A+complete+history+of+my+sexual+failures+-+Group+1C

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Lance Owen-Williams (cou64d) This is the term used mainly to describe Dzigia Vertovs way of filming documentaries. The term ‘life caught unawares’ is translated from the Russian term - Zhizn’ vrasplokh. Zhizn’ vrasplokh is seen as ‘hidden camera’ (Brian Wilson - ‘Lies, Damn Lies’ 2007: 23) way of filming documentaries; this is mainly due to his obsession with ‘capturing the unperformed reality’ (Brian Wilson - ‘Lies, Damn Lies’ 2007: 23). A similar term used in Russian is ‘sniat vrasplokh’ which again, when translated to English reads ‘to film unobserved’. Again, both these translations refer directly to what Vertov was trying to achieve in his work, filming his subjects when they are at they’re most natural, completely unaware of the cameras and film crew. This is something Vertov has based his work on throughout, and it is something no one else has succeded in doing fully to this date. This is especially true with the documentary ‘A complete history of my sexual failures’ by Chris Waitt. Waitt, in a sense, follows Vertovs ideas of documentary film making by trying to create a true piece of work with long, un-edited shots and using other techniques. One of the main places Waitt has failed to achieve a Vertov esque documentary is in the way he has not attempted to ‘hide’ the camera, or sound kit, or in any way making the subjects unaware of his filming. For this reason, it deprives the film of its natural element. With the subjects being filmed being fully aware of the presence of a camera and film crew, they are unable to act as they would in they’re natural environment, with no cameras etc.
 * __DZIGIA VERTOV – ‘Life caught unawares’__**

Lucy Graddon (cou63e) Bill Nichols and Brian Winston Nichols described in "Representing Reality" (1991) how a documentary is put together. A documentary has an argument, that is to say it is trying to present a particular point of view across to the viewer. It is able to do this by two means, its perspective and its commentary. Perspective is tacit, it is implied, whereas commentary is more overt. Perspective offers the documentaries argument in how it is filmed, the creative choices that the filmmaker has made in order to highlight what it is trying to say. There are four tools that are utilized in conveying to the argument through perspective and commentary. The first is the degree of knowledge. This is how much the filmmaker knows about the documentaries subject and whether the filmmaker is imparting knowledge to the viewer or if they are seeking out information. An example of a documentary which imparts knowledge to the viewer is //Planet Earth// (2006). One that is seeking out knowledge is //A Complete History of My Sexual Failures// (2008). The second is subjectivity. This is the extent to which we empathize with the characters on-screen. This can be done with the use of social actors, those who are emotive on camera, or the use of virtual performances, which are enactments of real events. Third is self-consciousness, which is the extent to which a documentary is aware of itself. Observational documentaries, according to Vertov, would be considered not self- conscious as the filmmaker is never on screen, and the audience is never overtly presented with an argument, to the extent that they are aware of it. An example of a self-conscious documentary would be //Ross Kemp: On Gangs// (2008). //Don't Look Back// (1967) is an example of a documentary that is not self-aware. Finally, communicativeness. This is how a documentary relays its information to the viewer. Documentary makers can choose to hold back information from the viewer to create dramatic effect, or to help keep the structure of the narrative. A documentary which holds back information from the viewer is //Capturing the Friedmans// (2003) where some information is held back at the start for dramatic effect. //A Complete History of My Sexual Failures// also holds back information at the start, in particular why the main character, Chris, broke up with his girlfriend.

References: Nichols, B., //Representing Reality: Issues and Concepts in Documentary//. 1st Ed. Indiana University Press, IN.