But Im reconsidering, after seeing the good sense of Errol Morris paying his subjects inStandard Operating Procedure. He wanted us to interview someone else as a precondition [for using his own interview], Nelson said. In one case, a filmmaker lacked exciting enough pictures of a particular animal from a shoot, and the executive producer substituted animals from another country. The ongoing effort to strike a balance, and the negotiated nature of the relationship, was registered by Gordon Quinn: We say to our subjects, We are not journalists; we are going to spend years with you. It may be a necessary sacrifice if the media is going to continue not to investigate things like Indonesia.. They didnt demand it, but they were right. A substantial minority of filmmakers argued that they would never allow a subject to see the film until it was finished. We felt it was better not to use that scene. But ultimately it has to be our decision. In some cases I will say, If there is something that you cant live with then well discuss it, we will have the argument and real dialogue. Vietnam veteran and biker Ron " Stray Dog " Hall is the subject of "Winter's Bone" director Debra Granik's documentary debut "Stray Dog," which follows Hall's bike club on a . In most cases, documentarians believed strongly in making informal commitments and employing situational ethics determined on a case-by-case basis. [Our subject] had one for radio; we used the audio and made a commercial [to go with the audio]. In both these cases, the choices not to honor the subjects requests reflected the fact that the subjectsboth experts, not less-powerful subjectsattempted to exert control over the films outcome that differed from that of the filmmakers. Filmmakers repeatedly referenced problems with using historical materials, which document specific people, places, and times, as generic references or in service to a particular and perhaps unrelated point. I regret it. Then, its got our companys name on it. inaccurately, for mood or tone, . what would be the next number in the following series? I changed it . to figure out which of those statements could put the character at risk. The filmmaker removed an incriminating line, while keeping the general information and preserving the filmmakers interests as a creator. All interviewees were provided with a consent form that had been approved by the American University Institutional Review Board, and all were offered anonymity. In a certain sense there is something deceptive about that. To me the difference is that journalism offers us a window into new information and ideally tries to put it into context so it can be useful somehow. Gordon Quinn recalled, I made a film in the 70s about an 11-year -old girl growing up. Despite its detours, this doc about the alleged 1948 massacre of a Palestinian village clicks into a sobering portrait of collective memory. Documentary films are becoming more popular but are they fact or fiction? Click hereto view or download a PDF of this report. . Occasionally filmmakers even shared film profits with the subjects, although not as a contractual matter from the start. That lack of balance and fairness is precisely the worry for some journalists and media analysts. While tragic, the events of Silence arent something Americans are likely to read about in the news. I had to do it. While some said that they would never lie to a subject about what they were doing in the film, many believed that the decision needed to be taken on a case-by-case basis, considering the goal of the film and the relationship with the viewer. If the tables were turned, God forbid, said Joe Berlinger, I would never allow them to make a film about my tragedy. They constantly face resource constraints and often are trying to behave conscientiously within a ruthlessly bottom-line business environment. an. A good film often has many lives, and one of the lives is in educational institutions, within schools and libraries. But did I? One director recalled, I knew personal information about one of the [subjects] that I thought would make the film richer, but she was confiding to me in person, not as a filmmaker . legally I could have put it in [without the familys approval], but hey, I want to sleep at night. 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. I was making a film about someone who was not loved . . The terms of these releases are usually dictated by insurers, whose insurance is required for most television airing and theatrical distribution. The filmmaker decided to exclude this information from the film. Director nixed Jeffrey Epstein project due to 'distasteful' subject matter. Shes a real person and you cant imply something about her that never happened. , However, filmmakers balanced this concern with the need to resell their footage to make a living and considered appropriate decision making part of maintaining their professional reputations. As documentary production becomes more generalized, and as public affairs become ever more participatory, the question of what ethical norms exist and can be shared is increasingly important. 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. if the regular price of the hats is 25$, how many hats could be bought at the sale price it a shopper spent 105? To a certain extent, SeaWorld is right, Dixon said, though he liked the film. A.253m2B.25m2C.103m2D.53m2\begin{array} { l } {A. 