Written Blog

Photographs Collected from Participant Dom

Cut away opening scene filming shots and DVD cover

Cut away opening scene filming shots 

and 

DVD cover

The use of bokeh shots in the beginning of the film creates ambiguity and sets the scene for world of online dating. Relates to the beginning of Dom's interview where he discusses that within Grindr he always tells the truth- maybe others do not.

Cut aways of movement- symbolise that within technology everything is always moving and changing, similarly to people- always moving, changing, meeting new people. Online dating is always changing people joining leave etc. 

Shots of far away strangers adds to the ambitious tone of the opening sequence.

Groups of men present the theme of "homosexuality"

This shot is key within the film. A man holding a smart phone. The viewer can not see what the participant is doing/writing etc. This further adds to the mood of ambiguity. Overall what we what to create within the beginning is a tone of the almost futuristic dating world. In these scene, everyone is a stranger. 

Editing Week 8

Early Films

Lumiere Brothers 

First film- 'Workers Leaving the Factory' 1895 - 120 years old (Very short, static camera, one take, everything moves in front of the camera, silent)

George Melies- Discovered the first jump cut by mistake- Introduced editing techniques, fades, overlapping, dissolves, stop motion animation etc. Trip to the Moon 1902 (Films very theatrical)

Edwin S. Porter: the life of an american fireman (1903)

DW Griffith Father of film editing continuity editing. Intolerance (1916) cross cutting, inter titles, tempo created by editing- screened all over the soviet union- griffith films were stymied there. editing is a tool to guide your viewer

Sergei Eisenstin- theory of montage

Documentary Editing

Walter Murch on editing

Reflective Mode: Derrida Week 7

Directors: Kirby Dick, Amy Zierin- Film-makers are expects on Derrida

"Everything is false... i'm not really like this..." - usually wears his robe and will not get dressed all day, in the film he is dressed in a shirt and smart trousers.

"This is what you call Cinéma vérité" - Meta-cinematic scenes

Asking audience...
"Is it that I am both part of the spectacle and audience"

"Eyes and Hands" = Signs

Not interviews/ No talking heads
Talking to film makers
Flows like a conversation
Constantly plays with his theories and life

Derrida watches film back with film maker, talks to film makers about love and asks filmmakers questions. 

• Chanan- "playful documentray" he is aware of the processes- playing with the film maker- interacts with the film-maker
• DECONSTRUCTION- limits of biographical film-making. According to Derrida nothing is natural everything is constructed 

B. Nichols "Process of negotiation between film-makers and viewer become the focus of attention"..."draws attention to our assumptions and expectations about documentary form itself" (EG. Derrida asks documentarian questions)- Structural critique of documentary itself. A reconstruction of truth not the truth/ a construct of representation. 

Grindr Serial Killer

NEWS

Surrounding the sphere of online dating last week news articles have emerged concerning a 40 year old man (so far) killing 4 men in which he met through online dating. 

http://gawker.com/grindr-serial-killer-alert-1737389038

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-34568485

As documentarians this raises many questions for us as a group concerning our film. 

The interviewees that we have decided to focus on thus far are:

Kemp, Age 19 British, unemployed, currently living in Brighton, Aspiring Photographer  

Dom, Age 19 British, Student at The University of Winchester, Creative Writing  

Marc, Age 21 Melanesian, Student at The University of Manchester 


Although these three men are in the same age bracket they all come from very different backgrounds. Kemp, from a lower income background, Dom, a more working class background from a small sea side town. And Marc who was born and raised in Melasia from a very wealthy background who came to the UK for a University level degree. 

What do our subjects think about safety on Grindr?
Has this changed their opinions and how they act through the app?
In terms of LGBT rights how do they view this article in the news? 


Also this article in the Gardian in August of 2015 asks "Are gay dating apps ruining gay culture?"

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jul/15/goodbye-to-all-the-gay-bars-are-dating-apps-killing-queer-culture

Week 5 Class Notes

Participatory mode:

• Appeared from the 1960's investigative reporter
• Directors voice

Was supposed to be a historical documentary

"This film through participatory doc gives us a sense of what the film makers life is like and how they relate to an actual situation-" (love life)

• Immerses the viewer into the room with the subject
• connect with him on a emotional level
• doc makes mistakes
• lighting allows us to connect to the director

Ross McElwee's life "what happens in front of the camera becomes an index of the nature of interaction between the filmmaker and the subject"

• Structure- disjointed, auteur, voice of god, somewhat chaotic

• Who financed the film? got money to make a film and didn't create the film he set out todo- it is a badly made film, but its a very successful film 1986- managed to place the camera in the middle of the action

• Beginning is expository- then disappears 
• Then directly listening to his voice over which is shows aspects of reflective mode 
• Takes his camera very close to the action- camera becomes a catalyst, he doesn't stop recording. 
• The cameras position and the way he treats the camera creates is as a subject . 
• Personal/viwing aspect you become so involved you want him to keep the camera on - Jean Rouch

• To prevoke the subject- to gain the information
• Doc representation of reality- 
• What we film, what we edit the more you can support your film though recherché the more credible your film will be
• New light weight camera, catch life unaware by observing it
• Camera pushes out the truth