Waiting For Superman

Pre-Production

Before we start making this documentary, we need to make sure we are organized. This means:

• We must know what people we are going to interview
• We need to know where we are going to find these people.
• The questions we are going to ask should be pre-meditated, leaving room for some to be improvised if the occasion allows it.
• We should also make sure we are allowed to film everywhere we want to go.

Production

Students, teachers, parents, businessmen, and educators were all interviewed for this documentary. Each one was interviewed in their "rooms". Students, for example, were interviewed in their bedrooms, teachers in classrooms, educators in offices. There were many different tyes of footage used throughout the documentary. This includes animations, actual original footage shot for the film, archive footage of someone making a speech, for example, and also borrowed footage, notably from the movie The School of Rock (Linklater, 2003) and from the television series The Simpsons.

Post-Production

Editing is the main factor in post-production. Surely many hours of film footage that was shot for the documentary did not make the final cut. The footage must have been filtered a great deal, leaving only the footage that make up the documentary we just saw. This footage, however, was organized in such a way that it tells a complete story in just under 2 hours. The footage has been ordered so that we get to meet the children, their parents, and then the problem facing their education and the people wanting to fix it. All of this is done in such a way that it engages us and makes us aware of the problem. Music is a big factor to achieve this, and it is present in several instances throughout the documentary. In moments that are sad, the music encourages us to feel sad. In uplifting moments, uplifting music is chosen to accompany the situation.

Aside from the music, the other important non-diagetic sound is the director's (Davis Guggenheim) voice over. I think Guggenheim chose to do the voice-overs himself because it an issue he is personally concerned about, as he explains throughout the beginning of the documentary. This is also evident in the fact that his first documentary (of which footage is borrowed for this one) is also about education in public schools. It also adds a degree of authenticity to the whole matter; that the people who made the film actually care about it.

In my opinion, the ending is a terribly sad one. I don't know if the filmmakers intended it to be this way, because, by some angles, it should be a happy ending. This makes me think that Guggenheim chose an ambiguous end to his film on purpose, which is interesting. It is clear, as the credits also suggest, that this is an issue the filmmakers want us to be concerned about, and that there are people wanting to make a change, like filmmakers are, for example. But maybe they are suggesting something deeper. Maybe they are trying to say, underneath it all, that people just don't care enough to make a change, that too few people care about the children, and that no amount of documentaries can ever change that.

Documentary: Six Point Plan

1. We have chosen to do a documentary about piquetes because it is an issue very familiar with many Argentinians. There were many piquetes during these last few months that have affected loads of hard-working people. Many Argentinians have strong opinions about these riots, and it should be interesting to hear them.

2. Our target audience is the group of people who have ever been affected by piquetes. People who go to work every morning and come back in the evening, whose commute is interrupted by a load of other men who complain about their jobs. Although these are the type of people we want to reach and will interview, we hope the documentary will speak to many other people as well, perhaps the people that cause the piquetes.

3. With respect to technical equipment, we will need a handheld camera, possibly a tripod if we need to hold it still and a computer with proper editing software. We could also make use of a camera to take pictures to insert in the documentary.

4. Our primary sources will be those people that not only take part in the piquetes, but those that are affected by them. As secondary sources, we could interview people who have been indirectly affected by piquetes, such as people who were affected by those who were directly affected by the riots.

5. The interviews will be conducted by Gaby. Tomas will be responsible for the actual filming and general direction of the interviews, and Mery will be in charge of the editing and, whenever necessary, providing the lighting for the interviews.

Technical Analysis of Documentary Trailers

Waiting for Superman

Analysis

1. Sound:

In terms of diagetic sound, we hear the voices of children who are students, of adults who are school authorities, concerned parents and a succesfull businessman.
We also hear non-diagetic dialogue, such as the person behind the camera interviewing the different people. There is also someone who talks to the audience directly about the issue the documentary covers.
One more important non-diagetic sound is the music. Different songs, both original and borrowed, are used throughout the trailer to accompany the video.

2. Video Footage:

There are different types of footage used throughout the trailer. The footage taken from other places, like the one where the biker misses the roof and crashes to the ground, and animations. Animations are an effective and amusing way to make a point creatively.

3. Sources:

The first interview is with a teenage student, and it takes place in her bedroom, presumably. The next is with another student, again in her bedroom. The third interview is takes place in some meeting room with a woman named Michelle Rhee, Chancellor of D.C. Public Schools. Next comes Geoffrey Canada, an education reformer, who is interviewed in a classroom. A little student boy is interviewed in his bedroom after that. A man who looks like a UPS truck driver is interviewed in a hallway. One of the student's parents are interviewed in their bedroom as well. A man who seems like a school authority is also interviewed in his office. Lastly, Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, is also asked questions.

4. Text:

Throughout the trailer, texts are inserted every now and then to tell the audience what issue the film is dealing with. It makes the trailer very proffessional, and moving. There is also some text added when someone is interviewed to let the audience know the name and title of that person, so they are sure not some random people in suits are being asked questions.

5. Editing:

The trailer is ordered in such a way that makes it very effective. Firstly, the children of the schools, the center of the issue, are interviewed, talking about their dreams. This easily makes the audience sympathise with these kids, especially when the adults who are at the charge of the schools begin to talk about how poor their education is. Now they begin to tell the problem, and show people who are concerned about it and want to make a change. The kids are shown in their schools, to take the audience into their lives. As it finishes, the trailer shows how there is still hope for some of the kids, with inspirational music in the background. The trailer effects the audience emotionally, which makes them want to go see the entire documentary.