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. This protective attitude was dropped when filmmakers found an act ethically repugnant, often seeing their job as exposing malfeasance. But that doesnt mean that I dont bend the truth. March of the Penguins (2005) Dir. Filmmakers also face pressure to inflate drama or character conflict and to create drama where no natural drama exists. Most of those makers had experience both with nonprofit outlets, such as public TV, and with cable or commercial network television. quizz Flashcards | Quizlet It was awkward for them but I did not want to set a precedent.. Documentary films have risen significantly in popularity since the turn of the century, increasing from less than 5 percent of all movie releases to 18 percent as of 2012, according to the media analysis nonprofit group the Harmony Institute. They were much happier, I was much happier, and the film was better because of it.. Professor of Law, American University Washington College of Law. Any documentary code of ethics that has credibility for a field with a wide range of practices must develop from a shared understanding of values, standards, and practices. Then she was OK.. Tilikum, the orca whale that killed several people while in captivity in SeaWorld. It depends on the project.. The ethical tensions in the second focused on ways to maintain a viewers faith in the accuracy and integrity of the work. Anonymity permitted filmmakers to speak freely about situations that may have put them or their companies under uncomfortable scrutiny. if the regular price od the book is $25, how many books could be bought at the sale price if a shopper spent $105? office printer uses an average of 33.5 pages every hour if the printer is only used while the office is open, and the office is open for 50 hours each week, how many pages will the printer need over the course of 8 weeks. . An independent filmmaker said that his financially strapped subjects could see that we had money to make the movie, and we were making money ourselves off their tragedy, at a time when they could not work because of dealing with [a difficult situation]. In this regard, many found institutional rules against payment to be arbitrary and even counterproductive. Symbolic tribunals?. if it sells 200 more lamps in the next month how many lamps does it sell in august. Filmmakers identified challenges in two kinds of relationships that raised ethical questions: with subjects and with viewers. 'Free Chol Soo Lee' Review: An Involving Doc on a - Variety That makes me uncomfortable; it puts them at risk.. With profound sadness, Adi Rukun watches footage of interviews conducted by Joshua Oppenheimer with perpetrators of the 1965-66 Indonesian genocide in Drafthouse Films and Participant Medias The Look of Silence. Courtesy of Drafthouse Films and Participant Media. Originating in the 1960s alongside advances in portable film equipment, the Cinma Vrit -style is much less pointed than the expository approach. These interviews demonstrate, indeed, a need for a more public and focused conversation about ethics before any standards emerging from shared experience and values can be articulated. how many different combinations size design and frame possible, an investor buys stock in a company and in the twelve months after she invests the value of the stock decreases by 30%. 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. . First and foremost the kids education is at stake. Luc Jacquet 3. We are spending $500 on a dinner for 5 people. He chose to do this because the subjects had asked for money, and he felt that by then his access was not predicated on the payment, and that this was an important gesture to make. Another filmmaker found subjects, who were immigrants, asking to borrow money, which she refused to do because she feared it would jeopardize her working relationship with them:You cross the line, are you the filmmaker or their best friend in America? How To Become A Subject Matter Expert - eLearning Industry Documentary films are becoming more popular - Deseret News When the filmmaker showed a scene of a handcuffed minor in juvenile halla crucial and pivotal sceneto the family, in spite of having releases, the mother objected. 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. 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. Documentary vs. Biopic: Which Film Genre Is Better? - Collider In 2021 yet. He is still in contact with his characters, but he admitted they felt betrayed by [him] in some way. They had expected the filmmaker to protect them by not including comments they made and remembered making. Especially on a historical documentary, I keep to the facts. 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. Every organization has its own host of subject matter experts. Is the filmmaker the center of this film? The differing styles of documentary and injection of cinematic elements that arguably make them more interesting has made it harder to define documentary and its goals even among professionals, no two definitions of a documentary are quite the same. Following were situations that called forth filmmaker concern about ethical relationships with the audience. In journalistic practice, payment is usually forbidden for fear of tainting the information garnered. Filmmakers grounded this permission in two arguments: they wanted to demonstrate a trust relationship with the subject, and they wanted to make a film that was responsible to the subjects perspectives. 