The Reconfigured Eye: Visual Truth in the Post-Photographic Era

Mitchell suggests that after believing for over a hundred years in the notion of objective truth in photography (read film), its hegemony as a reliable witness has come to an end with digital imaging (read digital video). Since the ontology of documentary film (shot on film) is closely tied to that of photography, the effect of digital video on documentary is very similar to that of digital imaging on photography, except that maybe the house of cards has fallen in a different manner, since cinema is “truth at 24 frames per second” as Jean-Luc Godard once said, compared to a picture being worth a thousand words.

True to Marshall McLuhan’s maxim, the content of every new medium is the previous medium. Digital video, when compared to motion picture film, is no different. To suggest that digital imaging contains film is not to suggest that there aren’t several significant philosophical differences in their respective underpinnings. Cinematography is based on photography and digital cinema imaging is based on digital imaging. As Mitchell writes,

…digital imaging technology represents a new “configuration of intention [and] focuses a powerful (though frequently ambivalent and resisted) desire to dismantle the rigidities of photographic seeing and to extend visual discourse beyond the depictive conventions and presumed certitudes of the photographic record. (p. 59)

Without the reliable “indexical” reference of photography, it becomes difficult to claim “I was there” or “this really happened” or “this is evidence of an event,” and documentary, which was already on shaky ground in terms of truth claims, is now thrown into a full fledge ontological crisis. A large number of journalists, scientists, and documentary filmmakers find the malleability of the photographic image disturbing.

We are still in the process of developing a comprehensive theoretical framework to deal with the malleability of images. Mitchell ends Visual Truth in the Post-Photographic Era with,

…the emergence of digital imaging has irrevocably subverted [...] certainties [of recorded facts], forcing us to adopt a far more wary and more vigilant interpretive stance [...] and confronted us with the inherent instabilities and indeterminacies of [...] meaning. (p. 225)

and continues,

…as we enter the post-photographic era, we must face once again the ineradicable fragility of our ontological distinctions between the imaginary and the real, and the tragic elusiveness of the Cartesian dream. (p. 225)

and thus the possibility of documentary truth comes to an end. Or does it? Truth, whatever we make of it in documentary, is a notion that has never relied exclusively on the photographic image. Rumors of the death of the possibility of truth claims in documentary have been greatly exaggerated. How “truth” is constructed is a complex process that has always involved more than just a dependency on the photographic image, which was never such a reliable witness in the first place.

In his article “From Real to Reel: Entangled in Non-Fiction Film” in Theorizing the Moving Image (Cambridge University Press, 1996), Noël Carroll argues that,

In any given field of research or argument, there are patterns of reasoning, routines for assessing evidence, means of weighing the comparative significance of different types of evidence, and standards for observations, experimentation and for the use of primary and secondary sources that are shared by practitioners in that field. Abiding by these established practices is, at any given time, is believed to be the best method for getting at the truth.

Thus, since photographic evidence is only part of the system of evidence that filmmakers can provide in their documentary, order can be preserved and the ontological crisis is averted, at least for now.

Any given documentary should be analyzed in terms of standards essentially determined by non-photographic evidence, and that “film truth” based on a photographic record never had much substance or validity to start with. Even before digital trickery, documentary filmmakers have used clever editing or inappropriate B-Roll to lie with their images, Michael Moore’s Roger and Me providing a canonical example. It’s always been the rhetorical skill of the filmmaker that most effectively determines veracity of documentary in contrast to fiction. I think many (but certainly not all) documentary filmmakers would agree with Werner Herzog that it is the “ecstasy of truth” we’re after, not some Platonic truth, as if there were such a thing in the first place.

Bill Mitchell died this summer. He was a brilliant scholar and teacher. I never had a chance to take a class from him while I was at MIT, but I did have the pleasure one day of walking with him through the Stata Center as he spoke about the architectural program of the building. It was one of the most informative and delightful tours I’ve ever experienced. Wit, wisdom, and a love of architecture brought the ideas that drove the design of the building alive in my mind.

Perhaps now, with the ability of everyone to “broadcast themselves” we might see some of the future that Younglood envisioned forty years ago. A media form in which the demands of commerce and narrative give way to personal experience, personal perceptions taking precedence over the demands of traditional narratives. As Youngblood challenges his readers then and now, we need to create new narratives that are authentic, based on our personal experience, and thus truly unique. We have the means of making, collaborating, and distribution in today’s internet-based mediascape to bring Youngblood’s vision of synaesthetic cinema alive.

The personal computer allows us to merge the traditions of photography, typography, graphic design, audio and moving image production, interactivity, interaction through sensors, and more, into an expanded palette of infinite possibilities that Lev Manovich refers to as “hybrid, intricate, complex and rich visual language” in The Language of New Media (Leonardo Books, MIT Press, 2006, p. 11), which I like to call computational media. It encompasses every conceivable media form in a computational environment, which essentially makes it a hyper-medium.

I prefer terms like computational media and hypermedia over multi-media or digital media. The important transformation in photography and cinematography has not been digitization, but the embodiment of the medium in a computational environment. Computation is what is truly new in new media. Now, forty years later, we are living in an environment that makes expanded cinema not only possible, but necessary. Youngblood suggests that artists are ecologist crafting the environment and that expanded cinema will bring art and life closer together. We have a ways to go before we achieve that vision. As the internet becomes a new space for commercial conquest and net neutrality is threatened, we must fight to preserve this brave new medium so we may see the vision of Expanded Cinema come alive in our lifetimes.

Anyone who makes or consumes media should read this book. It’s an essential component of our intellectual diet for a sane planet.

1. culture of oral communication,

2. manuscript culture,

3. the Gutenberg galaxy, and

4. the electronic age.

The start of each phase is marked by the emergence of a new medium. Writing enabled manuscript culture, printing enabled what McLuhan called the Gutenberg galaxy, electronic media enabled the electronic age of broadcast communication. What has electronic media brought forth?

We have now entered the fifth era of history: the era of communication, simulation, and the end of reality. In previous ages we communicated in order to preserve and pass on memories. We lived in a world in which we believed there was a reality we wanted to share, so we communicated. But the signs we use are tricky and layered, they are deceptive, and the more we used signs the more we became removed from day-to-day, one-on-one interaction, we lost sight of the real.

The principle of reality ended in 1983 with the publication of Simulations, Baudrillard’s most influential work. At first only a small number of cultural and media critics were aware of the end, as the world continued to function under the illusion of reality. Sixteen years later the concept went mainstream with the release of the film The Matrix (Larry and Andy Wachowski, 1999). This blockbuster turned Baudrillard’s esoteric notion into a meme of apocalyptic proportions. Baudrillard wrote,

“Simulation is no longer that of a referential being or a substance. It is the generation by models of a real without origin or reality: a hyperreal. The territory no longer precedes the map, nor survives it. Henceforth, it is the map that precedes the territory” (Baudrillard, 1983).

If the Matrix didn’t exist, Baudrillard would have invented it.

Simulations became a prescient handbook for the end of Renaissance ideals, fast-forwarding us through modernism, and throwing us straight into the eternal simulated present of post-modernism, post-capitalism, post-history, post-reality, post-memory, post-insert-your-favorite-concept-here. We no longer need to remember, we no longer can remember, for there is no reality, only information at out fingertips. And what we do remember is not even real in the sense of reality before 1983. Perhaps it never was. We are wired into the Matrix. Connected. In a wired eternal present without history, there can be no memory. Only desire fulfilled through consumption.

How did we get here? We learned how to write. Socrates tried to warn us of the dangers:

“If men learn [writing], it will implant forgetfulness in their souls; they will cease to exercise memory because they rely on that which is written, calling things to remembrance no longer from within themselves, but by means of external marks. What you have discovered is a recipe not for memory, but for reminder. And it is no true wisdom that you offer your disciples, but only its semblance, for by telling them of many things without teaching them you will make them seem to know much, while for the most part they know nothing, and as men filled, not with wisdom, but with the conceit of wisdom” (Plato, quoted in Kabitoglou (1990)).

Like Adam and Eve eating from the tree of knowledge, we chose to write, we chose to read, we chose “external marks,” and thus we chose to put our reality outside of ourselves, and thus, we created the Matrix, and with the Matrix, the principle of reality came to its untimely end. As Neo says in The Matrix, “All these memories I have, these places I went…. None of it ever happened. What does that mean?” Welcome to the simulacrum. We are happy to serve you.

References

Baudrillard, Jean. Simulations, Trans. by Paul Foss, Paul Patton and Phillip Beitchman, Foreign Agents Series, Semiotext(e), 1983.

McLuhan, Marshall. The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic Man, University of Toronto Press, 1962.

McLuhan, Marshall. Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, The MIT Press, 1994 (originally published in 1964).

Kabitoglou, E. Douka. Plato and the English Romantics, Routledge, 1990.

Image Credits

1. Marshall McLuhan, © Canadian Postal Service

2. The Matrix, promotional materials, © Warner Bros.

3. “Jean Baudrillard (Simulated),” © Bifurcaciones

Note: This essay was originally written February 16, 2009 as part of an assignment for Design Seminar II
 at MassArt. Some minor editorial changes were made for the blog version.

Check out this link: www.berwickinstitute.org/bri/bumpkinisland for more details and information about the special Art Encampment boat shuttle that will deliver you directly from Boston to the island and back to the mainland! If you’re thinking of going, reserve a space on the boat now, as it will fill up and the alternatives are painful for they involve changing boats, the direct ferry is the best way to get there and back!

I’m involved this year as a project fellow documenting the Encampment. I will make the footage accessible to both participating artists and the public, working with interested collaborators to develop a participatory documentary on the project. If you visit this weekend, please consider making media (sketching and/or taking photos and/or recording audio and/or shooting video and/or writing) of your experience and sharing it with me. Contact me if you would like more details about my project.

Photo: Kate Dodd, “Ebb and Flow, ” 2009 Bumpkin Island Art Encampment, photo by Patrick Johnson.

But the camera itself has never really been the ideal place to record audio, since ideal microphone placement is rarely at the camera position, so double system (a.k.a. double or dual source) sound recording (which was the standard in the days of film cameras) is coming back in vogue. Double system is the practice of recording sound and image separately in production, and then synchronizing them in post production. This used to be a laborious process, but thanks to new tools like Dual Eyes or Plural Eyes from Singular Software, this process can be automated in Final Cut Pro.

So what to record with? Professional location sound recorders can cost thousands of dollars. If you’re on a tight budget, don’t fret, you can record excellent sound with one of several portable audio recorders on the market. For example, the following four units are all under $300. and can produce good results. In the end, microphone placement is at the top of the list of those factors contributing to the quality of location sound recording for your documentary.

