Notions of the 'real' Flashcards
The early actualities were simply recordings of events that had little intention behind them other than to capture what was happening in front of the camera.
Many camera operators had extensive photographic backgrounds, and were aware both of the importance of __________ and of the significance of the selection of angle in conveying the scene.
Composition.
As soon as a camera is set up, and a preferred ______ chosen from which to capture the subject, everything outside that angle is excluded from this representation of the ‘real’.
Angle.
This can either exclude inadvertently through assuming the importance of one aspect of the scene and prioritising it over other aspects of the scene, or deliberately through choosing to highlight one aspect of the scene in order to use it to reinforce a particular message or viewpoint (or even through filmic necessity – losing a part of the ______ that does work in terms of composition, or reframing to cut out an object or person that distracts from the focus on the main subject).
Scene.
What is not included in a scene (everything that is off-camera) is still part of the ‘____’, but it simply does not exist in terms of on-screen reality.
Real.
As the nature of filmmaking is largely based around hiding or disguising the constructional elements that go towards making a film in order to infer a sense of the ‘real’, any documentary, simply by virtue of setting up a camera, can only represent a particular sense of the ‘real’, a _______ view.
Partial.
As this considers only the setting up of a camera and the selection of a shot, when it comes to what the filmmaker actually decides to shoot (and whether they shoot the same thing over a number of takes), the question of documentary’s relationship with the ‘real’ a subjective (personal view) reality as opposed to an objective (detached, impartial view) reality, though the latter should always be questioned as the filmmaker makes a number of choices to ‘______’ this objective style.
Create.
Truly objective filmmaking has always been a practical impossibility, since decisions of angle and composition matched with choice of what is shot, and for how long, are joined with the fact that film cameras are usually loaded with a maximum of ten minutes of film before the magazine needs detaching, the ‘_____’ (the point of entry for light, where each frame is exposed) needs cleaning, and another magazine is loaded.
Gate.
The subjective selection process is amplified when editing is introduced, as this is where choice between shots and between parts of shots is made, and where decisions to create ________ through the combination of shots are considered.
Meaning.
With Flaherty’s _______ of the North, for example, it was the Inuit’s ‘natural’ state, uninfluenced by modern civilisations, which interested him, and he structured his documentary to capture this.
Nanook.
Flaherty offer the audience his ‘real’, a version of ______ that either he saw himself, or that he wanted others to see.
Reality.
