How does your film conform to the conventions of the film
movement you chose?
The film movement that I chose was self-reflexive
documentary and the main source of inspiration for the film was 2012
self-reflexive documentary by Sarah Polley, The
Stories We Tell. Similarly to The
Stories We Tell the genre was easily identified throughout due to the fact
that many of the techniques that I used have connotations with self-reflexive
documentaries. For instance, within my film I used archive footage in order to
illustrate the strong relationship with my mother and my brother therefore
fulfilling another convention of self-reflexive documentary which is to make it
personal and emotive. In addition to this, I filmed the technical aspects of
how the documentary is made by showing camera and lighting equipment in order
to highlight how self-reflexive documentaries are real life which ultimately
makes the content of the film more relatable. Furthermore, I, as the film
maker, interacted with the participators not only to make my family feel more
at ease but also to show that there was minimal filming crew and therefore
making the film much more honest and real. As a result of this my
self-reflexive documentary easily identifies in this genre due to the number of
conventions that were used.
Although there was not much of a story within the film, as
it was more revolved around my family member’s answers to the questions, there
was a linear narrative with archive footage from around a year ago edited in to
give a sense of who these people were and their close relationship with each
other. The linear narrative ensured that the film adhered to its genre
conventions of being as close to reality as possible, as the audience could
understand the thought process of the participators. In addition to this,
during the editing process it was ensured that the participator’s pauses and
hesitations were kept in the final cut in order to assist the narrative as the
film shows my family stopping to think which illustrates how self-reflexive
documentary focuses on reality and evokes sympathy amongst the audience. However,
similarly to The Stories We Tell within
the film there were certain moments where there was a story. For instance, when
my mother talks about when my cat died. Therefore these stories helped the film
further conform to the genre conventions and drive the narrative. Although, the
film failed to have much of a plot as there was no screenplay as it was
important that the self-reflexive documentary stayed as close to reality as
possible. If there was a script it would have seemed fake and the participators
would not have space to tell their truth which would ultimately make the film
more relatable to the audience.
There was no specific target audience as it was necessary
for the film to be accessible to all, as many self-reflexive documentary spark
conversation and evoke thought no matter what category of audience they fit
into. As an audience they would most likely experience the preferred reading of
the film which was to showcase the difference between an adult and a child’s
responses to a series of philosophical questions whilst simultaneously
highlighting the close relationship of a family. However, as a spectator, the
individual member of an audience, it is possible that they could have had a
more negotiated reading as they would be a lot more free to think on their own
experiences and possibly relate it to the self-reflexive piece. It would be
highly unlikely that the audience or spectator would receive an oppositional
reading as the film isn’t polysemic and there is no intended hidden meaning, as
the film conforms to the conventions of the genre of being truthful and evoking
an emotional response rather than being like a surrealist film where there is
room for different interpretations.
In regards to representation there were two main groups of
people that were being represented which were children and adults, as my
brother is nine and my mother is forty-three. This representation was vital in
order for the message of the film to be clear which was to illustrate the
difference in opinions between children and adults. The self-reflexive
documentary also has the capacity to represent the different genders, as the
participant’s genders differ, however it was not the intention of the film to
raise issues around gender roles. It is important to note that both the
participants are heterosexual and white, which could be quite significant as
the questions that were asked may have been responded to differently if they were
ethnic minorities or LGBT+. Another area of representation that is explored is
that my brother is more middle class whereas my mother is working class which
is possibly why they would have different answers and ideologies when it came
to answering some questions as they were brought up in different backgrounds.