In a future post, I’ll look at some higher-end recorders (the downside of these little puppies is they are not as quiet as you would like them to be). In my next post, I’ll talk in some detail about some microphones to use with these small recorders and how to automatically synchronize the audio from them to the audio and video recorded with your camera using Dual Eyes or Plural Eyes from Singular Software. One comment about formats: for video editing, I suggest setting these recorders to WAV, 16-bit, 48kHz recording. Don’t use the MP3 format for location sound recording. It’s fine for notes, meetings, etc. but you want to start off with the cleanest, uncompressed recording. Better formats like 24-bit and higher sampling rates are overkill for dialog and don’t produce significantly better recordings with these little puppies due to other limitations in their design.

Manufacturer	Zoom (Samson)	M-Audio	Roland	Zoom (Samson)
Model	Zoom H2	Microtrack II	R-09HR	Zoom H4n
Street Price (U.S.)	$140	$180	$265	$299
Manufacturer’s web site	[link]	[link]	[link]	[link]
Recording formats	WAV (BWF): 16 or 24-bit @ 44.1, 48, 96kHz (Stereo) and 44.1, 48kHz (4 Channel) MP3: 48 to 320 kbps, @ 44.1kHz	WAV (BWF): 16 or 24 bit @ 44.1, 48, 88.2, or 96kHz; MP3: 96 to 320kbps @ 44.1 or 48kHz	WAV: 16 or 24-bit @ 44.1, 48, 88.2, or 96kHz; MP3: 64 to 320kbps @ 44.1 or 48kHz	WAV: 16 or 24-bit @ 44.1, 48, 96kHz; MP3: 48kbps to 320kbps @ 44.1kHz
Channels	2 or 4	2	2	2 or 4
Limiter/AGC	Limiter or Automatic Gain Control	Analog input limiter with bypass	Limiter or Automatic Gain Control	Compressor/Limiter
Low-cut Filter	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Balanced inputs:	No	Yes (TRS, Mic or Line)	No	Yes (XLR/TRS combo)
Phantom Power:	No	Yes (48V)	No	Yes (48V or 24V)
3.5mm mini-jack audio input	Yes (Mic and Line)	Yes (Mic)	Yes (Mic and Line)	Yes (Mic)
Plug-in Power on 3.5mm mic input	Yes (2.5 V)	Yes (5V)	Yes (5V)	Yes (2.92 V)
Built-in Microphone	Yes (W-XY mic patterns with 4 mic capsules and signal processing allows Front 90° cardioid, Rear 120° cardioid and 360° polar patterns)	No	Yes (Stereo 2 mic in T configuration)	Yes (X/Y stereo configuration can be configured with 90° or 120° recording pattern)
Headphone output	3.5mm mini-jack	3.5mm mini-jack	3.5mm mini-jack	3.5mm mini-jack
Additional inputs or outputs	Line in, Line out (via headphone jack)	S/PDIF coaxial digital input, line out (RCA connectors)	Line out (3.5mm mini-jack)	Line out (3.5mm mini-jack)
Recording Media	SD or SDHC flash cards up to 32GB	CompactFlash (CF) or Microdrives	SD or SDHC flash cards up to 8GB	SD or SDHC cards up to 32GB
Display Screen	Backlit LCD	Backlit LCD	1.5″ OLED	Backlit LCD
Interface	USB-2	USB-2	USB-2
Power	AA Batteries or AC adapter	Built in Li-Ion battery (charges battery and can be powered via USB port) AC to USB power adapter included.	AA Batteries or AC adapter	AA Batteries or AC adapter (or USB adapter, not included)
Additional features	Awesome stereo imaging with 4 microphone capsules and clever signal processing.	Add markers to BWF recordings easily, includes electret t-shaped stereo microphone, software for editing and file format conversion, 1/8″ stereo extension cable with lapel clip.	Wireless remote included; speed adjustment effects; Cakewalk Pyro Audio Creator software included	Built in reference speaker, optional remote control, can be mounted on a standard camera tripod threaded mount. Four track recording takes two channels from the built-in mic and two channels from the XLR/TRS inputs. Can be used as an USB audio interface (sampling rate 44.1 kHz)
Commentary	Popular, value priced contender, great for recording live music and ambience tracks. If you need XLR inputs, check out it’s big brother, the H4n.	A solid performer. If you are looking for a small recorder to use with separate phantom-powered condenser mics, this might be the one for you, the built-in battery is it’s Achilles heel, it will not hold much of a charge after a couple of years of use. M-Audio charges about $75. for a battery replacement. If this recorder worked with AA batteries, it would the perfect portable recorder in this price category. The first Microtrack had issues with low phantom power voltage and did not have a limiter (essential for professional recording), and those issues got fixed with this model, I hope the battery issue will be resolved in version 3.	A solid performer, if it had balanced TRS inputs with phantom power, it would be the perfect portable recorder in this price category. While I own a Microtrack v.1, I use these a lot in a educational context and they have held up well with student use and are good for teaching with their nicely organized menu, logical set of controls, and crisp, easily to read display. Having a choice between AGC or Limiter is nice.	With X-Y microphones, 4 channel recording (so you can record stereo ambience with the built-in mic and dialog from condenser microphones or mixer at the same time, what’s there not to like about this nice update to the H4? One strange thing about the design is that the 3.5mm microphone jack is located on the back of the device, and the plug-in power voltage is not a full 5 volts, but does seems to work with a reasonable number of Plug-in Power microphones.

There’s something for everyone: Get your feet wet with Documentary Video Boot Camp, hone your camera skills with The Documentary Camera, learn the ins and outs of producing with Producing the Documentary, study the art of editing with Editing the Documentary, make a complete short film from concept to fine cut (with a public screening in the Fall) in Documentary Project Studio, or take your editing skills to the next level in Advanced Editing with Final Cut Pro. Each of these classes provides a special opportunity to learn from practicing filmmakers who not only have a breadth and depth of professional experience, but are also passionate teachers who will challenge and inspire you to learn and grow in ways not easily done on your own.

MPFV230 The Documentary Camera
Instructor: Steve Maing
Meets: Jun 28 to Jul 2, M-Tr,9a-5:30p
1.5 cr. $614 Info/Register
Have you already taken Introduction to Video Production, Documentary Video Boot Camp, or the equivalent? Now take your camerawork to the next level with this class! Learn how you shape your film through the camera, and how that shapes the message. The week will include daily hands-on exercises, viewing and critique, and a segment on on-location sound.

MPFV232 Editing the Documentary
Instructor: Bill Anderson
Meets: Jul 6-Jul 9, Tu-F, 9a-5p
1.5 credits, $449 Info/Register
This workshop uses exercises to cover all stages of post production for both documentary and dramatic film editing: capturing media; logging; first cut; revised cuts; sound (production, effects, and music); visual effect; color correction. Familiarity with Final Cut Pro is helpful but not required.

MPFV208 Producing the Documentary
Instructor: Maria Agui Carter
Meets: Jun 21-Jun 25, M-F, 9a-3:30p
1.5 Credits, $449 Info/Register
From defining the parameters of a producer’s responsibilities to learning how to maximize production dollars, this is an invaluable crash course in how to take a film from idea and proposal to reality.

MPFV217 Documentary Projects Studio
Instructor: Yours truly
Meets: Jul 13-Aug 31, Tu, 6p-10p
3 Credits, $908 Info/Register
A studio course for students who want to produce their own short documentary and already have basic camera and editing skills. Through weekly milestone meetings you will be guided through the phases of research, planning, production, post-production, and distribution of a short documentary

MPFV218X Advanced Editing with Final Cut Pro
Instructor: Janet Gilmore
Meets: Jul 31-Aug 8, Sa & Su, 10a-4:30p
1.5 credits, $524 [Info/Register]
This course takes an in-depth look beyond the introductory level at the art of editing using Apple’s Final Cut Pro. Techniques will include motion effects, compositing, project management and finishing techniques.

MPFV225 Documentary Video Boot Camp
Instructor: Yours truly
Meets: Jun 14 to 18, M-F, 9a-4:30p, optional editing lab, Th, 4:30p 8:30p
1.5 credits, $614 [Course Full]
An immersive, hands-on experience for beginners who want to dive into learning the fundamentals of video documentary. Exercises, screenings, discussions, and critiques will expose you to a range of storytelling, aesthetic, and artistic issues. This class is currently full, however, it will be offered again during the January 2011 inter-session.

Check out additional Film/Video courses at MassArt this summer. What better way to spend one or more weeks this summer?

For a good basic introduction to HTML 5, see Dive into HTML5 by Mark Pilgrim. Rich media and dynamic web content has outgrown the ability of HTML 4 to describe the content of web pages. Video, audio, and dynamic interfaces that rival desktop applications are now commonplace. By adding additional HTML elements, HTML5 will provide web developers with a better way to describe the content of a web page. Significant new features include <video> and <audio> elements, improved forms handling, a <canvas> element that allows image scripting on the fly, and new ways of marking pages to support user interaction.

Video, especially, should be shown with a video player that is HTML5 compliant in order to include the new generation of mobile devices like the Android, iPhone, and iPad. With the right HTML5 player you can support HTML5 for these devices and newer browsers but fallback and use Flash in the event the viewer is using an older browses. Two examples of video players capable of this include the JW Player for HTML5 and the Kaltura HTML5 Video Library.

Industry players are currently debating the merits of HTML5. Apple, with its large deployment of iPhones and the iPad growing in popularity, neither of which supports Flash, has taken a strong position in favor of HTML5. Even after you factor away Job’s famous reality distortion field, he still makes a compelling argument for embracing HTML5, although Adobe might disagree.

Image source: HTML 5 Video Element – New Open Video Format Tags by Mark R. Robertson.

I encourage you to support your local independent bookstore or museum shop, however, if those are not easily accessible, you can order from amazon.com and help support this web site.

On Sunday, before returning to Boston, I went to MoMA to see “Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present,” a retrospective of four decades of her performance art presenting a fascinating mix of documentary films, objects on display, interviews with the artist running in a four-hour loop, live re-staged performances of some of her works including “Nude with Skeleton,” “Luminosity,” and “Imponderabilia,” and the centerpiece of the exhibition, “The Artist is Present.” In the vast MoMA atrium, we find Abramovic live and in person dressed in a minimalist flowing blue gown. Visitors can sit across from her at a table and lock gazes with her in silence, surrounded by museum goers, bathed in intense white light coming from four directions (provided by eight 1,200 Watt HMI lighting instruments blasting through four large silks placed in the corners of the space, the lighting geek in me could not help but notice how the performance was lit).

