“ The culture that is emerging can be channeled, encouraged, even deformed, but it cannot be cut off.”

As more and more online videos are popping up, more and more questions are being drawn about copyright law and fair use. An interesting read about this very same topic, entitled Recut, Reframe, Recycle, attempts to discuss ways to control online piracy as well as identify 9 common kinds of re-appropriation practices.
I’ll attempt to highlight some of the more interesting chunks of info and give a broad overview of the topic.

Essentially, fair use is essentially the ability to use copyrighted work without a license. Currently courts analyze fair use on a case by case basis, but smaller communities are also taking it upon themselves to create a shared understanding of these practices through a community designed code of practice.

Legally to fall within the definition of fair use 4 considerations are taken into account: 1. purpose of use, 2. nature of copyrighted work, 3. amount our portion used, 4. the effect of the value of the work.
Aspects of fair use that have long been acceptable are: 1. Media critique, 2. When copyrighted material is incorporated into a moment being documented for a separate purpose or for 3. Short illustration.

+Note: Although most videos on sites like you tube are not used for profit, of which is the main concern of the Act, sites like you tube is an ad-sponsored site so essential the videos are turning over a revenue to someone in the long run.

In conclusion, fair use should be recognized for those interested in an open society and while clarifications are ultimately still needed it is important to still keep the doctrine as it ultimately is, flexible.

For a more in depth analysis of the other types of purposes (satire and comedy, pos./neg. commentary, pastiche) and the relationship to the fair use doctrine, check out the Center for Social Media pamphlet.

The Most Inspiring (and Cynical) Guest

Browsing through the posts that were written before this one, It's safe to say that John Fiege was the most inspiring guests for many of my peers. Indeed, I found what John talked about to be both fascinating and useful. I'm always trying to think of creative ways in which I can make my documentary skill set work, and John definitely demonstrated that we can be documentarians all the time, even when it comes to work for non-profits or businesses. However, if I had to choose my favorite speaker, I would pick Peter Esmonde, the very cynical industry professional.

Peter told us what we didn't want to hear, that the industry is difficult, that PBS screws over filmmakers time and time again, that companies are interested in exploiting our skills for their own nefarious needs. I didn't mind this, as it's always a good idea to be at least partially grounded in reality. Yet for all his cynicism, you could tell that Peter had a love for documentary, even though he essentially deemed the medium a fraud. His understanding and take on documentary film lead to some very interesting discussions. Particularly, I found it interesting that Peter thought that documentaries are always lying, and that they try to fit into certain blueprints. Indeed, we've had similar discussions in the past, in particular when talking about movies such as American Teen.

What I found most inspiring was Peter's life story, which illustrates the notion that it's never too late to make that first feature film. Peter spent most of his adult life in television and internet/interactive work, in order to make a living and support his family. I often feel that I'll have to follow a similar path, taking a job that's not ideal, in order to make ends meet. I've worried in the past that if I take this route, I'll get distracted from my passion, and never actually end up making a feature documentary. This would be sad, no doubt. However, individuals like Peter help us solidify that idea that one can make a film at any time. Sooner is always better than later, but at least I can ease my mind, telling myself that my chance might come at age 50. 

 

At SXSW, Peter was certainly one of the older first-time filmmakers, but he was just as passionate as anyone half his age. I could also tell that he was having a great time hanging around with his subject, the ever-eccentric Trimpin. If only I can be so lucky some day, I will die a happy man. Until then, I can look towards Mr. Esmonde for inspiration.

strange boys - who needs who more

this is a music video i edited this semester.  it was shot with three different HD cameras at the Alamo Ritz by the production company i intern for, Super!Alright!  this was for a documentary series called Dead Venues Live for delllounge.com.  The idea is to have current Austin bands play music in the locations where popular venues were in the past, regardless of what the location is currently being used for.  The Ritz was a rockin' punk rock venue before it was a movie theatre.  

It was a very interesting editing exercise because there were six takes, each with 3 different cameras.  This made for 18 different shots to choose from.  My first step was to synch them all up and make multi-clips.  

Anyhow, I suggest applying for an internship with this company if you are looking for one.  I didn't always get to work on cool projects like this one but I did learn quite a bit about how some companies in the industry work these days.  Really quick turn around times from shoots to final cuts and most all of their work is made just for putting on the internet.  

