Documentary

Digital technologies have transformed documentary for both filmmakers and audiences. This radical rethinking of documentary as communication argues that today's documentary viewers are sceptical because they know what it is to film and be filmed. It shows that documentary has developed a new third phase of its century long history. Films now tend to document the encounters between those filming and those being filmed. But what do we really know about those encounters? Documentary: Witness and Self-Revelation is divided into two sections: the first examines aspects of the photographic and filmic process and includes topics such as: taking images being filmed and photographed still and moving images using filmed material. The second draws on a wide variety of evidence to demonstrate the ethical concerns that motivate today's viewers. It asks questions such as: Is what I am seeing true or faked? What was the relationship between the filmmakers and their subjects? Did the subjects freely consent to being filmed? Does the filmmaker have a disproportionate effect on the events as they unfold? Are the characters sincere or acting up for the camera? What kinds of material were left out in the edit? Is there something here that the film is not showing but I can nevertheless see? John Ellis demonstrates how these questions are both asked and debated as well as how evidence is drawn from the films themselves and how accurate and inaccurate notions of the filmmaking process affect how contemporary viewers judge documentaries. His extensive experience of documentary production practice enables him to examine technological changes in detail. This book is ideal for students studying film, media studies and visual culture.