AsachildoftwosecondgenerationHolocaustsurvivors,Igrewuplisteningtomy

grandparentsstories.Mymotheringrainedinme,theimportanceofkeepingtheirstoriesalive
Shetoldmetosharethemwithanyonewhoiswillingtolisten,becausesoon,wewillbetheonly
oneswhoareabletotellit.TheweekMrs.Wilkins,mysophomorehistoryteacher,announced
thatweweretostudytheHolocaust,Iimmediatelyexpressedexcitement.Afterwetooknoteson
adetailedpowerpoint,wewatcheda1997filmcalled
LifeIsBeautiful
,directedbyRoberto
Benigni
.
Iwasextremelydisappointed.Ifoundthatmanyofthefilmssceneswereover
hollywoodizedandunrealistic.Forexample,noprisonerofaconcentrationcampcouldhave
everbrokenintoaNazioffice,andproclaimedhisloveforhiswifeonaloudspeaker,andnotget
killedintheprocess.Thestoryof
LifeIsBeautiful
angeredmebecauseofitshistorical
inaccuraciesIaskedmyself,whywouldwewatchthisfilminhistoryclass,iftheactual
historyisnotrepresentedfully?Duringthatweekofclass,allIwantedtodowasimpactmy
classsperceptionoftheHolocaustbytellmyfamiliesstoriesnotwatchafictionalHollywood
film.ThisspeedbumpinmyeducationturnedmeofffromtellingmystoriesbecauseIfeltlikeI
hadnoplacetodosoinotherwordsIfeltunimportant,afeelingnostudentshouldever
experiance.AsasenioratNewtonNorthHighSchool,lookingbackonmyfouryears,I
rememberedwhathappenedsophomoreyear.Isteppedbackandnoticedthatpeopleswallow
downinauthenticinterpretationsofimportanthistoryeverydayifwecouldtakethegreatvisuals
ofmoviemaking,andincorporatethemintothetruth,wecouldtellourstoriesasauthenticallyas
possible.Themarriagebetweenthesemediumsisofcoursedocumentaryfilmmaking.Asmy
grandfatherslifeisnearingitsfinalyears,Ifeltitwasmydutytomyfamilytodocumenthislife.

Documentinghislifethroughfilmseemedtome,thebestchoice,soIresearchedit,todiscoverif
visualmediawouldtrulyimproveourabilitytoreachpeoplewithourstories.
Everydocumentary,from
ManwithaMovieCamera
(1929)to
GreyGardens
(1975)to
Dreamcatcher
(2015),hasonepurposetosharetherealitiesoftheworldwiththemasses.
Sharingtheserealstoriesonfilm,
hasthepowertoplantquestionsinpeoplesminds.Ithasthe
powertomakeyouempathizewiththingswhichyouneverreallyknewyoucouldempathize
with(
CapturingReality,
SabihaSumar).Thisemotionalmediumisnotintellectual,itisall
aboutengagementandsentiment.Buthowcanafilmimpactapersoninsuchaway?Through
extensiveresearch,Ihavediscoveredthattheansweris,whenadocumentarysinterviews,
visuals,sound,andeditingarehonestandtrue,astorycanbetold,onethatisnotonly
accessible,butimpactfultoanaudience.
Aninterviewisanextremelytrickything.Talkinginfrontofacameraisaveryunnatural
thingtodo.However,acamerahasanaffectonyouthatsomehow,becauseoftheartificiality
ofthesituation,youremorehonest,andmoretruthful,ratherthanlesshonestandtruthful
(
CapturingReality,
KevinMacdonald).Thisisbecauseoftheappealofaneutrallisteneritis
compellingtoimmediatelyhavesomebodytojustlistentoyou.Whilesomepeoplehavethe
abilitytobethemselveswhilebeinginterviewed,othershaveahardtime,sofilmmakershave
discoveredadifferentkindofwaytodocumentatruestoryobservationalcinema.Observational
cinemaiswhenafilmisshotby
placingtheviewerintheroleofanobserver,awitnessof
events.Theyareessentiallyrevelatoryratherthanillustrative,fortheyexploresubstancebefore
theory(
PrinciplesofVisualAnthropology
DavidMacDougall
,
116).Observational
filmmakersbelievethatintimacycomeswhenthecameraisintegratedwithagroupforsolong