You can check out more of the Dead Venues Live series on delllounge.com and see how it is not just performances but mini-documentaries as well.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nkg9d8BzbJA

Use this link to view in HD bigtime.

Most Inspirational Speakers

I had a hard time decided one individual that motivated me this semester. I decided that Bradley Beesley and Michel Scott were the two that ensured my colligate career choice was the right one. I respect Brad because he not only does documentaries, but he participates and produces a lot of other non-fiction motion-picture works. I am a musician myself, and I believe that film and video can really accent the artistic beauty of audio. Brad has developed an amzaing outlet for music and docs due to his fortunate group of friends, stern decision making, and a passion and natural ability to take a subject some would see as dull and make it soooo badass. He did a great job of portraying how crazy the industry can be at times, but he did it in a fashion that didn't scare me away like other speakers have in the past. Whatever documentaries I am working on, I try to get intimately involved in my subject. Putting yourself in other peoples lives in an active manner allows you to gain an insane amount of knowledge on your subject, gain the necessity of trust with individuals, get access to materials that others wouldn't even know about, and ultimately receiving the greatest filmmaking experience that you can.

I enjoyed Michel just as much. His past experience of experimental filmmaking really drew me in and interested me because it allows filmmakers to portray themselves as a subject. We work on documentaries that are about other people and shaped accordingly to the filmmaker's experience, but experimental art like Michels really allowed me to get a glimse of where he was coming from....and I really enjoyed that. I guess the most important thing was that Michel truly inspired me. He is a young male that has recently graduated from the same institution I am currently in. He did some small work out of college, but then an oppourtunity arised, he felt really drawn to the subject, and the next thing he knows his film is in sundance. I see myself as the same type of person. I like taking adventures no matter how dangerous or potentially unsuccessful they might be. If an oppourtunity arises that you know no one else has had, you better plan a little, get a small crew if needed, research quickly, mentally and physically prepare yourself, and then saddle up and get the shit done. I relaly just admired Michel's attitude about his whole expereince. He didn't try to blow things out of the water when he told us about his journey. He mentioned the difficulties of filming off of a horse and the hardships that any filmshoot has, but he said just enough so that when he finally did see the film, our minds ran wild with questions like, "How did he get that shot?" , "How the hell did they get that good of sound in that situation?" , "How is he capturing these great moments with his subjects?", and "How is it possible for somone so young in the industry to make a piece like this?

Michel and Brad's styles of filmmaking have truly inspired me. They make me feel comfortable with my style of filmmaking, because I have heard these talented individuals who have found unique subjects, made some sacrifices, had some guts in tough situations, made a great product, and had one hell of a time doing it!

I cannot wait to hear more of Spiro's alumni speaking in the future to kids who are picking up a camera for their first time today.


Thank you to all who have allowed us to enjoy and learn from these professionals

SXSW: Finding the Angriest Man in the World

One of the films I was most interested in seeing at SXSW was Ben Steinbauer’s feature debut, the Winnebago Man. I had heard really good things about the documentary from some of the RTF faculty, and I was very interested to see Ben’s hard work presented on the big screen (he’d been working on the film for somewhere around three years). Man, was I ever in for a treat. The film ended up being my favorite doc at the festival (or near favorite), and it was doubly cool that I could tell everyone that a former professor of mine was the director (lame, I know).

            The Winnebago Man is certainly a journey film, if we’re looking to categorize the documentary within a smaller subset. Ben Steinbauer sets out to find a reclusive ex-journalist Jack Rebny, whose outtakes from a Winnebago sales video made the man an unwilling celebrity on the underground video circuit (and more recently, youtube). Ben’s journey is an epic one, as he travels all across the country, looking for a man that may very well be dead.

            The main story thread serves as a microcosm for the larger issue of unwilling celebrity in the youtube age. As Ellen has advised before, It’s always a good idea to use a small example in tackling a larger issue, instead of tackling the issue on a grand scale. Microcosms allow for greater development of story, character, and emotion. Steinbauer’s documentary would certainly be a joy to watch at face value, but when you think of the how the story provides a commentary on our modern celebrity age, the film is even sweeter.

