The larger truth is that this conversation is going to happen in this city, at some point, and so it doesnt matter that it doesnt happen at this moment. That was really helpful to me. Jon Else said: For years I never paid anyone for an interview. This study explores those questions. Thats an advocacy piece where people come on camera and say, This is terrible and the other side doesnt want to comment because it will demolish them, Dixon said. Everyone raised their hands. In thinking about their subjects, filmmakers typically described a relationship in which the filmmaker had more social and sometimes economic power than the subject. This protective attitude was dropped when filmmakers found an act ethically repugnant, often seeing their job as exposing malfeasance. She pushed for inclusion. Cross and Breyer contend that as journalism appeals to niche audiences, truth itself has become a more slippery and relative concept than it once was making the nuanced, emotional approach of documentaries more appealing. What I think makes a documentary is attempting to tell a story in a way that helps, but it doesnt always adhere to the rules of journalism, Cross said. The whale is the subject of the 2013 documentary Blackfish., Director Gabriele Cowperthwaite, right, watches as footage is filmed for her 2013 documentary Blackfish.. the DP [director of photography] was sitting there, saying No, Im sure you wouldnt want to do it, but nodding his head yes. In general, documentary filmmakers tended to volunteer few comments about audio elements. . subject matter. It was awkward for them but I did not want to set a precedent.. I wasnt comfortable with it but I did it. Experts say there are some easy ways to become more media literate to help audiences siphon fact and fiction in documentaries and journalism. Only one respondent, Jennifer Fox, said that she offered fine cut approval in a legal document, with the caveat that the subjects couldnt object to the film because they didnt like the way they looked but could object to things on the grounds of hurting their family. . How can you tell whats true? Accompanying the represented sub-ject matter is the film's attitude toward its . Most of those makers had experience both with nonprofit outlets, such as public TV, and with cable or commercial network television. Up until 1960, with (director Robert Drews) Primary and the work of some others, documentaries were just lectures on film. a bookstore has a sale where all hardcore books are sold at a discount of 40%. a group of numbers has an average of 18. the first three numbers are 12, 24, 16. what is the other number, an investor purchases cryptocurrency for $1000 unit. The ethical tensions in the second focused on ways to maintain a viewers faith in the accuracy and integrity of the work. Perhaps because the terms of these releases were not their own, filmmakers often provided more leeway to their subjects than the strict terms provided in them. In one of the most intense moments of director Joshua Oppenheimers acclaimed film, The Look of Silence, viewers are treated to an unflinching, discomfiting shot that gives the film its title: A former militiaman and mass murderer, now elderly, stares into the camera, his eyes eerily magnified by optometrists testing lenses as he searches, with the audience, for an answer to his horrendous crimes, the silence as penetrating as his gaze. Woelfel said changes in journalism in the last 20 years have paved the way for audiences to crave the detail of documentaries. Filmmakers observed these principles with widely shared limitations. We have the money. The process of film editingcollapsing actual time into screen time while shaping a film storyinvolves choices that filmmakers often consider in ethical terms. March of the Penguins March of the Penguins Official Trailer #1 - (2005) HD Watch on Not only was March of the Penguins a legitimate cultural. . This second relationship became primary in the postfilming part of the production process. You have to be 99.9 percent sure that people will know. Some filmmakers also stage events to occur at a time convenient to the filming. It shocks us with that quaking moment of recognition, Oppenheimer said. the cryptocurrency appreciates 200% in the first year and 150% in the next. For instance, filmmakers also regularly used re-creations (re-staging of events that have already occurred, whether in the recent or distant past), although they widely believed that it was important that audiences be made aware somehow that the footage is recreated. Is the filmmaker the center of this film? Thats irrefutable evidence of the injustice thats going on and it wasnt the mainstream media that provided it, although it used it, Breyer said. In both cases, militating against what filmmakers might prefer personally to do was the obligation to complete a compelling and honest documentary story within budget. Julie Ha and Eugene Yi's involving documentary covers a U.S. wrongful conviction case that ultimately helped improve cultural and judicial sensitivities. At the same time, documentary television production was accelerating to fill the need for quality programming in ever-expanding screen time, generating popular, formula-driven programs. Another recalled a prolonged negotiation. a dentist can complete a tooth canal in 1.4 hours. A funny thing happened over the past decade in the short subject documentary space: It became competitive. I want to always be able to send the DVD to them. Another explained, You owe them always having in your mind the power you have as a filmmaker, presenting them to millions of people. The terms of these releases are usually dictated by insurers, whose insurance is required for most television airing and theatrical distribution. . . what percentage of the remaining students are trying out of the basketball team, raul is half the age of his brother and 60% younger than his sister. But did I? an. We consume news in very small bites now like on Twitter, but we naturally tend to want to be able to sink our teeth into something, whether 8,000-word magazine piece or big documentary, Woelfel said. . you decide what your film is going to be, you have to put your traditional issues of friendship aside. The interview was important for the film, Nelson said, and he believed the request was motivated by desire to control the film. This baseline research is necessary to begin any inquiry into ethical standards because the field has not yet articulated ethical standards specific to documentary. Those are