thattheynolongercarethatitisthere,butalsotocatchpeopleontheirmostunexpected
moments,likewhentheyanswerthedoor,orwhenyouwakeup.Thetraditionofsettingupa
chairwithfancylightingandaprettybackgroundisnowthoughtofasdestructive,not
professionalorstylistic.Whenaninterviewisconductedinsuchaway,afilmmakerhopesto
revealunprecedentedandunpredictablemoments,becausethosearetheverythingsthatmake
photagehonestandtrue
Aninterviewisafundamentalexchangeaboutlife.Itsacinematic
space(
CapturingReality,
PatricioGuzman).
Thevisualaspectofadocumentarycanbejustasimportantastheinterview.Whena
photographorvisualmediaisdisplayedasapartofthefilm,it
servesboth[asa]testimonyto
pasteventsandasanexpressiveresourceforvisualstorytelling...Thephotographicimagesignals
thepresenceofthecameraonthesceneatthehistoricalmomentofimagecapture.Thearchival
imageappearstobetheclosestwecangettotheoriginalhistoricalreality,asortof
seconddegreeoriginal(
DocumentaryFilmandHistory,
DesmondBell).Inrelationtoa
documentaryfeaturingagenocide,oragruesomeevent,apictureistrulythebestthingtouseto
insureanempatheticresponsefromanaudience.KevinMacdonaldsaid,
Asastoryteller,you
wanttoimpactyouraudienceandshowthemhowterriblethiseventwas...ifyouwantpeopleto
feelthatsomeoneisreallytoblame,youneedtoshowthemwhatthey'retoblamefor
(
CapturingReality
).Ifthevisualmediaisusedinsuchaway,thetruestorycanbesuccessfully
told.
Soundisthetrickiestofalloftheaspectsofwhatgoesintomakinganhonest
documentary.Theuseofsoundisoneofthemajorthingsthataredebatedbetweenfilmmakers.
Mostofthepuristfilmmakers,likeStanNeumannandPatricioGuzman,donotfeelthatmusic

andsoundeffectshaveaplaceindocumentaryfilmmaking.Theybelieveittobedistractingand
aformofimpressionism,notrealism(tothemadocumentaryshouldbeaformofrealism,not
impressionism).Theythinkthatattimes,musicindocumentariesistheretotellyouwhatto
think,andthatitiswrongtoattempttoemphasizethedramaofasituationbyaddingmusic.
However,othersthinkdifferently.KimLonginottosaid,Ithinkthesoundistheheartbeatofthe
film.Ifthesoundisntgood,thanthefilmisthin,youknowthesoundiswhereyougetthe
emotionofthefilm(
CapturingReality
).Iagreewiththenewerthinkersofdocumentary
filmmaking,believingthatmusicgivesnewinsightsandperspectives,allimportantinorderto
tellastory.
Somefilmmakersarescaredtosendtheirfootageofftotheediting/cuttingroombecause
theyareterrifiedthattheirexperiencesandstorythattheywantedtotellwilldisappear.Through
thetimeandeffortthatisputintomakingadocumentary,thefilmmakernaturallygetsextremely
attachedtothefilmitself,butmoreimportantly,thestorytheyaretelling.Thesubjectofthe
filmsstoryisnolongerhisorhers,butthefilmmakerstoo.Whilethismightbeterrifyingfor
thefilmmakertoaccept,theeditingroomprovestobeoneofthemostimportantplacesinthe
processofcreatingadocumentary.Thecuttingroomisaplaceforsimplificationyoufind
themesandargumentsinthematerialtomakeitmoreobvious,andthereforemakeitmore
accessibleforanaudiencetowatchandunderstand.Whendone,agreaterimpactismade.
Allfouraspectsofdocumentaryfilmmakingareimperativetoitsportrayalofhonesty
whentellingthestoryathand.Thesetruthfuldocumentaries,becauseoftheelementsputinto
them,havetheabilitytoreachpeoplewiththeirstories,amediumthatisfoundationaltoour
society.Whenafilmsinterviews,visuals,sound,andeditingcancohesivelyimpacttheir

