Documentaries

BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE (2002, Dir. Michael Moore)

PARTICIPATORY DOCUMENTARY
The filmmaker is heavily involved and actively engages in situations which they are documenting upon.

Michael Moore's previous work:

>"the awful truth" (TV Series documentary) (executive producer - 24 episodes)(1999-2000)
>"And Justice For All"(TV Movie documentary) (1998)
>"TV Nation: Volume 2" (Video Doc) (1997)
>"TV Nation: Volume 1" (Video Doc) (1997)

>"The Big One" (Documentary) (1997)

Over the span of his career, he has won 44 awards and had another 21 nominations. He has mainly won awards at film festivals ie. San Sebastian (Bowling for Columbine)

Dir; MM

Producer; Kathleen Glynn / MM

Written by; MM

Budget: $4,000,000

Total Domestic Gross: $21,576,018

BIGGIE AND TUPAC (2002, Dir. Nick Broomfield)

OBSERVATIONAL DOCUMENTARY

The filmmaker has minimum intervention and simply observes what has already happen.

Nick Broomfield's previous work:

>Kurt & Courtney (Documentary) (1998)

>Fetishes (Documentary)  (1996)

>Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam (TV Movie documentary)  (1995)

>Tracking Down Maggie: The Unofficial Biography of Margaret Thatcher (Documentary)  (1994)

>Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer (Documentary) (1992)

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE (2008, Dir. Errol Morris)

EXPOSITORY DOCUMENTARY

The narration speaks directly to the spectators anchoring visual information.

A COMPLETE HISTORY OF MY SEXUAL FAILURES (2008, Dir. Chris Waitt)

(PERFORMATIVE) MOCKUMENTARY

It has an autobiographical nature acknowledging emotional and subjective aspects of documentary.

Eclaire

Genre: Documentary / Drama

Themes: Normality, Friendship, 

Location: New Addington (king henry's drive)
Influences: Catfish: The Movie, Amelie

Soundtrack: 
Gintama OST - Madao
Gintama OST - Koko wa Samurai no Kuni Da
Gintama OST - There's a hundred percent chance you'll hate yourself for leaving your umbrella

GABAF C C C C C C

(long shot) This is claire...

(roundabout shots of claire)

18,

*height - 5 foot 6 inches*

(pretending to read a book chucks it away, cut to her ringing some bells - in a group called bells angels - or playing a musical instrument)
currently studying to be a teaching assistant because i love to help others

(funny faces towards the camera, happy, sad, dancing around, holding a placard with her likes, holding a separate placard for her dislikes - or she can just flip it over)

i hate arguments, i love my family and friends, i have severe language and expression difficulties, dyslexia and dyspraxia and i love the colour purple.

(close up face shot of claire speaking to the camera) What do those mean?

*claire's response*
- must mention; DCD affect movement and co-ordination, her language and expression isnt helped because of her speech impairment

*insert statistics - about the "condition"*
will be presented with stop motion
S.L.E - Expressive language means being able to put thoughts into words and sentences, in a way that makes sense....it is thought that 6% of children in the uk have some kind of expressive difficulty
DYSLEXIA - 1 in every 10 people in the UK
DYSPRAXIA - 1 in every 20 children between the years of 7-8......does not affect how intelligent a child is, it can make it more difficult for them to learn and they may need extra help to keep up at school.....children with DCD will continue to have difficulties as teenagers and adults 

What do you think about them?

(tracking shot of claire getting ready to go meet her friend)
(narrated over the top)

Have you always felt this way? (brings up the way in which not everyone is accepting -  her camping trip story)
*claire's response*
(stills reconstructions of the experience mainly composed of  close ups on the offenders mouths (black and white or grayscale) and high angle shots on claire - mention how it is difficult to make "permanent" friends)
- shot in amelie-esque images representative with symbols and colours; purple being anything positive and grey being negative.

(side upper mid shot of claire walking to the destination where her friend is waiting for her, camera stops and she keeps walking.)
- must mention the way in which her family has brought up which has affected her to not to let it affect her, and what she has to deal with on a daily basis.

(long shot of supermarket - ie. sainsbury's in selsdon) (or to keep it 'uncontained' on a bench in a not very active area ie. in an estate or on a bench by the fields ion monks hill, Selsdon) (cuts to close up unfocused shot of eclair packet as we pan out image becomes focused and claire and her friend are laughing)
(mid two shot of claire and her friend sitting  talking to each other)
- cuts into conversation

And what is your view on the things claire has endured?
*friend answers*
 - must mention how claire is 'normal' at the same time as questioning what normality is.

(similar repetition of the exposition) 
(claire as an air cadet)
(claire looking in disgust towards the brussel sprouts)
 and repetion of the difficulties she deals with but put simplistically - titles on screen - ie. "mixes up letters and words" for dyslexia

Ending shot - and she loves the colour purple
Mid shot or long shot of claire with purple things all around her and falling down on her like confetti.