            One other point I’d like to touch on is that this film goes in directions unexpected. These directions were unexpected by the director during the filming process, and also unexpected by the viewing audience. I don’t want to give anything away, so I’ll just say this: The Winnebago Man clearly illustrates that one should never give up on a documentary, for as hopeless as a situation may seem, life will often time provide us with surprises beyond our wildest expectations. Here’s to hoping that the film will get a great distribution deal, so that all you can see it soon!

John Fiege

I have really enjoyed all of the speakers that we have had the opportunity to learn from this semester. Of the ones we herd from John Fiege and Bradley Beesley were definitely my favorite. The most inspiring speaker, however, was John Fiege. I thought it was very interesting that he wasn't even a film major in college. I also loved how he is kind of a rennaisance man. He directs, writes, produces, and edits. He has worked in many different forms such as feature docs, narratives, and shorts. John has worked on many films as a cinematographer and also has a camera rental business for the Red Camera. He is a great example of someone who has learned to adapt to the ever changing industry he is in.

I loved hearing the stories of his travels, since I want to one day be able to travel with a camera. His photography was great as well. We also got to see footage shot with the Red Camera which was amazing. Its good too know that they are becoming "more" affordable.

All in all I enjoyed all of our guests for the semester, and got too see first-hand that you can survive in this industry if you can find your niche.



clh

The Documentary Doctor: Fernanda Rossi

Hi All,

I found a lecture online with the Documentary Doctor, Fernanda Rossi. She makes a living helping documentary filmmakers solver their structural problems.

Check it out:

http://forum.wgbh.org/lecture/documentary-story-structure-great-excellent

Happy Editing!
Ellen

The Travelling Documentary Salesman (or how to survive in an age of diminishing distribution deals)

There's no need to lie. It's rough out there in the real world for documentaries. Recently I've been wondering how I'm going to scrape by after college (although, I don't really mind scraping by, as long as I'm doing something I love). Ellen's been telling us the last few weeks that the feature documentary is dead (or possibly dead, as we can never really predict the future). Regardless of this doomsday outlook, I still think there is a life out there for a longer documentary form. However, it's becoming more and more apparent that filmmakers must changes there standard models of distribution, in order to keep up and adjust in a topsy turvy world. 

One model that I've continually read about and find more and more appealing is that of self-distribution. If nobody wants to take a risk on your film, who better to sell it than yourself. The lack of a distribution deal should never be the end for a documentary. As Ellen has talked about in class, one of the most important things to think about when crafting a film (from a business standpoint, that is) is the potential audience. More specifically, we need to think about niche audiences. Filmmakers like Bradley Beasley have exploited this concept to the nth degree. Mr. Beasley in particular has sold countless copies of his Okie Noodling DVDs to Noodling fans across the nation and the world. All it takes is a killer website (and an attractive film).

A more ambitious model I've run across (for those that have a little extra cash in their pockets) is that of the travelling film salesman. A couple of years ago, David Lynch took his utterly bizzare (and utterly unmarketable) film Inland Empire on a tour of major cities. I believe he self-financed this tour, but I think it payed off in the end. Not only is traveling with a film a great way to create buzz, it also creates some real opportunities for bringing home the bacon (or atleast paying off your travel expenses). Say you sell DVDs of your film in each city, even going as far to . . . autograph copies! These discs could be sold for $15-20 a pop. If you manage to sell 20 dvds at each stop, that's $400 dollars right there. Of course this doesn't sound like much, and I'd be lying if I said this strategy will make you rich. However, the $400 dollars could help finance a nation-wide, grassroots publicity tour. It's worth a shot (for the brave soul out there). 

In the end, one thing I know for sure is that we'll have to be ready to adapt to an ever changing market place. In the age of twitter (what a mindless application), anything is possible. There are opportunities surrounding us, and all we have to do is reach out and grab them. It'd be nice to get that HBO deal, but in the meantime, I'm looking toward different models. If anyone has any other ideas of how to distribute documentaries, feel free to comment!

interactive storytelling

Hi folks,

Here is an interesting example of interactive storytelling:

http://www.thalhofer.com/

Enjoy!

Ellemn

This is the picture I took with Mr. Bill Clinton at the CGI U conference at UT Austin, after a day of community service. Like I said, little things make a big difference. Just One Piece at the Time!

Most inspiring Speaker

I always enjoy live speakers in class because they give a different perspective to the normal flow of things and are usually inspiring.