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. . The difference is, if Im making a fictional film, Superman can fly. He justified it by the result: Ultimately there is a story to be told, you may have to make these compromises. One featured his typical bodyguards, in street clothes. One diagnostic was whether the filmmaker found the subject ethically lacking, for instance, because of politically or economically corrupt acts. a store has a sale where all hats are sold at a discount of 40%. This distinction accords with filmmakers sensitivity to the power differential in the relationship. Even producers working for large outlets, such as Discovery, National Geographic, and PBS, are typically independent contractors. The standards and practices share some common themes, as analyzed by project advisor Jon Else. Making a Murderer is exploitation entertainment, Dixon said. Then Id be suspicious, Dixon said, adding that dramatic re-enactments, too, can be manipulative. we operate under a do-no-harm policy.. Filmmakers thus find themselves without community norms or standards. His promotion of the term has been criticized, by scholar Brian Winston, among others, for allowing ethical choices to go unexamined. In relation to subjects, they often did not feel obliged to protect subjects who they believed had themselves done harm or who had independent access to media, such as celebrities or corporate executives with their own public relations arms. They had fewer qualms about lying to public officials or to representatives of institutions than about lying to subjects. By Justin Sayles Jul 9, 2021, 6:30am EDT. One filmmaker sometimes paid because it was the easiest way to get the work done. I usually say no, its a conflict of interest, but sometimes you really want someone to do the interview. Another thought it was more a matter of cultural norms. The Subject Matter Expert: A Definition and How To Become One if the cost per dozen eggs rises to $1.80, how much more will the restaurant have to pay for eggs per week, based on the ______________ behavior and _________________ toward service staff exhibited by the job applicant before his interview, the hiring manager decided not to move forward with his application. "Primary" was one of the first documentaries to espouse cinema verite documentary style, which allows filmmakers creative flexibility in telling a story, such as the use of voiceover, perhaps telling a story out of chronological order or allowing the filmmaker to become a part of the movie by telling the story through their eyes. Some filmmakers were adamant that only precisely accurate images should be used. 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. That critique has popped up a lot recently Netflixs miniseries Making and Murderer was criticized for omitting some facts of the case it examined, HBOs The Jinx was similarly judged for not going to police immediately when they found they had a taped confession of the killer, and the true crime podcast Serial has been scrutinized for being too one-sided. That, Oppenheimer said, may be one of the reasons why films like his are becoming a larger part of the American movie business: At a time when the news industry is struggling financially and the focus is often on shorter articles, nonfiction and documentary films offer audiences the depth and detail they crave. Saying this blurry figure is not our guy would ruin the scene, said Peter Miller. SMEs are especially in high demand in workplaces requiring a technical approach to operations and culture. Despite the can't-miss subject matter, "Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal" makes a near-fatal misstep, heavily using dramatic recreations in a way that leaves this Netflix . what is the average number of book sold per month during the five month period, which of the following is the largest value. I feel like I approached the subject differently. . Documentary filmmakers identified themselves as creative artists for whom ethical behavior is at the core of their projects. 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. Stanley Nelson said, People have to know and feel its a recreation. One filmmaker said I might hire a scholar for a day to consult with me on a script, so why cant I pay a musician whos made little money and felt exploited by white people their whole life? As one said, I dont want to make films where people feel like they are being trashed . . All Rights Reserved. . Maybe you cant. Documentary clients have included Sonia, Power Trip, Afghan Women, Trembling Before G*D and Blacks & Jews. Its your reputation. if Rauls sister is 25 years old how old is Rauls brothers, a store selling posters featuring Yosemite national park carries posters in three different sizes, with twelve different designs, and each poster is available in four different frames. In the edit room . Furthermore, producers, who were held responsible for the standards, are typically forbidden to offer subjects the right of review or to restage events; they are required to ensure that image and sound properly represent reality, and that music and special effects are used sparingly. how many hours will it take to produce 3000 cars? I want you to sign the release, but we will really listen to you. . What to watch on Netflix: The best documentaries (May 2021) - The A.V. Club smallest value. And it wasnt, so we had to take it out. 