audience,cinemamagicismade.Forexample,inthedocumentary,
NightWillFall
,allfour
componentsofdocumentaryfilmmakingappearedharmoniously,ultimatelycreatingavisual
masterpiece.
27minutesintothefilm,thesequenceofimagesofthepilesofbelongingsthatthe
Jewswerestrippedofwhenenteringconcentrationcamps,theimageswereaccompaniedby
deliberatenarrative,lackofmusic,andspacedout(edited)toperfection.Thenarrativesaid,
Nothingwaswasted,eventheteethweretakenoutoftheirmouthsbyproductsofthesystem.
Toothbrushes,Nailbrushes,shoebrushes,shavingbrushes.Ifonemanintenwearsspecktacles,
howmanydoesthisheaprepresent?Allthesethingsbelongedtomen,womenandchildrenlike
ourselves,quiteordinarypeoplefromallpartsoftheworld(
NightWillFall,
27:00).
This
sequenceofimagesandwordswerecompiledperfectly,givingenoughtimefortheviewerto
processalltheinformationthrownatthem,therefore,impactingtheirlivesgreatlyUltimately
allowingthestoryoftheHolocausttoreachtheheartsofviewers.
Inregardstomyendgoalofdocumentingmygrandfathersstory,documentary
filmmakingstayedasmymethod,becausenoothermediumcandoallthethingsfilmcannot
literature,theatre,visualart,orothertechnologies.
Inhopestoreassuremyselfinmydecisiontochoosedocumentaryfilmmakingasmy
mainmethodofcapturingmygrandfathersstory,Iissuedasurveytofindoutwhatthepublic
thought.Inall,Iwasnotsurprisedtoseeagravitationtowardfilmexamplebeing,whenasked
ifgiventheoption,wouldyouratherwatchastorytoldonfilm,orreadaversionofthatstory?
80.6saidthattheypreferedtowatchthestoryonfilm,ratherthanreadaboutit.Ananonymous
contributorexplainedhis/herdecisionofchoosingfilmbysaying,
Seeing actual footage of something makes it seem more real and more present
instead of just seeming like a hazy, distant concept. It is also generally more
efficient to watch a film about something than to read about it, and it's usually

easier to follow the plotline of a film and remember details when you can see
them in front of you. These images then tend to stick more vividlyinyourmind.
Often you can't truly capture something in words, especially when trying to
describe something of a massive scale (i.e. a mass killing, the effectsofanatural
disaster, etc), when it is often too difficult to imagine and picture something of
such a great magnitude. A pictureisworthathousandwords,sowhenyouhavea
moving picture, with voices narrating/contributing as well, it makes more of an
impact and captures more in a condensed timeframe. People are also generally
more inclined to watch a movie than read a book, just because it requires less
effortandislessintimidating.

Thisresponsekeyedmeintoanewvalidationforfilmhoweasyitistofollowandunderstand.
Today,theworldisaveryvisualplace,withcomputers,phones,andothertechnologiesatits
fingertips24/7.Toappealtolargeraudiences,filmisthemostimmediatewaytoreachpeople
withourstories.Newtechnologies,likefilm,werenotonlycreatedforartisticexpression,butas
aformofimprovementfromwhattheworldalreadyhad(literature).MargaretMeadsaid,
Departmentafterdepartmentandresearchprojectafterresearchprojectfailtoincludefilming
andinsistoncontinuingthehopelesslyinadequatenotetakingofanearlierage,whilethe
behaviorthatfilmcouldhavecaughtandpreservedforcenturies(preservedforthejoyofthe
descendantsofthosewhodancearitualforthelasttimeandfortheilluminationoffuture
generationsofhumanscientists)disappears(45,
PrinciplesofVisualAnthropology
).Forthese
reasons,itbecameexponentiallyclearthatdocumentaryfilmingwasthebestwaytocapture
reality.
Theprocessofcapturingrealityonfilm,wasalotmoredifficultthananticipated.From
settingupthetechnology,totheeditingprocess,documentingrealityonfilm,Irealized,was
muchmoreinvolvedthananyothermedium.Sowasallthatworkworthit?MargaretMeadsays
that,Ittakesmorespecializedskillandgifttophotographandmakefilmsthanitdoestoset
ataperecordergoingortakewrittennotes.Butonedoesnotdemandthatalinguist,carefully