NOTES

mix up the likes and dislikes, then say about the "conditions" then at the end, she likes the colour purple.

The reenactment be in stills. when she went to camp and when people were taking the mick.


STORYBOARD.

S.O.P.

Standard Operating Procedure (2008)

S.O.P. is a documentary on war and crime in Abu Ghraib, during the Iraq war. It focuses on the 'humiliation' of Iraqi detainees whilst being kept in the prison, and how those who inflicted that upon them thought about the rights and wrongs of what they've done. It explores the themes of power and conflict within the U.S. military forces also the racial conflict between them and the Iraqi detainees and forces. Overall this documentary shows the audience the cover up of the entire operation. The US was caught with "its pants down" and with that they had to find someone to pin it on.

The Documentary featured the letters written by Sabrina Harman who recorded everyone involved in her sector/shifts that got involved in the acts of sexual humiliation and psychological torture towards the prisoners. The main culprit being Charles Graner as the ring leader of the abuse who requested for the pictures to be taken in the first place. He later served 6 years of his ten year sentence in prison and is on probation until December 2014.

Errol Morris is renowned for his computer generated images and sound used in his documentaries to make them more dramatic and interesting for audiences to view - such as his trade mark film noir cinematography.

Incendies - My Thoughts

This is an epic drama entwined with mystery and elements of historical hostility. I was hooked onto the story from exposition as it showed what at first seemed pointless shot of boys getting their hair shaved off.

My annotated catalogue

ANNOTATED CATALOGUE

_{“EXPLORING THE THEMES IN HAYAO MIYAZAKI'S FILMS”}

FILMS

           
 Item 1

 Spirited Away (dir. Hayao Miyazaki, 2001)
I chose this as my focus film due to the sheer popularity it has bought to other Miyazaki films from the west. Also it holds key points to the representation of women throughout the film and not only referring to the protagonist but also other characters. It also deals with conventional themes for a Miyazaki film that aid the way in which females are portrayed.

           
 Item 2

 Princess Mononoke (dir. Hayao Miyazaki, 1997)

 The female protagonist is considered to be a complex figure that is strong willed which is an aspect i wish to highlight throughout the films. It also contains a second  protagonist being male so that i will be able to show how Miyazaki has tried to keep them as equal beings. There is also a wider variety of female characters so that there  is a more accurate  representation of females as they are different.

           
 Item 3

 Howls Moving Castle (dir. Hayao Miyazaki, 2004)
I decided to have this as a supporting film due to its representation of women in a different age bracket comparing to the other supporting films. It also deals with the male protagonist portraying what is known to be a lot more feminine characteristics than usual. There is also a prominent theme of flight within the film.

           
 Item 4

The Wind Rises (dir. Hayao Miyazaki, 2013) 

It has a predominant theme of flight throughout the film but also reflects heavily on the lifestyle that Miyazaki himself had partially experienced - due to his birth being the day of the Pearl Harbor incident and the film being set in World War 2. It also has a strong male lead in contrast to hos previous themes; however the respect towards women has not been lost through the feature.

DOCUMENTARIES

Item 5
The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness (dir; Mami Sunada, 2013)
This is documentary on Hayao Miyazaki (and co-founder of Studio Ghibli - Isao Takanawa). It follows them through a year in the Studio as they cover The Wind Rises - however it covers the lifestyle of the men and how it has influenced their work.

BOOKS

           
 Item 6

 Studio Ghibli: The Films of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata (written by Colin Odell,                     Michelle LeBlanc)
Highlights the main themes and motifs through each of Miyazaki’s films and explains the background behind certain characters, for example Chihiro from Spirited Away. This will help me identify the sepcific themes i am looking for that crossover through his other productions. 

           
 Item 7

 Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation (written by Helen McCarthy)

 In this book it gives me the information on Hayao Miyazaki's life and the way he got into                     animation. Through this I am able to deduce his “feminist” origins through the chapter on his background explaining the way in which he was brought up and what environment it was in.

WEBSITES

Item 8
http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/studio-ghibli/26925/10-spectacular-studio-ghibli-flying-sequences
It explains how flight was used in 10 Ghibli Studio films (9 of them being directed by Hayao Miyazaki). It also explains why Miyazaki often uses the theme of flight. this allowsme to look at the theme of flight in a broader sense of his films.

Item 9
http://culturevisuelle.org/introtovc/archives/727
The blog post provides information on the culture in Japan which would have been predominant in Miyazaki's lifestyle. It also speaks of the religious beliefs in japan and correlates them to scenes in Miyazaki's films and themes of ecology.

