaries contained with the protagonists of my film, as I have stated also in my production log.