 Barefoot Children

Short Technical Analysis

This trailer is a for a documentary about abandoned, homeless children who live on the street. Throughout the documentary, the only sound we hear is that of cars passing by: like the kids must hear all the time.We are only shown short, disturbing footage of children drugging themselves, and sleeping under bridges, which evokes deep emotional response in the audience. The text explains how these poor children live every day, with the police who "beat them", and their parents who "abuse them". The footage, text and even the sounds of the cars all combine to create a chilling trailer for a documentary about a serious issue told in a way few people have seen before.

Caché (2005) Textual Analysis

This is a paragraph from my analysis of Michael Haneke's 2005 film Caché, or Hidden.

When Georges turns around, he is startled by Majid’s son, but still tries to remain calm in front of his co-workers. This represents a clash between George’s two worlds: the life he pretends to be living in public, and his internal and private chaos he keeps to himself. It is worth noting that Georges is a TV presenter in real life; someone who is frequently in the public eye. There is a scene Haneke shows us, before this one, where Georges carefully edits his material in the show, therefore controlling how he is viewed by the public. It is clear then how difficult it is for him to have his privacy exposed in such an abrupt way.

French New Wave

Between the years 1958 and 1964, a group of French film-makers created a body of work referred to as French New Wave. These film-makers were François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol, Jacques Rivette and Eric Rohmer, who were once all film critics for a magazine called Cahiers di Cinéma. They were driven by the notion forge a new cinema, and went on to influence how a film could be made.

Jean Luc-Godard

The movies featured unprecedented methods of expression, such as long tracking shots (like the famous traffic jam sequence in Godard's 1967 film Week End). Also, these movies featured existential themes, such as stressing the individual and the acceptance of the absurdity of human existence.

Many of the French New Wave films were produced on tight budgets; often shot in a friend's apartment or yard, using the director's friends as the cast and crew. Directors were also forced to improvise with equipment (for example, using a shopping cart for tracking shots).

In Jean Luc-Godard's À bout de souffle, after being told the film was too long and he must cut it down to one hour and a half, he decided to remove several scenes from the feature using jump cuts, as they were filmed in one long take.

The cinematic stylings of French New Wave brought a fresh look to cinema with improvised dialogue, rapid changes of scene, and shots that go beyond the common 180º axis.

But there is no better way of explaining this than by showing it. Here we have a clip of a scene from Godard's À bout de souffle.

Effects that now seem either trite or commonplace, such as a character stepping out of their role in order to address the audience directly, were radically innovative at the time. David Fincher used this technique in his 1999 film Fight Club. To see it, click here.

Modern examples of films that have been influenced by French New Wave are, among others, Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004) and Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994).

Here we can see a direct homage to French New Wave by Quentin Tarantino.

John Travolta (left) and Samuel L. Jackson (right) play two mob hitmen
in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994).

Two hitmen on the job.

Another clear-cut example, this time with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey kiss in Michel Gondry's highly
French New Wave influenced film Eternal Sunshine of the
Spotless Mind (2004).

Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg in Godard's masterpiece,
A bout de souffle (1960).

Our own interpretation of a French New Wave picture:

Outdoors and spontaneous, a typical feature of French New Wave pictures.

A very natural looking picture, similar to the
one below:

A real French New Wave picture.

French New Wave has significantly influenced the way cinema has progressed. We owe a lot to these smart and idealistic group of talented film-makers, who have helped shape what a film can accomplish.

 Sources:

French New Wave (Wikipedia)

Close reading of The Birds (Hitchcock 1963)

1. Note the details of each attack: who is attacked and why. When is the first attack? What happens? When do the audience first know an attack is coming? How is this moment foreshadowed?

Melanie is the first person to be attacked in the film, when a seagull swoops down and pecks her head. She was coming back from secretly visiting Mitch's home, who lived on the other side of the lake.

Mitch saw her in the boat, and drove around the lake and waited for her as she came back. When they looked at each other, the seagull suddenly attacked.

2. Write a one sentence description of the protagonists.

Mitch: A handsome man who must learn to make room for the many women in his life.

Melanie: A younge naive woman who means well but has fallen in love with a man in a complicated situation.

Lydia: Mitch's mother, who is overprotective of her child and scared of losing him to any woman.

Annie: A school teacher who has always been attracted to Mitch even though he doesn't feel the same way.

3. How does Hitchcock build tension through editing in the school yard scene?

Hitchcock first places Melanie in front of the school yard, so she is unaware as the birds fly onto the playground one by one behind her. The fact that the birds make no noise as they fly onto the school yard creates even more tension. Then he cuts to the classroom and then back to the school yard, only now it is full of birds:

Melanie doesn't notice this for a while but she does she becomes as tense as the audience is and walks into the school. The entire time we are expecting a massive attack, but Hitchcock does not rush anything: He slowly builds up the tension for a while until the birds finally attack.

4. Can you work out what triggers the attacks?

It seems that the attacks have something to do with the three main women of the movie (Melanie, Lydia and Annie). There is always at least one of those three women present when the attacks happen. I do not know why.

Camera Shots

Tweety faces a long day at school. He doesn't like it one bit.

(High angle)

During break time, he tells Mati about his plan to escape.

(Low angle, close-up)

For some reason, Mati, who is 8 feet tall, looks down on Tweety to assert his manhood. In the end, he agrees to join him in his escapade.

(Close-up)

All of a sudden, Mati finds a way out! He is thrilled!

(Establishing shot)

Tweety climbs up the Sports Building, convinced it is the way out.

(POV)

Soon Mati joins him, trusting in his leader.

(Low angle)

Tweety nearly falls off, but no one seems to care.

(Extreme close-up)

Mati realizes that the break is nearly over, and decides to give up on the escapade.

Tweety can't believe Mati abandoned him, and decides to mope on a bench inside the school. He questions his existence in the world.