It’s quite a challenge to document and/or preserve performance art, which is such an ephemeral medium, and the live re-creations in a museum setting not only offers us a glimpse of her work, but also offers a meditation on the role of live performance in our completely media-saturated culture, elevating this exhibition way beyond what a documentary film or the run-of-the mill documentation-oriented show can accomplish. I think there is a real hunger for liveness in our culture, a response to the overly commercialized mass media experience, with so many of our interactions mediated, even when they are personal. One of the pieces is four hours of interviews with Abramovic and it was quite fascinating to take a break from the tumultuous exhibition, put in the headphones, and listen to her words for a while.

You can’t really document performance art, but in terms of degrees, “Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present” comes about as close as one can expect and is a show worth spending lots of time walking through, perhaps even a second time (as I did after listening to her interviews for a while). I’ve become interested in the challenge of documenting the ephemeral, and to see how her work was documented in a museum context both live and mediated was fascinating to me. If you live anywhere near New York, you should make the trek to this exhibition and allow yourself plenty of time to take it all in.

Related:

• Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present, MoMA exhibition page, show runs March 14th trough May 31, 2010
• “Performance Art Preserved, in the Flesh,” exhibition review by Holland Cotter, New York Times, March 11, 2010
• “Who’s Afraid of Marina?” by Randy Kennedy, New York Times, March 19, 2010
• “The Anxiety of Influence,” by Tatiana Berg, BOMB Blog, March 29, 2010
• “Fragments from The Conversation 2010 (March 27, New York),” previous blog post

Free distribution. Nina Paley has been pleased with the results of doing free distribution for her film Sita Sings the Blues, she has managed to generate revenue from the sale of DVDs, T-shirts, and donations. She writes on her web site, “My personal experience confirms audiences are generous and want to support artists. Surely there’s a way for this to happen without centrally controlling every transaction.” Why not? In the old days many filmmakers supplemented their income with grants from Arts organizations, why not go directly to your audience for support? Paley said that “Copyleft was the best decision, the audience is distributing [my film].” Thomas Woodrow (Producer, Bass Ackwards) suggests that even if you do free distribution, you should not offer it free forever, think of it more like a traditional release window, rather than perpetually giving something away. In the end, it’s not simply a choice of one technique over another, it’s about coming up with a portfolio of techniques that makes sense for your project.

DVD and what works. Steve Savage (CEO, New Video) suggested that “DVD is not yet dead” and remains as a robust revenue streams for filmmakers. And while digital revenues might be about 10% on the average of independent filmmaker revenues (compared to 90% for DVDs), this will most likely flip just as it’s going to do in music. 2010 is the year that digital downloads will overtake CD sales in the music business, so it’s only a matter of years before the same thing will happen with films. It’s easy to predict what could happen, it’s hard to predict when, and exactly how things will happen. Richard Lorber (CEO, Kino Lorber) said “we’ve entered the postmodern era of film distribution [in which] everything is possible and nothing is working.” Ira Deutchman quoted an article (don’t recall the titled or reference) that with unusual candor summed things up, “the film business has always been hobby” challenging the “content is king” mantra. Robert Bahar (Producer, Made in LA) said of indie distribution, “This is not easy, this is like being in a rock band…”

New models are emerging. Arin Crumley talked about his new project, OpenIndie, a “”Niche social network” with the goal of connecting independent filmmakers directly with their audiences, filmmakers make their films available, Open Indie helps potential viewers request screenings and entrepreneurs to host screenings, linking potential audiences with films, much in the same way he did with Four Eyed Monsters. Related discussion included the use of Gowalla and Foursquare to help drive audience to screening locations. While digital distribution was the Tsunami in the room, there ramains strong desire among independent filmmaker, and a culultral need, to screen films for an audience.

Using social media. There was a great deal of discussion the use of social media platforms (especially Twitter and Facebook) for promoting your film, but given the panel structure of the conference, there was not a lot of time for tactical nuts and bolts, the level of the discussion remained, for the most part, strategic, but the strategic insights were valuable nuggets:

• Focus on aggregating passionate followers and don’t worry about those who hate your film.
• Online communities moderate themselves and take on a life of their own.
• Participate online speaking in your own human voice (the advice of Seth Godin and The Cluetrain Manifesto comes to mind), authenticity is currency. And modulate the frequency of your interactions with the characteristics of the community you build, we don’t want to replace the old push advertising model with the same beast in new clothing.
• Nina Paley suggested that attention is scarce, while information is plentiful.
• If you make a film for a niche audience, it’s quality, not quanitity that counts. Angel Aviles-Clinton mentioned the film, At Home By Myself With You as an example of successfully raising $46,000 using Facebook and Twitter with a modest number of followers.
• Thomas Woodrow suggests that for content creators to stand out they need to create stories around their stories.
• And many others (search on the #convonyc hashtag for more insights).

New forms? Davin Hutchins of ITVS IndiesLab and I combined our lunchtime discussions, “MicroDocs: What They Are and Why You Might Want to Make One” and “20 is the New 90: The Future of Not-So-Long Form Content on the Web,” respectively, which led to a lively conversation. I’ll write about the discussion in a future blog post, after some synthesis and post-conference discussion with the participants. Stay tuned…

It’s an exciting time to be a storyteller. Lance Weiler’s words during the closing session wrapped things up, suggesting these are “exciting times to be a storyteller” and in spite of the internet being a disruptive force, “a creative class is going to emerge.” He added that “we’re all trying to figure out how to fund, create, distribute, and exchange.” I hope Lance’s optimism wins out over the concerns over free culture and Web 2.0 voiced by Jaron Lanier in his new book, You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto, a very thoughtful critique that can’t be dismissed lightly, written from an informed perspective.

It’s up to us to create the new landscape. One thing is for sure reading between the lines at this conference: nothing is predetermined at this point and collaboration among independent filmmakers is crucial if we’re going to develop an alternative way to build and connect with audiences and develop a healthy distribution ecosystem, the mainstream mechanisms are breaking apart and we have an opportunity to fill the cracks with a vibrant alternative way to fund our films, find an audience, make our films, find collaborators, deliver media, and engage in a two-way conversation, but we have to do it, we being independent filmmakers. The media technology is in our hands. What will we build with it? How will we build it? In the process of distributing our films, we also have to reinvent the ecosystem in which we distribute our films. A good place to start thinking about this is with the resources gathered in The Workbook Project, started by Lance Weiler.

Shout-out. Kudos to the organizers for assembling a wonderful group of people to discuss, in a productive and meaningful way, the tectonic shifts in communications technology and social media that are rapidly redefining the independent film marketing and distribution landscape. The conference was organized by Scott Kirsner (CinemaTech; author of Fans, Friends And Followers: Building An Audience And A Creative Career In The Digital Age), Tiffany Shlain (Filmmaker; Founder, The Webby Awards), and Lance Weiler (Filmmaker; Editor of The Workbook Project) and hosted by Ira Deutchman (Managing Partner, Emerging Pictures; Professor of Professional Practice, Graduate Film Division, Columbia University School of the Arts).

After doing some shopping around, I’ve come to the conclusion that the Sennheiser Evolution Series provides a nice middle ground between the less expensive systems (e.g. Azden) popular among wedding videographers and the more expensive wireless systems used by location sound professionals (e.g. Lectrosonics). I’ve used the Lectrosonics on a number of professional shoots and the performance of their “Digital Hybrid” system is spectacular, but it’s a little more than I have budget for, so the Sennheiser Evolution G3 it will be it.

There are two configurations of the Sennheiser Evolution G3 100 Series to consider for documentary work:

Camera Mount Wireless Microphone System, kit number EW 112P G3-{A/B/G}, estimated price: $600 (US), this kit includes:

• SK100 G3 Bodypack Transmitter
• ME2 Lavalier Mic
• EK100 G3 Portable Receiver
• Cold-shoe adapter for Receiver
• Interconnection cables (1/8″ and XLR) for connecting Receiver to camera
• Excellent, clearly written owners manual

Wireless Microphone ENG Combo, kit number EW 100 ENG G3-{A/B/G}, estimated price: $800 (US), this kit includes all of the items in the Camera Mount Wireless Microphone System, plus:

• SKP100 G3 Plug-In Transmitter

Compared to less expensive VHF wireless systems, a UHF system provides longer range and you’ll experience fewer drop-outs and interference during use. I’ve had really good luck using the Sennheiser Evolution wireless system over the past year, and have been very pleased with its performance both in terms of sound quality and overall robustness and have not run into too many interference issues. Being able to tune the devices to one of 1,680 tunable frequencies makes it easy to find quiet spots in a electromagnetically noisy area like the Boston metropolitan area in which I live.

The EK100 receiver is designed to be attached to a camera via a cold-shoe adapter, it has a 1/8″ unbalanced TRS mini out which can be connection to camcorders with either a 1/8″ or XLR input (Sennheiser provides both 1/8″ or XLR interconnect cables in their kits). The receiver has 4 preset memory locations that can be reassigned to any of the 1,680 available frequencies, within the 42 MHz tuning range. This is handy because you can determine the frequencies least likely to have interference in your area and program these into the four presents, making it easier to pull these out and get them working quickly in documentary situations. The G3 features a new “adaptive diversity” design, it’s not “true diversity” but it does offer slightly better performance compared to the previous G2 series. There are also adjustments for audio level output and a squelch adjustment. It’s critical to set the audio level output to match your camera, otherwise you’ll get some over-modulation, which is sometimes hard to detect in the field unless you’re listening really carefully with good headphones (which you should always be doing, right?).

The system is available in two transmitter configurations: the SK100 body pack transmitter and the SKP100 plug-on transmitter, which attaches to any self-powered metal body microphone with an XLR connector (e.g. Electro-Voice RE50 reporters microphone) to be used wirelessly. The SK100 G3 body-pack transmitter has a 1/8″ locking-mini input for compatible lavalier microphones and it comes with an ME2 omnidirectional lavalier microphone. The transmitters support adjustments for audio input gain, and it’s important to adjust this properly. You want to avoid peaks (there’s an LED peak indicator in addition to an audio level on the LCD) but also not set the levels too low so you’re lost in the noise floor. In terms of functionality, the plug-in transmitter is very similar to the body-pack transmitter.

The EK100 receiver, SK100 G3 body-pack transmitter, and SKP100 G3 plug-in transmitter are each powered by two AA batteries and each sports an LCD display which makes it easy to configure and make adjustments via a logically organized menu system. When not in menu mode the LCD shows you channels and frequency information, battery status, audio level, and signal status. All three devices have metal bodies, which allegedly makes them more robust that cheaper plastic units, but I’ve never dropped any of these devices in order to find out how rugged they really are. I’m not tempted to try.