My favorite speaker this semester was John Fiege. His down to earth perspective on the industry was great. I liked how he had used many formats over his career and experimented with those that were not the easiest to work with, as in Mississippi Chicken. His style was interesting, I also liked his photographs. I almost went photojournalism and appreciate the mastery of the still camera and well as the motion picture camera.

Of course what hit home with me was actually meeting someone who had worked with the RED and gave honest opinions of it. How it had an excellent picture, but with some baggage that might turn certain potential buyers off. In my course of work right now I may never work in the film industry, but rather the TV, commercial and technical sector and his examples of HDV and the RED got my mind working on what my future might include.

All in all he was inspiring and gave relevant opinions/suggestions about what to do as a student of motion images.

Inspiring Speaker

I feel like John Fiege was a refreshing guest to come speak with the class. He brought a lot of hope for film students soon going to graduate and I feel that is very essential at this time. But even in doing so, we are not disillusioned with challenges that may and most likely will happen. I remember the most about how he talked about getting a geology undergrad and a geography masters and then getting into film school. This shows that not everyone has to have their future mapped out exactly the way it is going to happen. Change is not always a bad thing.

I also liked John Fiege because he really showed how he got to where he is today and also has interest in helping others get into the film industry. I myself am not going straight to film after I graduate but hearing his advice and his beginning story really motivated me in anything I wanted to do. It applies to more than just flm students; it applies for life.

One Peace at a Time

I was fortunate enough to go see this documentary at the Paramount on Tuesday. Prior to the film, I had no clue what the Nobelity Project was about, and had little idea of what the film was even about.

I was truly blown away at how well Pipkin was able to weave together and make sense of so many different types of people, interview settings and verite footage. The overall subject of the movie was given in the ad by the movie sub-title and title, respectively, "a film about a messed up world...and how we could fix it" "one peace at a time". I think this is very strategic because they were able to go right into the subject and not take time to communicate their message first. I really like the approach to structure, by presenting different examples of other people doing their part and inviting us as the viewer to find our nitch place to give back to the world.

Since in my own project, I'm struggling with having too much "talking head" and trying to really establish the story though the verite footage, I was especially careful to see how they did it. From what I recall, I'd say only about 2% of the movie was an actual straight on talking head interview. I thought the did creative work arounds especially for Willie Nelson by having very artsy camera angles to really emphasize him as a character. My one complaint about that section was that actually seeing the camera next to Pipkin bothered me a lot. Overall though they did a great job creating a captivaing visual sequence to completment what Pipkin and the other interviewees had to say.

Over the Hills

I really enjoyed this film. In my opinion it’s probably one of the best we have screened. There is no doubt that the story in and of it self is extremely compelling, but I thought the film’s flow and editing were just as well executed.

This movie is as much about the Rhen as it was about autism and that mysterious and enchanting country that Mongolia seems to be for so many documentaries. Scott does a really effective job of balancing these three elements, that I think would otherwise have probably out shined each other.

Some of the more interesting images for me were the scenes involving Rhen’s tantrums. Whether public or private, it was pretty rough watching this kid deal with the symptoms of his disorder...all the while, I kept thinking how diligent and utterly great his parents were with dealing with every single outburst.

At the end of the day I came away with a lot from this film, which is probably why I enjoyed it so much. Apart from a new understanding of the disorder and a new perspective on children, I came away with the urge to go out and make a film…hopefully with half the amount of inspiration and heart Over the Hills and Far Away evoked.

Les Blank films ONLINE -- FREE ! ! !

HI All,

I have not had the opportunity to show any Les Blank films in class but I have discovered that a good portion of them are available for FREE online through the UC Berkeley archives. If you are interested in passionate films about really interesting subcultures, you will love his work:

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/flowervideo.html

Les is also very resourceful and has survived and thrived on his documentary work for many decades. Check out his homepage to see how he does it:

http://www.lesblank.com/main.html


Ellen

Visual Acoustics

It didn't take too much to convince my visiting parents to come down to the Ritz and watch Visual Acoustics with me last Wednesday. They had been to the Ritz the last time they were in town, to see No Country..., so they we're excited, if skeptical, that this interesting new movie might live up to that experience. It didn't, but only because we couldn't get in.

