The term ‘documentary’ has long been a source of argument. An early pioneer of such filmmaking was called John Grierson and although he thought it a ‘clumsy’ term, he suggested it should stand. Another definition of this genre that Grierson used was ‘the creative interpretation of actuality’.

Consider one of the first kinds of documentary – in fact one of the first kinds of film at all – the movies that earlier pioneers made outside factories at the end of a shift when large numbers of workers could be seen leaving for home. What aspects of this kind of simple filmmaking can be considered?

• Actual (A) – in other words something that would have happened whether or not the camera was there?
• Creative (C) – in other words affected by practical decisions made by the director/camera operator, and which had the effect of making the sequence more entertaining
• Interpretive (I) – in other words affected by practical decisions made by the camera operator/director that might affect an audience’s understanding of what they were seeing.

1. Watch the short documentaries. While watching, use the app SpeakUp to generate questions for discussion and clarification. In dong so, focus on the following:

• Identify people, places, events, or aspects of people, society or nature that are the focus of this film. Describe and clarify the significance of each.
• List facts described in the film that impressed you and explain how each fact relates to the film’s premise or theme.
• Describe any aspect of the film that showed you something you hadn’t seen before, caused you to think in a new way, or helped you understand something more thoroughly than before. In addition, describe how it changed your thinking.
• Was there anything that you saw or heard in the film that was unconvincing or which seemed out of place?
• What particularly appealed to you in the cinematic presentation of the film, such as the way in which particular scenes, images, or sounds were presented?
• If the filmmakers were to ask you how the film could be improved, what would you tell them? Describe the changes you would suggest in detail and the reasons for your suggestions.
• If someone asked you whether you would recommend this film, how would you respond?  Fully explain your reasons.

http://edition.cnn.com/video/api/embed.html#/video/tech/2015/03/10/digital-shorts-original-teenage-hackers-orig.cnn

https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2015/06/08/guns-trust/

https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2015/02/12/die-mars/