In the United States, the Evolution G3 is a UHF wireless microphone system available in three frequency ranges, A: 516 – 558MHz, B: 626 – 668MHz, or G: 566 – 608MHz, providing 1680 tunable frequencies and 12 frequency presets. Which range to get? The idea is to find a range that has the largest number of “dead spots” which all depends on your region. Sennheiser has a great calculator on their web site in which you can see all the licensed transmitters in your area in order to determine where the open slots are in the spectrum. You can use this to decide whether A, B, or G frequency ranges are best for you. It’s also handy for setting up presets that are likely to be free and clear, so there’s less fussing around in the field. The B frequency group seems to be the best option for the Boston area based on conversations with some sound people I know.

In some situations I like using the plug-in transmitter with my Electro-Voice RE-50 reporters microphone, I like having the mobility without the wire, therefore the EW 100 ENG G3-B kit is my preference. If you never see yourself using the plug-on transmitter with a hand-held or boom microphone (by the way, it has to be a metal body mic and self powered, since the SKP100 G3 Plug-In Transmitter does not provide phantom power), you can save money and get the EW 122P G3-B kit instead of the EW 100 ENG G3-B kit. Basically you’re paying an additional $200. (US) for the plug-on transmitter.

A future option to consider is upgrading the Sennheiser ME2 to a TRAM-50 (my favorite lavalier, available cabled for the EW transmitters for about $220 (US)). You many also consider adding a Sennheiser ME4 cardioid mic to your kit for use in high-noise environments (but I would not go with this as your only mic due to more critical placement issues).

You will also want to add a Rycote Lavaliere Windjammer (or equivalent) if you’re going to be working outdoors, these are available in white, grey, or black for about $25. (US) each. A windjammer is essential when using a lavalier mic outdoors when there is wind. Here’s an important pointer: use the windjammer over a foam windscreen on the lavalier, since the windjammer needs air space around the mic itself to work properly. I keep several of them in my sound kit at all times.

There is really only one down-side I’ve experienced using the Sennheiser Evolution G2 wireless microphone system (and this goes for the new G3 as well): since the receiver is designed to mount on a camera, it’s really awkward to use in a situation where you have a couple of receivers and a mixer in a shoulder-mounted pouch. The LCD display is simply in the wrong place. I really wish Sennheiser would have placed the LCD display on the top of the device (like the Lectrosonics receivers), but for mounting on a camera, I can see why the designers placed the LCD on top, and given that Sennheiser has brought these units into the marketplace at such an attractive price-point, this is but a minor inconvenience.

In the Boston area you can purchase these kits from Talamas Broadcast Systems, Rule Broadcast Systems, or The Camera Company. Online you can purchase them from B&H Photo-Video.

This post was inspired by Monika Fimpel, thanks for asking the question, and thanks to Bill Shamlian for his insights on wireless systems and frequency selections.

Note: This post was revised on February 22, 2010 to reflect that Rule Broadcast Systems is also a Sennheiser dealer. I also fixed an error in which I specified the EW 122P G3 kit (which includes ME4 microphone (cardioid) mic) instead of the EW 112P G3 kit that I intended to list that comes with the more versatile ME2 (omnidirectional) microphone. While the ME4 is better in high-noise environments, its added directionality and proximity effect make it less versatile for general use. If you’re only going to have one microphone for your wireless system, the ME2 is a more versatile choice, and if you find you need the more directional ME4 in some situations, it (or another cardioid lav) can be purchased separately.

I recently finished reading The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative by H. Porter Abbott (Cambridge University Press, 2nd. edition, 2008). This book is by far the best introduction to narrative currently available, encompassing the range of narrative forms including literature, cinema, and new media. Abbott emphasizes that narrative is not just in found in literature, cinema, and theater, but throughout the ordinary course of our lives.

The book is informed by recent scholarship in the field, but avoids the more esoteric arguments in order to present a clear and concise introduction to the most important topics in narrative studies. The book covers the definition of narrative, the rhetoric of narrative, closure, the process of narration, interpretation of narratives, adaptation across media forms, character and self in narrative, truth and narrative, narrative worlds, and more. Abbott provides a excellent starting point for both students and specialists in a wide range of fields from literature to media studies, and each chapter ends with recommendations of both secondary and primary texts for further study.

Abbott begins the book with several definitions of narrative, but states that if we had to choose one answer above all others, it should be that “narrative is the principal way in which our species organizes its understanding of time,” he continues in the introduction of the book,

[...] wherever we look in this world, we seek to grasp what we see not just in space but in time as well. Narrative gives us this understanding; it gives us what could be called shapes of time. Accordingly, our narrative perception stands ready to be activated in order to give us a frame or context for even the most static and uneventful scenes. And without understanding the narrative, we often feel we don’t understand what we see. We cannot find the meaning. Meaning and narrative understanding are very closely connected [...] the connections between narrative and meaning are many (p. 10)

The origins of the word narrative are ancient, rooted in our process of knowing the world:

Hayden White pointed out in his book The Content of the Form that the word “narrative” goes back to the ancient Sanskrit “gna,” a root term that means “know,” and that it comes down to us through Latin words for both “knowing” (“gnarus”) and “telling” (“narro”). This etymology catches the two sides of narrative. It is a universal tool for knowing as well as telling, for absorbing knowledge as well as expressing it. This knowledge, moreover, is not necessarily static. Narrative can be, and often is, an instrument that provokes active thinking and helps us work through problems, even as we tell about them or hear them being told. But, finally, it is also important to note that narrative can be used to deliver false information; it can be used to keep us in darkness and even encourage us to do things we should not do. This too must be kept in mind. (pp. 10-12)

If you read only one theoretical book on the topic of narrative, this one is a good candidate. While theoretical in perspective, it’s written in a manner that will appeal to anyone involved in telling stories.

Vendors showing gear at the show include Panasonic, Canon, Sony Professional, JVC Professional, Aja Video Systems, Manfrotto, Sachtler, Sennheiser, Anton Bauer, Shure, GlideCam, and several others. In addition to the vendor booths, there are a variety of workshops (fee based) and vendors seminars (free) scheduled during the course of the two days. This year I’ll be doing three of the workshops, two are new, one is an update from last year bought back by popular demand:

The LED Lighting Revolution [NEW]
(Friday, March 12, 10:00 A.M. to 11:50 P.M.)
In spite of energy savings, reduced carbon footprint, and long life, LEDs continue to be under utilized in video production, primarily due to their high initial cost. We’ll take a look at recent advances in LED lighting by leading light manufacturers and demonstrate how you can incorporate innovative LED lighting in your production today and in the future. This session will consist of presentation, discussion, and demonstration of several LED lighting instruments currently available on the market. The session is designed for both beginners and intermediate videographers.

Seven Habits of Highly Successful Interviewers
(Friday, March 12, 1:00 P.M. to 2:50 P.M.)
The interview is a fundamental element of many documentary films, podcasts, and corporate videos. Through examples and discussion this session will cover practical strategies and techniques including how and why to use interviews, how to choose the right interview style (e.g. walk-and-talk vs. formal sit-down), how to choose a form of address (e.g. first-person vs. third person), tips for preparing for an interview, suggestions for putting subjects at ease, and most importantly, the seven habits of highly successful interviewers. The session is designed for both beginning and intermediate videographers and documentary filmmakers.

The Hatchback Production Kit [NEW]
(Saturday, March 13th, 1:00 P.M. to 2:50 P.M.)
I will discuss my compact video production kit, which is designed to fit completely in the hatchback of a compact car. It has been optimized for air-travel, and can be transported by a single person in a pinch. I will demonstrate and discuss the tradeoffs that went into selecting each item in the kit, as well as range of viable alternatives to accommodate your own set of requirements or preferences. The complete kit includes camera, lighting, grip, sound, camera support, and even make-up! If you’re a videographer trying to achieve the highest production values with a modest amount of gear, this session will provide you with the strategies, guidelines, and recommendations that will help you achieve that goal.

If you’re planning to attend the show, I look forward to seeing you there!

In my original review I wrote, “Transcriva transforms the process of transcribing interviews from a tedious chore into a graceful process with an efficient chat-like interface using keyboard shortcuts that is especially powerful when transcribing an interview with multiple speakers.” And that is still true. Bartas’ tag line for Transcriva is “Manual transcription with automatic transmission” and I’d say that’s a better way to put it. The program offers user-configurable keyboard shortcuts so your hands never need to leave the keyboard. You can control playback speed to match your typing speed. After a pause, when you restart the media it automatically jumps back a user-settable number of seconds to make it easier to take up where you left off. It even works with a Foot Pedal (via software interface) if you’re set up with one. The program has a Follow-Along feature that will highlighting the related sections of the transcription as the media file plays back. Clicking on the transcription text jumps to the related point in the video or audio file. Transcriva can handle just about any type of audio or video you can play with QuickTime. When you’re done transcribing, you can export the text as a plain text (.txt), RTF (.rtf) or Microsoft Word (.doc) file.

This new version, in addition to adding video support, offers other significant improvements over the first version: media files are no longer read into the applications own document, saving both transfer time and disk space, and transcriptions are nicely organized in folders on the left hand side of the interface and you can choose where the root folder lives. It’s Mac-like interface continues to be a fine feature of the program. Another cool feature in this version is that it can use a live audio and/or video recording as the source media, so while you record a live meeting you can type notes that will be attached to the media being recorded at the time you wrote the notes.

There are two features I’d like to see in a future version of Transcriva: First, the ability to set a time code offset in a file. Right now all transcriptions start at zero and the time code is the time since the start of the audio file or video clip. It would be nice in some situations to match the actual time code of the media file being transcribed. While this is not a serious issue on my current project using P2 media (in a file-based world referring to clip name and time from start of clip works well most of the time), however, when working on videotape based interviews it would be nice to be able to create transcripts that match the time code of the original media. Second, I’d like to see the program extending the shortcuts beyond media control, navigation, and options to include words and phrases that come up often during an interview. Perhaps it could be modeled on the word completion feature in BBEdit and programming environments like Flex.

Transcriva has made my work easier and I’m pleased with it. My experience with Bartas Technologies has been very good, with quick responses to questions and bug reports. If you need to transcribe interviews, and you’ve not yet found the right tool, Transcriva 2 might be it. Give their free trial a spin and see for yourself how much easier it can be to transcribe interviews with this simple and powerful program designed specifically for the Macintosh. For filmmakers transcribing interviews or preparing subtitles, Transcriva 2 is probably a good candidate for the job.

www.savetheinternet.com/fcc-comments

Net neutrality is the network design principle that has made possible the Internet’s rapid innovation and unprecedented open access. It protects your right, without interference from the network provider, to use any equipment, send or receive any content, run any application, or access any service. If you are not familiar with the Net Neutrality argument, check out the following:

• Why You Should Care About Network Neutrality, by Tim Wu (Slate)
• Network Neutrality FAQ by Tim Wu
• Net Neutrality: This is serious, by Tim Berners-Lee
• The End of End-to-End: Preserving the Architecture of the Internet in the Broadband Era, by Mark Lemley and Lawrence Lessig
• Is Net Neutrality a Trojan Horse?, A summary of EFF’s concerns with the FCC’s new neutrality proposal.
• Regulatory Capture, How the entertainment and media industries are often able to exert undue influence on the FCC.
• EFF Weighs in on Proposed FCC Net Neutrality Rules, A summary of EFF’s full comments to the FCC.