pretty boring, Woelfel said. This is an area that we havent really worked out, where a big conversation needs to happen. Documentary clients have included Sonia, Power Trip, Afghan Women, Trembling Before G*D and Blacks & Jews. "But we dont know what a balanced media diet looks like.. Its one of those areas where our responsibility to our audience and our responsibility to our subjects can be at odds. Or would they think its fair? one filmmaker told us. It has no ethics. One diagnostic was whether the filmmaker found the subject ethically lacking, for instance, because of politically or economically corrupt acts. They portray themselves as storytellers who tell important truths in a world where the truths they want to tell are often ignored or hidden. Filmmakers need to develop a more broadly shared understanding of the nature of their problems and to evolve a common understanding of fair ways to balance their various obligations. It spoke to the possibilities as well. While Silence and its companion film, The Act of Killing, are both generally categorized as documentary films (Silence was nominated for an Academy Award in that category earlier this year), Oppenheimer dismisses that label, preferring the term nonfiction film" because he recognizes the cinematic elements of his films that have helped popularize the genre like re-enactments. . They believe that they come into a situation where their subjects, whether people or animals, are relatively powerless and theyas media makershold some power. Its too misleading to the audience. They also respected broadcasters fact-checking departments, and some found that people in those departments were willing to push back against network pressures to fudge facts or artificially enhance drama. We want to have a human relationship with our subjects, said Gordon Quinn, but there are boundaries that should not be crossed. The filmmaker decided to exclude this information from the film. For todays documentary filmmakers, it appears to grace a set of choices about narrative and purpose in the documentary. The problem is, its not hard to convince people something is truthful. The population spanned three generations. My test for these things is, Does the audience know what its getting? . . Some filmmakers, however, did give subjects the right to decide whether or not their material should be included in the film. Center for Media & Social ImpactSchool of Communication,American University4400 Massachusetts Ave NW in one month a farmer produces 1200 pounds of potatoes in the following mont the amount of potatoes it produces increases by 15 over the previous month how many potatoes does it produce in the second month? Oppenheimers film (currently streaming on Netflix and airing on PBS June 27) examines the fallout from a world that wasnt paying attention in the mid-1960s when thousands of people were killed in the Indonesian genocide many of the perpetrators and unapologetic murderers remain significant community members and political leaders in Indonesia today. the documentary became popular due to its subject matter, it dealt with sensitive topic but _____ the information in a palatable way surmised a bookstore has a sale where all hardcore books are sold at a discount of 40%. Its not increasing anyones knowledge. Budgets demand efficiencies that may be ethically troubling. I regret it. Professor of Law, American University Washington College of Law. an=(4.5,2,0.5,3,5.5,)?a_n=(4.5,2,-0.5,-3,-5.5,\ldots)? Wanda Bershen is a consultant on fundraising, festivals and distribution. Most kept filming and postponed the decision of whether or not to use the footage. A substantial minority of filmmakers argued that they would never allow a subject to see the film until it was finished. You have to open your eyes and trust yourself. As an authority in a particular area or topic, they are uniquely qualified to provide guidance and strategy. you have to be truthful. Louis Massiah reiterated this. Filmmakers identified challenges in two kinds of relationships that raised ethical questions: with subjects and with viewers. I have to be careful not to abuse the friendship with the subject, but its a rapport that is somewhat false, said one. Of course, doing your homework and keeping up with current eLearning trends is a must. If journalism is like a window, art is like a mirror to confront our deepest mysteries.. So to use archival footage . By not including a perspective sympathetic or understanding of SeaWorld's position even perhaps their attorneys, who could explain their side of legal cases included in the movie the film stops trying to tell the entire story. One filmmaker said that she tries to be as authentic as possible, down to the year and the place. They were fully aware that their choices of angles, shots, and characters were personal and subjective (a POV, or point of view, was repeatedly referenced as a desirable feature of a documentary), and justified their decisions by reference to the concept the truth. This concept was unanchored by validity tests, definitions, or norms. Controversies emerged about several documentaries. Are there music cues? Its part of our work and our interpretation, said one. At our school, we define it as the luxury of time to research and present subject matter in an in-depth fashion with the rigors of journalism involved, Woelfel said. Treatment of archival materials (especially still and motion photographic materials) was widely recognized as a site of ethical challenges, but there was a wide range of responses. Subject matter experts, also called SMEs, are professionals who have advanced knowledge in a specific field. They believe that their viewers are dependent on their ethical choices. In 2021 yet. Following were situations that called forth filmmaker concern about ethical relationships with the audience. In one extreme case, for instance, the filmmaker did not protect a subject who implied that he had committed a murder. the more fundamental questions are related to matters of life and death. AfterHoop Dreamsbecame wildly successful, noted Gordon Quinn, Kartemquin Films shared profits (based on screen time) with everyone who had a speaking role in the film. The second time, he was crying, I was crying, we were all crying. Filmmakers expected to shift allegiances from subject to viewer in the course of the film, in order to complete the project. By the late 1990s, U.S. documentary filmmakers had become widely respected media makers, recognized as independent voices at a time of falling public