Item 10
https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/4263.Hayao_Miyazaki
These quotes allow me to see his views of society and his morals and how those are then translated through his films - these may link to particular themes that i have chosen to explore.

REJECTED ITEMS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYLoyi8aFik
this recording of Miyazaki's speaks of his intentions for the film - Princess Mononoke.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2014/08/02/books/book-reviews/deeper-look-hayao-miyazakis-nature/#.VOYMsfmsWdQ
this article references a book which is about the art of princess mononoke. What i found relevant about the article is the way it links the art with the theme of nature in this particular film.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/hayao-miyazaki-modern-movies-are-too-weird-for-me-1678129.html
Although it has some good supporting quotes as to Hayao's mind set on society it is still quite opinionated. The "at a glance" section is quite intersting as it makes some infromative assumptions as to how Miyazaki's films have been influenced by external factors.

Intouchables analysis

'Intouchable' is a biographical drama with elements of comedy. It follows a tale of an aristocratic quadriplegic and his carer ensuing personal growth through each other.  One of the beautiful areas of this tale is that it is based on a true story. This makes for the characters in the film to be a lot more developed and emotionally well-rounded, not to mention the outstanding acting from the leading cast members, Sy  and Cluzet (who both won best actor at the Tokyo international film festival and Sy who won best actor at the César awards).

The films uses a number of faux pas in order to bring about comedy, for example, when Driss (Omar Sy) tells the joke about "where do you find an invalid....where you left him". Its humour addresses the point that those who are seen to be "less able" do not need nor want your pity - one of the main reasons that Philippe (Francois Cluzet) hired Driss. The comedy also allows for the growth of friendship between the protagonists to become evident. A prime example is the opera house scene as Driss starts laughing at the German singer and Philippe cannot help but to laugh at the opera even though he appreciates it, also at the way Driss seems to be suffering as its 4 hours long.

There is also an evident theme of class apart from the blatant differences within each characters home (whereabouts, space in the home and furniture within the homes) also the costumes such as Philippe fashioning an ascot and wearing robes contrastingly Driss wears a hoodie and jeans. There are subtle differences such as the colours within the mise-en-scene; those used in Philippe's house tend to be red and golds leading to the assumption of prosperity and having power. Whereas Driss' house contained a lot more plain colours such as beige's denoting the simplicity. 

The representation of both protagonists i found to be quite interesting. this is because they played on stereotypes such as Driss, being black is a criminal and smokes weed. Driss, we find out, has just come out of jail after 6 months due to robbery. Due to this he has a rocky relationship with his mother (aunt) however it is connoted that he does this because of how poor the large family is and so does not seem to regret it just the fact he disappointed her. Although Driss' main personality traits remain he grows as a person through Philippe's influences. For example, the realisation he must help others and confront mistakes as he did with Adama (his brother). this is evident in the scene where Adama is seen in an over the shoulder long shot of getting into the (what we presume) drug dealers car; Driss becomes frustrated as he sees hi brother making similar mistakes to himself. He also seen to open his mind to new experiences (particularly Phillipe's passions) as he begins to paint and appreciate different art forms. This is shown musically in the scene where he returns to the estate and instead of modern music Vivaldi's concerto pour 2 violons & orchestre is playing - connoting that the time spent with Philippe has continued to influence him. This could also pose as an audio representation of how both characters are similar in personality playing the same tune.
Philippe's is shown to be the typical aristocrat that foolishly loves all stereotypical things considered to be high class such as art , opera and orchestral music this repetition of habit the audience is shown is due to his need to look for a meaning in his life. Due to the wife dying we see that Philippe has become reserved and withdrawn from society his only outlet being his passions. This is why his relationship with his daughter is terrible and the reason as too why he wants to be a different man and allows Driss to take him on that journey. The growth of this character in particular is wonderful for as much as he does not want t pity the audience experience Philippe pitying himself particularly when it came to interactions with Mina - the love interest.

In conclusion the true conflict that occurs in this film is the protagonists with themselves. The 'somewhat' belated coming of age for both protagonists as they realise their true potentials and feelings lie about their selves and others.

Intouchables

	The Intouchables (Intouchables)
Genre	Biography / Comedy / Drama
Director(s)	Olivier Nakache                Eric Toledano (It was also written by them)
Cast	François Cluzet                  Philippe Omar Sy                              Driss Anne Le Ny                         Yvonne Audrey Fleurot                 Magalie In the film: Daughter’s name was      Elisa Daughter’s BF                    Bastien (Mop head)
Narrative	After he becomes a quadriplegic from a paragliding accident, an aristocrat hires a young man from the projects to be his caretaker.
Release Date	23 September 2011         (Donostia-San Sebastian International Film Festival)
Cinematographer	Mathieu Vadepied
Budget (estimated)	€9,500,000 > £7,595,312.11 > $11,897,800