[Note: The last three links above were added to this post on 2010.01.18]

In August 2009, Reps. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) introduced the Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2009 (H.R. 3458). This landmark legislation would protect Net Neutrality under the Communications Act. Phone and cable companies have hired hundreds of lobbyists in Washington to try to stop this bill from becoming law. Citizens can make a difference, Take Action now!

I’m often asked by students, “what’s a good light kit for starting out” and I find it a very hard question to answer, because it really depends on what you want to do. There really is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all lighting kit. I find that most of the commercially available light kits I’ve seen offer too many watts and not enough versatility. After years of creating a variety of make-shift kits from my lighting collection for particular shoots, I’ve settled on one configuration when I’m “traveling light,” and I think the best approach is to put together a custom kit that meets your personal lighting needs.

Drawing from my collection of lighting instruments, I put together a subset for doing interviews on my current documentary project, which has involved air travel to do interviews, so I’ve thought about a bare essentials kit that will fit into a single, manageable case on wheels that’s not too big, but offers enough versatility for doing nicely (albeit simply) lit interviews. This kit is an attempt to balance capability, cost, weight, and size with the requirement that the case could also fit in the hatchback of my car along with tripod, sound kit, and camera gear so I can park the car without any visible evidence of gear in the hatch.All together the kit draws 1,300 Watts, which in most cases works fine on a single household circuit without tripping a breaker (unless there’s already other high-current devices in use). Here are the components in the kit:

• Kata OC-88 GDC Lighting Case with Insertrolley
• Lowel LC-55 Rifa-EX soft light (lightweight and compact, most often used as a key light, sometimes used as fill with 1/2 CTB or CTB when using window light as key)
• Lowel 40 degree Egg Crate for Rifa (reduces spill)
• Lowel Rifa Balance Bar (helps to center the weight of the Rifa light on the stand, increasing stability)



• Arri 300W Fresnel with barn doors and scrim set (Fresnels offer crisp, easy to control light with the quality of sunlight, used as a back light or kicker)
• Lowel Tota-Light with umbrella (often used as a background light, for overall fill, or as a fill light if needed)
• Flexfill 38″ Silver/White reflector (often used as a fill light bounce attached to a microphone stand)
• Three Avenger A625B Light Stands, these extend to 7.8′ but are a compact 26″ when closed
• Hypoallergenic transparent powder base and make-up pads (for reducing shine on the subject’s face)
• Spare lamps for all three units
• Two extension cords and cube taps
• Electric circuit tester
• Gloves
• Small tool kit including a Leatherman
• Flashlight
• Expendables (gaffer tape, C-47s, black wrap, trick line, and assorted gels and diffusion including half CTB and CTB sized with holes to fit the Rifa light).

This kit has worked out well over the course of over a dozen interviews since I put it together. It originally started out in a larger Pelican rolling case with additional instruments, but that quickly got the nickname “the beast” and I eventually trimmed down to the configuration above.
The Rifa LC-55 (500W) produces just enough light for most situations, and it’s the right choice for a lightweight and compact kit, however, if I could spare the space and weight, I’d rather be using a Kino Flo Diva-Lite. I’m considering adding to the kit (I still have a little room left in the case) one or two LED lights. These offer the advantage of small size and practical battery operation. I’m considering the Zylight Z90 (total creative control in terms of color and wireless control, however, a tad pricy) and the Lowel Blender (more affordable than the Z90, however, not as versatile as the Zylight). Back in July, I posted a comparison of four LED lights summarizing the results of my research.

Special thanks to Joseph Ingoldsby for asking the question that resulted in this post.

Update, July 15, 2010: The Avenger A625B Light Stands are no longer available, a reasonable replacement with a new stacking feature would be the Manfrotto 1051BAC Light Stand, Black – 6.75′ extended and 26″ when closed, not quite as tall as the older stands but for a portable kit, the stacking feature means they will nest more snugly in the case. — David.

• The Gleaners and I (Agnès Varda, 2000, French title: Les glaneurs et la glaneuse)
• Dogtown and Z-Boys (Stacy Peralta, 2001)
• In the Mirror of Maya Deren (Martina Kudlácek, 2002)
• A Kalahari Family (John Marshall, 2002)
• Spellbound (Jeffrey Blitz, 2002)
• The Kid Stays in the Picture (Nanette Burstein and Brett Morgen, 2002)
• Winged Migration (Jacques Perrin, 2002, French title: Le peuple migrateur)
• The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara (Errol Morris, 2003)
• My Architect (Nathaniel Kahn and Susan R. Behr, 2003)
• Tarnation (Jonathan Caouette, 2003)
• The Corporation (Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott, 2003)
• The Weather Underground (Sam Green and Bill Siegel, 2003)
• Super Size Me (Morgan Spurlock, 2004)
• Darwin’s Nightmare (Hubert Sauper, 2004)
• March of the Penguins (Luc Jacquet, 2005, French title: La marche de l’empereur)
• Grizzly Man (Wener Herzog, 2005)
• Al otro lado (Natalia Almada, 2005)
• The Cats of Mirikitani (Linda Hattendorf, 2006)
• Mirror Dance (Frances McElroy and Maria T. Rodriguez, 2005)
• Favela Rising (Jeff Zimbalist and Matt Mochary, 2005)
• Havana — The New Art of Making Ruins (Florian Borchmeyer and Matthias Hentschler, 2006, German title: Havana – Die Neue Kunst Ruinen Zu Bauen)
• An Inconvenient Truth (Davis Guggenheim, 2006)
• Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman (Jennifer Fox, 2006)
• When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (Spike Lee, 2006)
• Shadow of the House (Allie Humenuk, 2007)
• Helvetica (Gary Hustwit, 2007)
• Iraq in Fragments (James Longley, 2007)
• Made in L.A. (Almudena Carracedo, 2007)
• Waltz with Bashir (Ari Folman, 2008)
• Man on Wire (James Marsh, 2008)
• The Garden (Scott Hamilton Kennedy, 2008)
• Intimidad (David Redmon and Ashley Sabin, 2008)
• King Korn (Aaron Woolf, Curt Ellis and Ian Cheney, 2009)
• Herskovits at the Heart of Blackness (Llewellyn Smith, 2009)
• Shooting Beauty (Courtney Bent and George Kachadorian, 2009)

It was tough reducing the list down to thirty five, there are some really good films that fell off the list simply because I made an arbitrary decision to limit myself to thirty five. And so it goes.

1. Filmmakers Collaborative (Site | RSS). A non-profit support organization for independent media makers that provides fiscal sponsorship and hosts events including their annual Making Media Now conference. I’ve placed them first on my list because I’m biased (I sit on their board).

2. Center for Independent Documentary (Site | RSS). Another wonderful non-profit support organization for independent media makers, they provide fiscal sponsorship and host the amazing Filmmakers Workshop series on a monthly basis as well as the Filmmakers Workshop online community.

3. Center for Social Media at American University (Site | RSS | Twitter). The Center for Social Media (a part of American University’s School of Communication) investigates, showcases and sets standards for socially engaged media-making. They organize conferences and events, publish research, create codes of best practices, and incubate media strategies.

4. The Independent (Site | RSS | Twitter). The Independent was formerly The Independent Film & Video Monthly published by the AIVF (Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers), it has been resurrected as an online publication.

5. Documentary Tech (Site | RSS) An open-source collaborative project exploring documentary filmmaking techniques and technology. A project by The Rhode Island Film Festival and several sponsoring universities.

6. Cinema Tech (Site | RSS) Scott Kirsner writes about how new technologies are changing the way movies get made, discovered, marketed, distributed, shown, and seen.

7. Documentary Educational Resources (Site | RSS)A Watertown-based distributor of documentary films that also provides fiscal sponsorship and other support resources.

I suggest reading these using Google reader, which you can read as a stand-alone RSS reader or embed into your iGoogle page. If you’re not already using iGoogle, check it out, it’s a nice way to organize headlines from various sources along with a wide range of other gadgets, for example, here’s part of my iGoogle page:

Part of my iGoogle page

In the top left I have the RSS feed from the Filmmakers Collaborative web site, and below it the latest leadlines from Google Reader. I’ve also got a gadget showing the IndieWire RSS feed, as well as several Google News feeds using key words like “filmmaking” and “documentary” as well as headlines from the New York Times, NPR, etc. In the morning over a latte I scan the various headlines to see what’s going on. There are a variety of other feed readers, some online and others for Windows, Mac, or Linux, however, Google Reader is the best of the online readers by far.

Oh yes, and there’s my own site which you’re reading right now, but it would have been too cheeky to include myself, huh?

Front page photo: Steve Finer holding a Sony HVR-V1U.

1. Get your own web site with integrated blogging functionality if you don’t already have one. If your current site does not have a blog, add one. The easy way to get started is to get a blog on WordPress.com (it’s free) and you can get your own domain name for the site so your web site will be yoursitename.com rather than yoursitename.wordpress.com. The book WordPress for Dummies provides a good guide if you want to get hands on with the experience of creating your own site, or find a recent design school graduate who knows WordPress to build the site for you on a unix hosting provider like pair networks. And by all means have a trailer and sample clips of your documentary available on your web site. blip.tv or Vimeo are good places to host high-quality video, while YouTube provides the largest potential audience.

2. Start Twittering, you will find that The Twitter Book by Tim O’Reilly and Sarah Milstein is a good introduction if you need one.

3. If you’re not already on D-Word, you should join the community now. Get involved in discussion with your peers. Another good community is doculink. For technically minded folks, you’ll find DVinfo.net quite useful.

4. Get involved with a regional media arts organization. For example, Boston has the
Center for Independent Documentary and Filmmakers Collaborative, which provide networking opportunities and wonderful events, for example, on Saturday, November 7, 2009, Filmmakers Collaborative will be presenting Social Media Boot Camp for Film Professionals at MassArt, an excellent way to jump start your involvement in social media.

5. Read Fans, Friends & Followers: Building an Audience and a Creative Career in the Digital Age by Scott Kirsner, a timely book that’s chock full of case studies.

