Documentary News Letter (1947-1949)

DOCUMENTARY FILM NEWS 59 Film Class ifica t ion by James Harris non-fictional films have been classified often enough according to the purpose for which they are known or presumed to have been made. On this system, if three headings are chosen, they are apt to be Specialized, Non-Theatrical, Classroom, and Public Exhibition. Another line of classification which can be useful is according to the outlook with which the film is presented, whether it is serious or humorous, intelligent or ill-informed, pedantic or moronic and so forth, the number of possible grades being almost unlimited. There is however another method of division which is simple, fundamental, and of great use in telling a reader what sort of film a particular film is, which reviewers seem to neglect almost entirely; and that is classification according to the waj in which the film has been made. Classified this way the films in our field seem to be of only three species, of which any individual films are either pure examples or simple hybrids, and this because there are only three fundamental ways in which non-fictional films get assembled. Let us consider these types in order, calling them the Cameraman's Film, the Narrator's Film and the Director's Film. The Cameraman's Film The simplest way in which films are made is that a cameraman is sent out to 'get a good cover' of the subject under consideration, the film he brings back is cut into whatever shape it seems most capable of taking by an editor, someone fits the result with a commentary and the job is done. Newsreels are made this way, and films of expeditions and events whose outcome cannot be safely enough predicted for the writing of scripts beforehand. The method of making sets a stamp or style upon the resulting film which is unmistakable. The Narrator's Film The pure-bred Narrator's Film is made by writing a commentary or narration, and then shooting or finding in the film library shots that will illustrate what is being said. Its arch-type is perhaps not a film at all but a lantern-lecture, though the species does contain extremely successful examples. The River was a Narrator's Film, and March of Time and its imitators tend to have quite as strong a dose of Narrator as of Cameraman. The Director's Film The Director's Film is that which is sometimes referred to in Production circles as a 'Properly Scripted Job'. It is the film which has been conceived as a whole, considering sound and picture simultaneously, and then photographed and put together in accordance with the original conception. It is characterized not merely by thorough integration of sound and picture, but in addition by the use of scenes which the newsreel cameraman is unable to get because they do not exist in nature; in other words, by an approach to Studio technique. This being the most advanced form of Documentary is, naturally enough, the form in which Documentary verges upon something else. Feature Film. Fitness of the Species Amongst film technicians the tendency is strong to regard only the Director's Film as a respectable type of production, while the Cameraman's and Narrator's Films are thought of as inferior. As far as the consumer is concerned, the three types are of equal value if they do their jobs equally well, and which type of production should be chosen to expound any particular subject will depend mainly upon the nature of that subject, and also of course, upon the money and talent available. The Cameraman's 1 ilm is the right style for topical events whose authenticity is their main appeal, and whose v sual interest outweighs any interest that could be added by elaborate film construction. For some instructional subjects in which there is little movement, and in general for subjects which are not very well suited to the film medium, the Narrator's Film is likely to be the style which will have the greatest clarity. As for the Directors' Film, that is a more expensive type of production, and becomes necessary whenever the subject is spread over many times and places (as when treating of the history of a song) and when the individual characters of people in the film need to be made plain to the audience. There is only one really bad reason for making a Director's Film, and that is a desire to make a masterpiece. The desire to make a masterpiece has given rise to not a few obscure and complicated films on subjects which might well have been treated with simplicitj and clarity by films of another type. The three-way classification of films according to the way they are made, can be useful to Producers as well as to Reviewers. There are subjects which could be satisfactorily presented by any of the three methods, but in order to discuss which should be used in any particular case, it is essential to have adequate terminology. The three names given above to the three discerned species of Documentary may not be the best that can be thought of, but they are here sincerely offered to all Reviewers in the interests of precision of statement, and also to all those who have occasion to state their views at Production Conferences. CAMERA HIRE SERVICE PHONE : GER. 1365-6-7-8 All Inquiries: NEWMAN SINCLAIR MODELS <A' & E' WITH FULL RANGE OF EQUIPMENT AND TRIPODS ALSO NEWMAN HIGH-SPEED CAMER i S.F.L. 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