THE DOCUMENTARY TRADITION

Professor Engel

Midterm Exam:

Each answer should be around 750 words. Please pay attention to your grammar. Hand in your exam at the beginning of next week’s class. Cite specific examples of shots and/or sequences when discussing the films; also cite references from the readings to support your arguments.

ANSWER THIS ONE:

Please watch the following clip on the web from The Man With the Movie Camera. Then analyze it either from Eco’s point of view or from Nichol’s perspective. You do not have to storyboard the shots, but you should make a close study part of either choice. By this I mean please deconstruct the scene into its basic components, namely its shots and their relationships.

Quicktime Format: 56k, DSL, on campus, RealPlayer: Streamed

ANSWER THIS ONE:

We have screened films ranging from single shot 30 second street scenes to those that incorporate multiple image overlaps and dissolves. Some have been silent films (though usually accompanied by music when originally screened), others sound-on-film. All have arguably fallen under the nonfiction umbrella. How would you define documentary film at this point in the semester based on readings and screenings? What, in particular, can be done to distinguish nonfiction from fiction? What are the criteria by which we may judge a text to be documentary?

PICK ONE OF THESE FOUR:

1. Compare and contrast BALLET MECANIQUE, RAIN and BERLIN: SYMPHONY OF A CITY.

2. Compare and contrast NIGHT AND FOG to LAND WITHOUT BREAD.

3. Films of persuasion and propaganda abound. How do such works as TRIUMPH OF THE WILL, HOUSING PROBLEMS, THE CITY, and THE BATTLE OF SAN PIETRO compare in their use of image, sound and editing to elicit specific responses in the intended audience? How can you distinguish films of persuasion or advocacy from those of propaganda?

4. Some lament the advent of sound-on-film while others can never get used to seeing silent film (with or without a musical accompaniment).  What impact did sound have on the documentary tradition?  Cite particular examples from screenings to support your argument, and be sure to refer to readings.