6. Read Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith, it’s not exactly about self-distribution but provides some valuable insights into how to best go about developing your online persona. On a related topic, there is also Chris Brogan’s Personal Branding for the Business Professional (PDF download), a free e-book on building your personal brand.

7. Some documentary filmmakers have found Facebook a very effective place to communicate with their fans.

There are many more things you can do, but this quick list constitutes a good start in adding a social media component to your self-distribution efforts. A related post on this blog, Distribution in the Digital Age might also be of interest. The DIYDays conferences and the Workbook Project are excellent resources for more information.

Photo credit: “Twitter” by respres (Flickr)

You can view more photos and a rough cut of Alice Apley’s video “Traces” by visiting the project page at kino-eye.com/traces/

Shooting at the farm house on Bumpkin Island

1. Tell an engaging story. It all begins with story. And whether your goal is to entertain or persuade, you need first and foremost to tell a story. Telling a good story is why (regardless of what you think of them) a film like Super Size Me (Morgan Spurlock, 2004) did spectacularly at the box office while Earthlings (Shaun Monson, 2003), in spite of its important, earnest message, struggled to find an wide, general, audience. The difference boils down not to right and wrong, or the facts, or even the message (both films are highly critical of Meat, Inc.), but storytelling. If you think documentaries don’t have to entertain, you’re sadly mistaken. Message is important, but without story, nobody will want to see it. Films, are, after all, entertainment, but it can be entertainment that inspires or persuades, if you tell a good story.

2. Do your homework. Research is critical for good documentary. Know your issue backwards and forwards, and try to understand to the best of your ability opposing positions if you’re doing an issue oriented film. Especially when you’re doing interviews, people will relate to you better if you converse with them from a position of understanding, they get it they have to explain things to the audience, but they should not be exasperated with having to explain the most basic things to you. The more of the territory you know, the better you can discover the special gems of knowledge along the way.

2. Give good pitch. When your fundraising, or seeking assistance, or promoting your film, be prepared to hook listeners with a short description of your film. Save the long proposal for funders that ask for it. If you can’t explain enough of what your film is about in thirty to sixty seconds to engage the listener’s interest, you’re never going to get an audience to take an hour or more of their lives to watch your film. Think ahead, know what you are going to say, rather than speak extemporaneously about your project.

3. Develop negotiation skills. In the course of making a film there is a long of negotiation along the way. Don’t believe what you see on television shows and in the movies. Good negotiation requires six components (five of which I’ve borrowed from Guy Kawasaki): (1) Prepare for the negotiation by knowing the facts of the situation; (2) always be forthright and honest in your dealings; (3) Figure out what you really want; (4) Figure out what you don’t care about; (5) Figure out what the other person or organization really wants; and (6) Create a win-win outcome to ensure that everyone is happy. This is the simple path to good negotiation. I and many of my students have gotten permission to shoot in places and situations other people have been told they can’t shoot and I would say negotiation skills played a part. It’s simple, but it requires doing your homework.

4. Run short, effective meetings (whether you’re in preproduction, production, post-production or in the distribution phase). The purpose of any meeting, wether it’s with a funder, crew, collaborators, distributor, etc. is to communicate outcomes and/or to make decisions. Meetings are not about sharing experiences, save that for a gathering at the bar or cafe. Always start on time, have the fewest number of people involved that’s possible (anything more than seven makes it impossible to have an efficient meeting). Set an agenda and stick with it. Maintain a parking lot for important issues that need to be addressed but are out of scope for a given meeting. Always document action items and follow up to make sure they are complete. Look into scrum techniques which are good for running short, efficient meetings to keep your production moving along with the least amount of overhead. Use an online collaboration tool like Google Docs to document agendas, action items, outcomes, and parking lot issues.

5. Be a good conversationalist. As a documentary filmmaker you are always interviewing in one form or another. A key component of good interviewing is active listening, which is critical to a two-way conversation. If you listen more than you talk, you will be a better conversationalist and you will also learn more. This applies to all situations. Active listening means you are really listening to what the person is saying, rather than thinking about what you are going to say next. Your participation in the conversation should be part of a communication process, and you learn more when you’re listening. Ask questions that will elicit responses. It’s a key component of observation, listening to what people say and how they say it. Practice getting people to talk with you and share their stories. You’ll have your moment when hundreds (maybe even thousands or millions) of people will listen to you when you screen your film.

6. Get along with almost anyone. Success in some industries is determined by individual knowledge and skill, however, filmmaking (even in today’s world where it’s easy to do many tasks yourself) is a collaborative art form. You may often find yourself talking with subjects you don’t agree with, but you have to get along with them in order to observe and learn. Your ability to work with others, through others, and sometimes even in spite of others, is among the most important skills of a documentary filmmaker. Share credit with others, and don’t give yourself too many credits, allow other people to share in the glow of your film. A rising tide floats all boats, as many people say. If you ever get stuck working with people who are a pain in the ass, tolerate them, move away from then as gracefully as you can, it’s a small world and it’s best to maintain good, professional relationships with everyone.

7. Be clear and concise in all communications, whether it’s e-mail, voicemail, or slides. But being concise does not mean to over-simplify, Ed Tufte’s classic essay, “The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint: Pitching Out Corrupts Within” is required reading for anyone who uses PowerPoint (or the nicer and more elegant Keynote). When it comes to voicemail, don’t make people work to get your number message, slowly say your telephone number once at the beginning of the message and a second time again at the end of the message.Don’t leave voicemail like, “Call me back, and I’ll tell you what time the preview screening is,” Just say, “Preview screening is on Tuesday, 7:00 p.m., at the Brattle.” Document important information using an online collaboration tool like Google Docs. This can help you keep emails short, while important details are kept in one place that’s easy to get to, and people can read and collaborate at their leisure.

So there you have it, seven of the most important habits of successful documentary filmmakers as I see it. Are there others that are absolutely essential? Please comment.

1. Lumière Brothers’ First Films (Auguste and Louis Lumière, 1895-1897). A collection “actualities” made by the Lumière brothers between 1895 and 1897. While some historians trace the origins of documentary to Edvard Muybridge, others suggest these short films like “Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory” (French title: La Sortie des Ouviers de L’Usine Lumiere a Lyon) and “The Arrival of a Train at the Station” (French title: L’ Arrivée d’un train à la Ciotat) demonstrate the beginnings of documentary cinema. The films consist of scenes from everyday life, providing an early example of documentary filmmaking and the aesthetics of photographic realism that would pervade the form to this day. For the Lumière brothers the new technology of motion pictures afforded them and their colleagues the opportunity to go out into the world and record everyday life. Audiences marveled at the beauty of simple things like seeing leaves moving in the wind. Imagine after a lifetime of seeing the stillness of photographs, paintings, and sculptures to walk into a darkened room and see on the screen images that looked like photographs, but they moved.

2. Nanook of the North (Robert Flaherty, 1922). Considered by many the first ethnographic film, “Nanook of the North” raises all the issues of representation we still deal with today. Through the character of Nanook (his real name was actually Allakariallak), Flaherty documented the “everyday life” of the Inuit Eskimos. We observe Nanook catching a seal and building an igloo, activities that the Inuit had abandoned by the time Flaherty was filming, but performed at Flaherty’s request. Flaherty did not allow Nanook to use any steel instruments or weapons in the film. Nanook’s re-enactments fit Flaherty’s Rousseau-inspired romantic vision of a culture that was rapidly fading. “Nanook of the North” has become a classic documentary, however, upon close analysis it has more of the characteristics of a fiction film, formed by western imagination. The debate over representational issues in documentary film started with Nanook and continues to this day.

3. Man with a Movie Camera (Dziga Vertov, 1929, Russian title: Chelovek s kino-apparatom). Among the best examples of poetic documentary to this day, a camera person travels through post-revolution Russia capturing images of everyday life. The protagonist of this film is the collective Russian people themselves. The film is loosely organized around the cycle of a day with music and editing moving the story along. The film makes explicit the many kinds of cinematic manipulation and serves as an encyclopedia of all of the techniques Vertov and his collaborators had access to including time-lapse, superimposition, cross-fade, etc. The filmmakers make themselves very evident in this film, a self-described experiment in cinematic communication. Vertov’s writings are also quite interesting, see “Kino-Eye: The Writings of Dziga Vertov,” edited and with an introduction by Annette Michelson.

4. Triumph of the Will (Leni Riefenstahl, 1935). A documentary record of the Nazi Party Convention in Nuremberg, Germany. The film stands as one of the most disturbing, yet poetic, propaganda films every made.

5. The City (Ralph Steiner & Willard Van Dyke, 1939). Contrasts industrialized city life with pastoral small-town America. The film was adapted by Lewis Mumford from the story by Pare Lorentz and includes music by Aaron Copland.

6. The Memphis Belle (William Wyler, 1944). The story of the final mission of the “Memphis Belle,” a B-17 Flying Fortress that became the first U.S. heavy bomber during World War II to complete twenty-five missions over Europe and return to the United States in one piece. The film was made by the U.S. Army Air Forces First Motion Picture Unit to boost morale by showing the courage of “the boys who flew those planes.” Despite the hazards of combat, Wyler and his collaborators filmed multiple bomber missions (not all of them aboard the “Memphis Belle”) using 16mm cameras placed in the nose, tail, and other positions around the bomber. The original crew (which was back in the States for a war bond drive) was brought into a Hollywood recording studio to record their own dialog while watching the film, providing a sense of authenticity. In 2001 the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry. The “Memphis Belle” bomber is now at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, near Dayton, Ohio. In 1990 a narrative feature with the same name was produced directed by Michael Caton-Jones, providing an interesting compare and contrast opportunity.

7. Night and Fog (Alain Resnais, 1955). Resnais revisits the Nazi concentration camps ten years after the end of World War II. The film is made up of Resnais’ own shooting on location with Nazi footage of the camps, newsreels, and variety of other sources including Leni Reifenstahl’s Triumph of the Will. The film sparked controversy upon release. West German officials applied pressure on French officials to censor the film and it was removed from the Cannes festival line-up, yet eventually was screened out of competition. The film met with favorable reception by most critics and it eventually screened at numerous festivals. The film has sparked a number of debates, especially in terms of Resnais’ failing to disclose that a majority of the victims of the death camps were Jewish.

8. Primary (Robert Drew, 1960). Among the first American direct cinema masterpieces and the first intimate behind-the-scenes view of a political campaign. Robert Drew and his colleagues had film crews with both the Kennedy and Humphrey campaigns during the one of the state primaries.

9. Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment (Robert Drew, 1963). Multiple camera teams around a crisis makes this one-of-a kind documentary come alive. This was among the early documentaries along with “Primary,” et al.. to make use of new lightweight cameras and sync sound. The film came about about when President Kennedy screened “Primary” and asked Drew what he wanted to do next, to which Drew replied, “to make a film about a President in crisis.” Three years later in the June of 1963, President John Kennedy and his brother Robert were in the midsts of a landmark racial confrontation with Alabama Governor George Wallace over opening the all-white University of Alabama to enrollment by two black students. With never-again-permitted access inside the oval office, we see the President and Attorney General making crucial, time-sensitive, historic decisions.

10. 7-Up Series (Michael Apted, 1964, 1971, 1978, 1985, 1992, 1999, 2007). The 7-Up Series started in 1964 when Granada television interviewed fourteen 7-year-old British children from a variety of social and economic backgrounds. The film was among the first attempts on television to record real people living real lives. Every seven years since, Michael Apted has returned to interview the now-adults about their lives and how they have changed. Titles in the series are: 7-Up, 7 Plus Seven, 21-Up, 28-Up, 35-Up, 42-Up, and 49-Up.

11. Tokyo Olympiad (Kon Ichikawa, 1965). A montage of the 1964 Olympics. A large number of camerapeople captured the event which through editing become cinematic poetry.

12. Bob Dylan: Don’t Look Back (D.A. Pennebaker, 1967). Follows Bob Dylan on his 1965 tour in England. An excellent example of American Direct Cinema offering a glimpse into the private life of Dylan at a time when he is gaining popularity and transforming his style.

13. Monterey Pop (D.A. Pennebaker, 1968). Pure concert film, and the first one of it’s kind, the film that launched the concert film genre and still among the best examples of the genre. The movie is on the DVD The Complete Monterey Pop Festival: Disc 1: Monterey Pop.

14. Salesman (Albert and David Maysles, 1968). This seminal documentary follows four bible salesmen as they travel far from their families across the country selling expensive bibles to housewives who really can’t afford them. One of the finest examples of American cinéma vérité.

15. The Sorrow and the Pity (Marcel Ophüls, 1969), French title: Le Chagrin et la pitié. Ophüls explores the multi-faceted response of the French to occupation during World War II.

16. Land of Silence and Darkness (Werner Herzog, 1971). Who else but Herzog could make a film about people who are deaf and blind through which he explores philosophical issues of communication and knowledge that have engaged philosophers for centuries?

17. Hearts and Minds(Peter Davis, 1974). A documentary about the Vietnam War that premiered at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival, however, distribution in the United States was delayed by legal maneuvering, due to the controversial nature of the film. The title is from a phrase spoken by Lyndon B. Johnson, “the ultimate victory will depend on the hearts and minds of the people who actually live out there.”

18. Harlan County U.S.A. (Barbara Kopple, 1976). Excellent documentary of the 1973 coal miners’ strike against the Eastover Mining Company in Kentucky as the workers try to join the United Mine Workers Association.

19. Gates of Heaven (Errol Morris, 1980). A documentary about the pet cemetery business told through interviews that launched Morris’ career. Among the cast of characters is Floyd “Mac” McClure whose pet cemetery fails and he must dug up and transport hundreds of animals to another pet cemetery. A documentary classic dealing with mortality for which Werner Herzog ate his shoe.

20. The Atomic Cafe (Jayne Loader, Kevin Rafferty, & Pierce Rafferty, 88 min., 1982). Documents a defining period in history and presents a chilling and humorous look at cold-war era paranoia in the United States through newsreel footage, government archives, military training films, etc.

21. Burden of Dreams (Les Blank, 1982). One of the best making-of/behind-the-scenes documentaries ever made. Essential viewing.

22. Koyaanisqatsi (Godfrey Reggio, 1982). With stunning photography and a score by Phillip Glass, the film presents a prophetic indictment of western culture. The title is taken from the Hopi language,meaning “life out of balance,” Reggio, a filmmaker deeply involved in progressive political causes, states in Essence of Life, a documentary film available on the DVD edition of Koyaanisqatsi, “It’s not that we use technology, we live technology. Technology has become as ubiquitous as the air we breathe, so we are no longer conscious of its presence. So what I decided to do in making these films is to rip out all the foreground of a traditional film—the foreground being the actors, the characterization, the plot, the story—I tried to take the background, all of that that’s just supported like wallpaper, move that up into the foreground, make that the subject, ennoble it with the virtues of portraiture, and make that the presence.”

23. The Times of Harvey Milk (Rob Epstein, 1984). Not only a compelling story, but an example of excellent structuring and documentary editing. Recently made into a feature film, offering another interesting opportunity for comparing and contrasting the narrative and documentary versions of this story.

24. This is Spinal Tap (Rob Reiner, 1984). A classic, among the best examples of the mocumentary genre.

25. Shoah (Claude Lanzmann, 1985). Survivors, witnesses, and former Nazis talk about the events of the Holocaust. Lanzmann does not use reenactments nor historical footage, instead, uses only interviews and visits to the various places his interviewees discuss. Not only is this compelling storytelling, but demonstrates the awesome power of good interviews (along with The Last Days).

26. Seventeen (Joel DeMott and Jeff Kreines, 1985). A fine example of American direct cinema, and while not as well known as the classics (e.g. Salesmen), it deserves a place among them. The project was originally designed to be part of a series (conceived by Peter Davis) as one of six television documentaries under the collective title of ‘”Middletown.” Five of the films were broadcast by PBS in 1982, but Seventeen was excluded, probably due to its raw, honest, observational approach looking at teenage life in America including strong language, drinking, drugs, a romance between a seventeen year old white girl and a young black man, and no artificial plot or crisis structure. And yet these qualities—which led PBS to not show the film—are exactly what makes Seventeen a unique and honest portrayal.

27. Sherman’s March (Ross McElwee, 1986). McElwee originally received funding to document General William Sherman’s effect on the South. But before he start the project, his girlfriend leaves him, and his journey through the South becomes personal as he meets several women in his travels and examines his own life rather than that of General Sherman’s, fueled the the personal documentary movement

28. The Thin Blue Line (Errol Morris, 1988). Morris has a unique style all his own. When most people do re-creations it’s pretty much the documentary equivalent of Velveeta cheese, however, when Morris does re-creations, it’s in the category of cinematic art, pushing the boundaries of what we consider is, and is not, a documentary film and providing the genre with some of the best examples of John Grierson’s quixotic definition of documentary as “the creative treatment of actuality.”

29. For All Mankind (Al Reinert, 1989). Reinert documents the Apollo space program with a focus on the human aspects of the missions. Rather than use voice-over narration, the film presents us with the voices of the astronauts and mission control personnel. A score by Brian Eno sets the emotional tone.

30. Tongues Untied (Marlon Riggs, 1989). Poetically celebrates the difficult life of gay black men who must deal with double discrimination in terms of race and homophobia. The film is available on the POV 20th anniversary collection DVD along with other documentary classics like Silverlake Life: The View from Here, Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision, Regret to Inform, and many others.

31. Notebook on Cities and Clothes (Wim Wenders), 1989. A cinematic essay on film vs. video by way of fashion design. Wenders was invited by the Georges Pompidou Centre to make a film in the context of fashion and the result is this unusual documentary made from a mix of 16mm and video materials exploring the work of Japanese fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto. Wenders follows the designer from Tokyo to Paris as the designer prepares for Yamamoto’s latest showing. Through dialog with the designer and his own musings, Wenders offers a mélange of reflections on the ephemeral nature of fashion and the essential differences between shooting on film vs. video.

32. Roger & Me (Michael Moore, 1989). I have serious issues with Moore’s documentary ethics. Moore pioneers a new form of rhetorical documentary that places the demands of entertainment and the director’s thesis over discourse and facts, and while I would not argue that it’s not a documentary, it’s not in he same league of documentary as Barbara Kopple’s American Dream.

33. American Dream (Barbara Kopple, 1990). A good example of a respectful filmmaker-subject relationship, the antithesis of Moore’s style as exemplified in Roger & Me.

34. Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse (Fax Bahr, George Hickenlooper, and Eleanor Coppola, 1991). A film about the making of Apocalypse Now and among the best “making of” documentaries.

35. Madonna: Truth or Dare (Alek Keshishian and Mark Aldo Miceli, 1991). An entertaining documentary about Madonna’s persona behind the scenes shot during her “Blond Ambition” tour. A great deal of 16mm black and white film flowed as Madonna performed for the camera, including a famous scene with a coke bottle.

36. In the Shadow of the Stars (Allie Light and Irving Saraf, 1991). An affectionate look at the path to stardom inside the world of opera. In a refreshing twist, the filmmakers focus on the singers who stand “in the shadows” behind the divas and sheds light on the lure of celebrity and offers a privileged look into the world of opera. The opening sequence is beautiful.

37. Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media (Mark Achbar and Peter Wintonick, 1992). The film presents Noam Chomsky’s ideas through interviews, stock footage and illustrations in a manner suitable to a new generation that does not read and prefers to watch.

38. Man Bites Dog (Remy Belvaux & Benoit Poelvoorde, 1992, French title: C’est arrivé près de chez vous). A mockumentary that takes a satirical look at how media promotes violence as a documentary crew follows a serial killer on his murderous activities.

39. Visions of Light (Arnold Glassman, Todd McCarthy, and Stuart Samuels, 1992). Interviews with cinematographers are inter-cut with beautiful clips from their films as they discuss the art and craft of cinematography. The interviews were shot in High Definition video in an attempt to demonstrate that high definition video was ready to be taken seriously as a tool for cinematography. It would take another ten years before that became true.

40. Silverlake Life: The View from Here (Tom Joslin & Peter Friedman, 1993). A personal diary that addresses the issue of living with AIDS and the acceptance of gay couples by their family, among the new crop of films shot on Hi8 (at the time) that helped open up distribution to documentaries shot on prosumer video formats.

41. The War Room (Chris Hegedus & D.A. Pennebaker, 1993). An behind-the-scenes look at Clinton campaign headquarters where George Stephanopoulous and James Carville perfected the art making the news cycle work for them.

42. Hoop Dreams (Steve James, 1994). This well crafted film shot over several years follows two boys from inner-city Chicago with dreams of becoming basketball stars. We follow them through high school and some of their college years as they win scholarships and face obstacles along the way. Among the first wave of documentaries shot on miniDV that achieved theatrical release, once and for all removing the stigma of shooting on video rather than film.

43. Crumb (Terry Zwigoff, 1994). A wonderfully done and intimate portrait of Robert Crumb, the comic book artist known for his biting social criticism through comics like “Mr. Natural” and “Fritz the Cat.” Over a six year period, Crumb allowed Zwigoff access to his family, friends, ex-wife, and former lovers.