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. a company hires 14 new employees onto sales team A and 14 new employees onto sales Team B. within one year 2 of the new team A employees and 6 of the new team B employees have quit. . The question of whether to pay subjects was of great concern to filmmakers. Their common reasoning was that doing so in any one case would set a precedent, delegitimize the film, and jeopardize the independent vision of the film. When documentary filmmakers do have to make their own ethical decisions, how do they reason? . In one case, a subject who had signed a release asked Stanley Nelson not to use an interview. Filmmakers also asserted a primary relationship to viewers, which they phrased as a professional one: an ethical obligation to deliver accurate and honestly told stories. Video sweetening, or adding in layers of sound, did not concern documentarians in generalif it was incidental. what would be the next number in the following series My test for these things is, Does the audience know what its getting? . within last week 6 students have dropped out of the basketball team and 2 students have dropped out of the debate tryouts. Many filmmakers believed that payment was not only acceptable but a reasonable way to address the power differential, even though payment often sufficed only to cover costs of participation. Their comments can be grouped into three conflicting sets of responsibilities: to their subjects, their viewers, and their own artistic vision and production exigencies. . The ethical conflicts they face loom large precisely because nonfiction filmmakers believe that they carry large responsibilities. That kind of authenticity shook the tree of trust.. Ultimately Im not of that position. In general, documentary filmmakers tended to volunteer few comments about audio elements. 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 . Because investigative journalism has been cut in American media, nonfiction filmmakers easily take on the duty of going out and pursuing deep investigations, Oppenheimer said. Finally, some filmmakers believed that deceit was appropriate in the service of their work with vulnerable subjects and their stories and with powerful subjects who might put up obstacles. News, and Im talking about TV news mostly, doesnt attempt to give people context anymore. How can you tell whats true? What is the exact area of an equilateral triangle with sides of length 10 m? Some of these outlets may ask filmmakers to observe standards and practices, and/or ethics codes derived from print journalism and broadcast news and developed in conjunction with journalism programs in higher education. It is a powerful moment in the film but I felt bad to push him to that point when he broke down., This perception of the nature of the relationshipa sympathetic one in which a joint responsibility to tell the subjects story is undertaken, with the filmmaker in chargedemonstrates a major difference between the work of documentary filmmakers and news reporters. We want to have a human relationship with our subjects, said Gordon Quinn, but there are boundaries that should not be crossed. Ringer illustration. We said, We cant let this happen. We stopped filming and stopped this from happening. One filmmaker who made a documentary about a company that employed illegal immigrants simply left that fact out of the film and did not report it, either: We didnt call the policewe felt like that would be a breach of trust. Another filmmakers subject told a story about trying to bring her son across the border illegally. Filmmakers need to share both experience and vocabulary and to be able to question their own and others decision-making processes without encountering prohibitive risk. I insisted that they show me the cut and when I saw that they were implying that the girl had had an abortion, I said, You have to change that. if both individuals start working at the same time and each spends 70 hours completing inspections over the course of a month, how many total inspections will they have completed? The trouble is, most viewers dont know the difference. That more cinematic approach to documentary filmmaking is new, said Stacey Woelfel, the director of the University of Missouri's Center for Documentary Journalism, but it's present in many modern documentaries like "The Jinx," "Blackfish" and others. . What is the difference? A cable TV producer argued that the ethical thing to do would be to pay subjects. if both individuals start working at the same time, and each works 56 hours completing tooth canals over the course of one month, how many tooth canals will they have completed, taking issue with media reports, the president_____ that she had no plans to step down and ____________ claims that her office was guilty of corruption.