This was embarrassing for me, you understand, because I had just heard from someone at the AFS that their credit card machine wasn't working and that plenty of tickets were available to purchase on site. "Don't worry about it," I told my folks. But when we arrived the line was so long I had no hope of getting in, even with all my damned connections and everything. This, I'm guessing, was on account of the triple advertising efforts of the Blanton, the AFS, and the Alamo.

But it did pay off to try, because on Friday I was tipped off that they were showing the movie again Saturday morning. We went and, along with about 10 other people, were treated to a great show. The film is about the architectural photography of Julius Shulman, who documented modernist buildings exclusively - and did it well enough to become known as the greatest architecture photographer ever. He's also a just hell of a guy, still larger than life in his mid nineties.

So the first-time filmmaker (Eric Bricker) had an interesting and wonderful challenge on his hands. How would he make a moving picture about still photography? He more or less split the movie between the character and his work, using a combination of talking heads, veritae, and the incorporation of the stunning photographs. His method for the latter was sometimes as basic as showing the photos full screen, and other times using what he called symphonies - a barrage of photos creatively displayed, put to music, deviod of dialog or narration. These moments were the most expressive of the film, they served as welcome mental breaks for all the info, and they were all very different from each other.

One "symphony" opened the film, and it was this one I found most interesting. It was a fairly simple photo slideshow, although the photos were each oriented differently and thus the screen seemed to be flipping around a la the beginning of 2001 A Space Oddessy. To do this, I think, he simply bordered the photos with a black background and placed them next to eachother where either walls or shadows spanned the entire side of a composition. In the case of modernist architectural photos with all of its leading lines and sharp edges, this great plan worked easily.

Aisde from that, the I noticed a whole bunch of different video/film formats were used to put this thing together. During the Q&A, Bricker characterised this as a mistake and described his post-production as a nightmare. Probably worth it though, I'm guessing.

My drift doc rough cut 1

Advanced Doc ROUGH cut 1 from chixwithtrix on Vimeo.


rough cut 1
needs a lot of editing and smoothing out. Will be taking away talking head and putting in more other footage, just ran out of time and threw in some b-roll.

I know some shots are repeated, the characters have no identification bars, etc. Like I said, its rough. Looking for where the story is weak/strong or good/bad visuals, etc.

Doc Site with very New News: Stillinmotion site

Hi All,

Please check out this doc site for very up-to-date news and posts about what's happening in the doc world RIGHT NOW. Stillinmotion is also chock full of good resources for emerging doc filmmakers:

http://stillinmotion.typepad.com/

Happy Easter, Passover et al,

Ellen

Scary News for Political Documentarians

The post that follows was authored by me for a political blog that I write for. While those of you reading this post may or may not be of my political persuasion (I'm a libertarian, by the way), I hope y'all will still find the information interesting and relevant. I haven't seen the film that's mentioned in the article, nor do I intend to (it sounds like a right-wing smear piece). This fact is irrelevant. We should stand up for documentarians, if simply for the sake of the first amendment. Now for the post (as written on March 24):

Something has disturbed me recently. A few of my well-intention friends have professed the desire to have our media nationalized (and in particular, our cinema). The dangers of a nationalized media should be clear (just take skim over a little Nazi history and you’ll quickly see what I mean). Once the government has the ability to regulate what we read, watch, and listen to, it won’t be long before these regulations will be used to suppress the people. Oh, hold on . . . we don’t have to wait for anything. This situation is already a reality.

While there is no way to fully gauge the extent to which our first amendment rights have been trampled on (in terms of media suppression), one might simply turn to the news to find instances of such egregious activity. Recently, I stumbled upon a CNN article which summarized an utterly horrifying Supreme Court case that is currently being decided. The case (Citizens United v. FEC) deals with a documentary film about Hillary Clinton that was supposed to air near election time. A federal court blocked the filmmakers from running promotional adds and airing the documentary on CABLE television. The rationale: airing a politically motivated film during the heat of the election cycle is a violation of campaign finance reform laws (specifically, the abysmal McCain-Feingold act, our favorite war monger’s crowning legislative achievement).

As of right now, the supreme court is ruling on whether or not the federal court violated the first amendment, in blocking the film from airing on television (and cable television, no less). You’d think there would be an obvious ruling in favor of the constitution, but as of right now, the Supreme court is split on the issue. The final ruling will be given around late June. Here’s hoping that the court rules in favor of justice. Unfortunately, the court has an awful record when it come to respecting the constitution. As Thomas Woods has stated before, “The Constitution . . . died a long time ago.”