confidence in mainstream media and in the integrity of the political process. Another filmmaker said that while she would not show subjects the current work, she would show previous films she had made, as a way of gaining their trust. You use [the photo] with the knowledge that ultimately its not important if its your guy or not, whats important is the story. Another recalled: [One subject] talks about his childhood, his family all died . By Justin Sayles Jul 9, 2021, 6:30am EDT. Gallup reports that just 40 percent of Americans trust media outlets to report the news fully, accurately and fairly. Amid dwindling trust in the press, documentaries with strong, emotional points of view can feel more authentic by comparison. For example, any kind of romantic relationship would be unacceptable. The Economist reports that documentaries now make up 16 percent of the Cannes Film Festival slate, compared to about 8 percent in 2008. . However, when filmmakers did not empathize with, understand, or agree with the subjects concern, or when they believed the subject had more social power than they did, they overrode it. It has no ethical or redemptive value . They eschew conflict of interest. If youre a filmmaker you try to create a POV, you bend and shape the story to your agenda . In Egypt, I had a fixer who paid everyone as we went, thats the way they do things there. Julie Ha and Eugene Yi's involving documentary covers a U.S. wrongful conviction case that ultimately helped improve cultural and judicial sensitivities. A documentary is something that intends to be truthful, said Richard Breyer, Syracuse University director of documentary film and history. It summarizes the results of 45 long-form interviews in which filmmakers were asked simply to describe recent ethical challenges that surfaced in their work. Here this guy worked for five days and they get no glory, they go back to their regular jobs. The producer noted that the filmmakers work for a for-profit venture, and were making our money based on these peoples stories . If there's a lawyer on your company's payroll, they're the subject matter expert for anything legal. Jon Else noted that he once changed a shot that appeared on a TV set inSing Fasterbecause it involved a Major League Baseball game, and he had determined that he could not license the footage. They take you to places that you will never see in the so-called mainstream media. But they can also be manipulated.. And you want to be honorable. I was making a film about someone who was not loved . Some filmmakers, however, were comfortable using stuff that evokes the feel of the spot or the person or the subject matter. They believed it was acceptable when it helped the story flow without causing misunderstandings, and they did not believe in disclosure. Even producers working for large outlets, such as Discovery, National Geographic, and PBS, are typically independent contractors. Concerns about documentary ethics are not new, but they have intensified over the past several years in response to changes in the industry. In London, people expect fees for interviews, etc., anytime you take up someones time. For example, the main subject of "Silence" an optometrist, Adi Rukun, who was born after his older brother was murdered openly confronts his brother's likely (but unconfirmed) killers in front of the camera as a sort of impromptu and very damning confessional. Saying this blurry figure is not our guy would ruin the scene, said Peter Miller. One featured his typical bodyguards, in street clothes. In the case of viewers, they believed that they were obligated to provide a generally truthful narrative or story, even if some of the means of doing that involved misrepresentation, manipulation, or elision. It did not compromise an ultimate truth.. But those kinds of distortions are often necessary to tell the story or to compress ideas that would otherwise take too long. Anonymity permitted filmmakers to speak freely about situations that may have put them or their companies under uncomfortable scrutiny. A good film often has many lives, and one of the lives is in educational institutions, within schools and libraries. The ethical tensions in the first relationship focused on how to maintain a humane working relationship with someone whose story they were telling. Many documentary filmmakers work with people whom they have chosen and typically see themselves as stewards of the subjects stories. Filmmakers surveyed contrasted notions of a higher truth with concern for factual accuracy of discrete data, which they also valued but often regarded as a lower-level standard to meet. Someone else will be culling footage from your film. Should films such asGhosts of Abu GhraibandStandard Operating Procedurefeature images that further embarrass and humiliate their subjects? . [Our broadcaster] asked if it was real. Documentary filmmakers identified themselves as creative artists for whom ethical behavior is at the core of their projects. They nonetheless subscribed to shared, but unarticulated, general principles. This filmmaker decided to take the story out altogether: the harm that we could potentially do overwhelmed our [broadcasting rights] . Filmmakers often felt that subjects had a right to change their minds (although the filmmakers found this deeply unpleasant) or to see the material involving them or even the whole film in advance of public screenings. To achieve those goals, standards uphold accuracy, fairness, and obeying of law, including privacy law. These developments often troubled documentarians: [Facts] are not verified . It made the film better. Especially on a historical documentary, I keep to the facts. . Shyamalan made Split as an indirect sequel to Unbreakable . Entire Agreement. How much do their own reasoning processes correlate with existing journalism codes? Are they works of art? . For all their aesthetic beauty, both The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence occupy an unsure place on the continuum of cultural forms. One filmmakers client hired her to make an educational documentary for middle school kids and to leave out the fact that Americans dropped the first atomic bomb. Unlike journalism, documentary filmmaking has largely been an individual, freelance effort. time of the drinks were $1 each and the rest $3 each. an=(4.5,2,0.5,3,5.5,)? However, even filmmakers who work with television organizations with standards and practices may not benefit from them because the programs are executed through the entertainment divisions.