taperecordinginthefield,beabletoconstructasymphonyoutofhismaterialswhenhereturns.
Samplesoffilmedbehaviorcanbemade,justasadequatelyascantapedtext(5,
Principlesof
VisualAnthropology
).Meadexplainsthatbothfields,filmandliterature,arevalidmeansto
documentreality,butindirectlyexpressesthatfilmisthegreatermediumthesymphonyof
materialsisapositivefactor,afactorthatmakesthetellingofastory,harmonioustoitsreality.
DavidMacDougalladdstotheconversationthat,
At first glance, film seems to offer an escape from the inadequacies of human
perception and a factual checkonthecapriciousnessofhumaninterpretation.The
precision of the photographic image leads to an uncritical faith in the camera's
power to capture, not the images of events, but the events themselves...The film
image impresses us with its completeness, partly because of its preciserendering
of detail, but even more because it represents a continuum of reality which
extends beyond the edges of the frame andwhichtherefore,paradoxically,seems
not to be excluded.Afewimagescreateaworld.Weignoretheimagesthatcould
have been, but weren't. In most cases we have no conception of what they might
be(123,
PrinciplesofVisualAnthropology
).

MacDougallsideathatseeingisbelievingjustifiesmynotionthatfilmisthebestwaytoreach
peoplewithourstories,however,whatifthefilmsrealism,isincorrectinregardstothehistory
oftheeventathand?Wouldthatmeanthatfilmisactuallyahindrancetotellingourstories?
MargaretMeadpointsoutthatitisspecificallyfeaturefilms,thattrytolookbeautiful,rather
thantellthestorytruthfully,thataretheissue,notdocumentaryfilmmaking.Meadsays,
Whenfilmingisdoneonlytoproduceacurrentlyfashionablefilm,welackthe
longsequencesfromonepointofviewthataloneprovideuswiththeunedited
stretchesofinstrumentalobservationonwhichscientificworkmustbebased...As
anthropologistswemustinsistonprosaic,controlled,systematicfilmingand
videotaping,whichwillprovideuswithmaterialthatcanberepeatedly
reanalyzedwithfinertoolsanddevelopingtheories.Manyofthesituationswith
whichwedeal,situationsprovidedbythousandsofyearsofhumanhistory,can
neverbereplicatedinlaboratorysettings.Butwithproperlycollected,annotated,
andpreservedvisualandsoundmaterials,wecanreplicateoverandoveragain
andcanpainstakinglyanalyzethesamematerials.Asfinerinstrumentshave
taughtusmoreaboutcosmos,sofinerrecordingofthesepreciousmaterialscan

illuminateourgrowingknowledgeandappreciationofmankind(10,
Principlesof
VisualAnthropology
).

Theillusionofwhatwegetinfictionalorfeaturedfilmistheillusionofthetruth.Thedistinction
isimperativewhenreachingpeoplewithourstories,but
weoughttoknowthatfictionfilmis
bydefinitionmuchlessillusoryandmuchlessdeceitfulthansocalleddocumentarycinema,
becausebothdirectorandspectatorknowthatitsfiction,whichistosaythatitstruthis
conveyedthroughtheimagination.Ontheotherhand,documentarycinemahidesitsfictionand
itsimaginingsbehindthefacadeofreality(EdgarMorin,
CapturingReality
).

Conclusion:
I'velearnedallthisandnowI'vedoneitnowwhatdoesitmeantome?

myownpersonalgrowth

endwithpersonalnarrative