Click here to read the CNN Article mention above.

Ethics in "Documentary"

No Lies is a  short, “fictional documentary” from 1973 in which a woman tells of her experience of rape to an insensitive filmmaker who refuses to believe her.

No Lies is an exemplary look into the relationship between filmmaker and audience. Mitchell Block does an outstanding job at breaking all the rules to manipulate his audience. There are several things he does to dupe his viewers. By using a non-fiction approach to his fictionalized work, Block assumes responsibility on his subjects.  He makes his audience believe that this is a work of non-fiction. After enduring a truly disturbing look into the woman’s experience with rape, Block reveals that the film is, in fact, acted (subliminally, through the use of credits). This is his first step in manipulating his audience.

The second aspect is the relationship of filmmaker to subject. Block creates a script in which the filmmaker (or actor) forcefully probes the information out of the woman, and then refuses to believe her when she admits to her experience with rape. This insensitive filmmaker is inturn hated by the audience, further manipulating the filmmaker/viewer relationship.

The third aspect is really a combination of the two. Block creates an immoral and unsettling filmmaker, and then tricks the audience into thinking that this is indeed a real person. When all is revealed to be a “lie,” the audience is left feeling a sense of betrayal.

His efforts to manipulate his audience are not in vain. In my opinion, Block uses this style to make a statement about the reality of rape. By lying to us and creating this situation (which isn’t far-fetched from reality), he is critiquing society’s view on rape. By taking on a sceptical viewpoint, he is mirroring the many cases of rape victims stories called “unbelievable.” He might not have been able to focus on the important topics involving peer, authoritarian, and personal relationships if it would have been a true documentary.

What do y’all think? Could fake documentary sometimes fill in the gaps where cinema verite or traditional documentary lack?

Still picking up pieces of my mind off the ground...

So I decided to go to Vulcan video last night and check some docs out other than the ones in the Spiro Library, and I came across a doc right next to Ellen's Body of War. The documentary was called The Dali Dimension. I must say if you are a fan of fine art then this doc is for you. The film is centered around the discovery that Salvador's extraordinary works were influenced by the scientific breakthroughs of his time.

I myself have been obsessed with advanced theories involving the search for hyperspace and the elegant universe. I was a huge fan of Dali's work before, but now after realizing his influences, I am forever loyal. The awesome thing about the documentary is the viewer doesn't have to have any knowledge on any of the intense theories related to Dali's work. The filmmakers did a great job of making it very informative. I felt like I was getting a lesson in art while refining my knowledge of the unknown at the same time.

The filmmakers had an amazing archive of interviews with Dali to work with. It is also woven with interviews of top scientist and other crazed artist. From my guess the doc wasn't all that expensive to make production wise, although the rights for Dali's interviews and artwork may have been a challenge. I think there was a lot of things in this documentary that have inspired me to structure documentaries in a unique way.

I believe the choice of the filmmakers to take science and meet it with art in a beautiful yet simple manner. We should be looking for something with a unique relationship like this doc did because not only is it badass and interesting, but you have two select audiences that you can market with this piece that are pretty unrelated in most cases. The doc could have been bought by art museums and channels and science museums and channels.

I really enjoyed this documentary even though it wasn't one of the top productions I have seen. I suggest it to all who have an interest in bizarre art and theories that will implode your mind.

Some different flavors of Documentary

My documentary style has always been to document. I started when I was 12 years old documenting RC flying events and it only grew from there. Since then I've traveled around the US to shoot various sporting events, including being an intern for Red Bull shooting the Last Man Standing dirt bike race and staff for a large drifting organization.

My purpose in documentary is to promote the sports/ways of living that I, and others like me are interested in. In this class I feel that a lot of this type of documentary is not touched on, mostly because of the limited time constraints of a semester and the fact that these documentaries are a minority to more socially relevant films. I thought I'd utilize our blogsphere to post op a small fraction of the people, documentaries and videos that inspire me to continue documenting what I love.






Red Bull World Drifting Championships 2008 from Will Roegge on Vimeo.


Slide America Trailer. from Andy Sapp on Vimeo.