44. Fear of a Black Hat (Rusty Cundieff, 1994). A mockumentary on the evolution and state of American hip hop music in the spirit of This is Spinal Tap. Rusty Cundieff, the director and writer also was the lead actor (Ice Cold).

45. Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision (Freida Lee Mock, 1995). About the life of American artist Maya Lin, whose best-known work is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

46. When We Were Kings (Leon Gast, 1996). A documentary about the “Rumble in the Jungle” heavyweight match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman held in what was then called Zaire in 1974, capturing the run-up to the fight, the controversy surrounding the event. A wonderfully crafted film.

47. Little Dieter Needs to Fly (Werner Herzog, 1997). This film tells the story of Dieter Dengler, Vietnam veteran who grew up in a Germany. Dengler recalls an early memory of American fighter-bombers destroying his village in which he saw one of the pilots and from that day forward he had to be a pilot. He eventually became a U.S. Navy pilot and while flying in Vietnam he was forced to make a crash landing in Laos. He was captured and became a prisoner of war. Eventually Dengler escaped. For the film Dengler returns to Laos and Thailand with Herzog in order to recreate his experiences. A character based documentary done in a manner only Herzog could make. But wait, there’s more. Herzog also made a fiction film based on the story titled Rescue Dawn, providing an opportunity to reflect on the differences between documentary and narrative filmmaking (especially since Herzog often makes documentaries with narrative elements as well as narratives with documentary elements).

48. Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control (Errol Morris, 1997). Presents the profiles of four men with intense passion for their chosen careers: a robotics scientist, a mole-rat expert, a lion tamer, and a topiary artist. As he did in “First Person” and “The Fog of War,” Morris used the “interrortron” to film the interviews in the film.

49. Four Little Girls (Spike Lee, 1997). On September 15, 1963, a bomb destroyed a black church in Birmingham, Alabama, killing four young girls. The crime became a defining moment in the American civil-rights movement. This film tells the story of the bombing through testimonials from members of the victims’ families along with interviews with others, including George Wallace, the former Alabama Governor.

50. The Last Days (James Moll, 1998). There have been many documentaries made about the Holocaust, however, The Last Days is among the best (along with Shoah). Rather than telling the story with archival images and narration (which provides viewers a safe intellectual distance), this film presents personal stories that puts in sharp relief the evil of the Holocaust. From a documentary maker’s perspective, an example of the power of well crafted interviews is evident.

51. Buena Vista Social Club (Wim Wenders, 1999). A poetic documentary wherein guitarist Ry Cooder gathers together twelve legendary musicians and resurrects the music of pre-revolutionary Cuba for a series of recording sessions and performances. A variety of performances and observational footage are inter-cut with interviews of the musicians reminiscing in a backdrop of a decaying but colorful Havana. The lush and colorful images were captured using a mix of miniDV and Digital Betacam in the PAL format, helping to de-stigmatize the use of video for films destined for theatrical release.

52. American Movie (Chris Smith, 1999). Smith documents a filmmaker’s attempt to make an independently produced horror film, capturing wonderfully the painful truth about independent filmmaking.

53. This Is What Democracy Looks Like (Jill Friedberg & Rick Rowley, 2000). Edited from footage shot by over a hundred media activists, this film presents a political and emotional account the 1999 WTO protests in Seattle. An important example of the power of collaborative filmmaking. Presents a unique point of view made possible by weaving together footage from a hundred cameras. A glimpse of the future of documentary film made possible by collaboration on a grand scale.

54. In the Mirror of Maya Deren (Martina Kudlácek, 2002). A beautifully crafted portrait that weaves together fascinating interviews with Deren’s poetic images. Maya Deren, along with Stan Brakhage, is among the most important filmmakers of the American avant-garde. Kudlácek demonstrates Deren’s contributions to cinematography, editing, and how filmmakers discuss their work.

55. Bowling for Columbine (Michael Moore, 2002). This film, like “Roger & Me,” raises questions about documentary ethics. The film is full of deceptive editing that twists and stretches the truth, yet through his storytelling skills, Moore, like a good magician, hides the mechanisms behind the tricks, resulting in a compelling argument that appeals to the emotions, but falls apart during the fact checking process. Moore unwittingly offers right-wing fanatics fodder for discrediting leftist arguments.

56. Capturing the Friedmans (Andrew Jarecki, 2003). In the words of Roger Ebert, “an instructive lesson about the elusiveness of facts.”

57. The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill (Judy Irving, 2003). Delightful story of a modern-day St Francis and his relationship with a flock of wild parrots in San Francisco. Beautifully shot on 16mm film, it’s not only a great story, but a feast for the eyes, the soft image with rich colors does justice to the story.

58. My Architect: A Son’s Journey (Nathaniel Kahn, 2003). Nathaniel Kahn examines in a cool, understated, and respectful manner the life and work of his father, architect Louis Kahn, whose work included innovative buildings including the Yale University Art Gallery, Phillips Exeter Academy Library in Exeter, New Hampshire, Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, and the Parliament and Capitol Buildings in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Ironically, the senior Kahn left the world broke and mostly in obscurity despite being among the most innovative architects of his time weaving a distinctive personal vision and the international style.

59. Earthlings (Shaun Monson, 2003). A provocative examination of our dependence on and relationship to animals. The film examines how the food, medical, and entertainment industries use animals and how they are linked to the global economy. The film challenges our overall lack of respect for animals with searing facts and harrowing images. Joaquin Phoenix narrates.

60. Super Size Me (Morgan Spurlock, 2004). An excellent example of a personal documentary in which Spurlock documents thirty days during which he eats only fast food from McDonald’s. This diet has a drastic effect on his health. The film offers an entertaining and cleverly constructed reflection on the fast food industry and bad nutrition. Spurlock gained 24 pounds during the thirty days which in turn took fourteen months for him to lose. A model of activist and personal filmmaking coming together.

61. Born into Brothels (Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman, 2004). A portrait of children of prostitutes living in Calcutta’s red-light district, a slickly produced documentary with beautiful images.

62. Control Room (Jehane Noujaim, 2004) A fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the media’s vital role in manufacturing history. In the early days of the war in Iraq, Americans could see on their televisions twenty-four hours coverage of the war and observe a “U.S. victory.” At the same time, a different story was being played out on television sets throughout the Arab world as Al-Jazeera broadcast images of Iraqi civilian casualties and American POWs (both taboo on American media, so much for the so-called liberal media).

63. Grizzly Man (Wener Herzog, 2005). Herzog explores what he calls “the ecstasy of truth” in this documentary that reflects on the life and death of Timothy Treadwell, a serious bear enthusiast. Combines interviews with people who knew Treadwell and Treadwell’s own footage of his interactions with grizzly bears before he and his girlfriend were killed (and partially eaten) by a bear in 2003.

64. Who Killed the Electric Car? (Christopher Paine, 2006). A well structured, informative, and entertaining documentary in the form of a whodunnit. Recounts the story of the EV-1, an electric car that General Motors introduced in California and then suddenly pulled off the road, crushing most of them, much to the dismay of drivers who loved the car. The California Air Resources Board passed the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate in 1990, providing an incentive for GM to introduce the EV-1 into the California automobile market. The mandate was eventually reversed after suits were bought by automobile manufacturers and the oil industry who feared losing out on profit from the oil-fueled transportation monopoly. The film also presents a critical look at hydrogen vehicles and a positive discussion of plug-in hybrids.

65. Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman (Jennifer Fox, 2006). An amazing six-hour, six-part, documentary of epic proportions in which we follow the filmmaker as she travels around the world asking her women friends how they construct and imagine their lives as she struggles to figure out her own. In her attempt to capture how women talk, Fox filmed her conversations with friends using a technique she calls “passing the camera.” Read my post on the film, “Flying takes documentary form to new heights.”

66. Operation Filmmaker (Nina Davenport, 2007). An insightful look at the filmmaker-subject relationship. Read my review of the film, “Operation Filmmaker offers crisp angle on subject-filmmaker relationship.”

67. Intimidad (David Redmon & Ashley Sabin, 2008). A beautiful film that weaves together a mix of home movie, cinéma vérité, and informal interview footage to present a gently observed portrait of Cecy and Camilo Ramirez and their daughter Loida, a hard-working young family living in Reynosa, Mexico. Read my interview with the filmmakers for more about the film and how it was made.

That’s it for now. There are many important classics missing from this list, but in many cases (e.g. “Chronicle of a Summer” and “Eyes on the Prize” to name just two) films missing from this list are not available through Netflix. I’ll be expanding this list over time and will eventually post a revised list of one hundred excellent documentaries available either through Netflix or online. Your comments are most welcome.

Image credit:

Flying investigates these conversations, in a manner that is, in Fox’s words, “intensely interested in the two-way conversation women have and the horizontal nature of it. I had decide that I couldn’t ask other women to be intimate if I was willing to share and put myself on the line equally.” And thus she began to experiment with “passing the camera” back and forth with her friends, “almost like a traditional talk stick, except the person talking didn’t have the camera, the person being the witness held the camera [...] we just ‘passed the camera’ back and forth in conversation.”

Fox found that the technique created some powerful effects in the people involved in the process, “it seemed to immediately make people relax because they were not put on the spot alone, but also the technique is so simple and the camera so small [that the] camera actually becomes part of the conversation.” Flying is highly personal, however, it did not start out that way. Through the process of making the film, Fox realized she has to put more of herself into the film, “as filmmakers, we cut interesting stories that occur between the filmmaker and the subjects out, or we don’t film those moments.” But she could not do that in this film, knowing that, “in order to make a film about women’s intimate lives, I couldn’t pretend that I was not in the picture, I couldn’t pretend that I knew nothing about the subject, how could I ask women to tell me about their intimate life if I wasn’t willing to put my own private life on the line?”

Fox began shooting Flying in 2002 and ended up with 1,600 hours of video, which took an additional year and a half to edit. The result is a personal journey to discover what it means to be a woman today. It’s nice to watch a documentary that is as long as it needs to be, rather than shoehorned into a standard broadcast slot of 60, 90, or 120 minutes. Flying provides a depth of experience that is very rare in documentary cinema. I watched the film when it first came out and recently recommended it to my documentary students (since I only had time to show a short clip in class). The response of those who watched it was resoundingly positive. I hope more documentary filmmakers will consider breaking the boundaries of traditional broadcast time slots and make documentaries as long as they need to be. Flying proves that there’s a place for long form documentary in our increasingly diverse media ecology.

Note: The quotes in this post are from an interview with Jennifer Fox by Alice Apley and I conducted at MassArt in Boston on April 18, 2008 when Fox was in town for a screening of Flying at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Image Credits: 1. Photo by David Tames, 2. Photo courtesy of Zohe Film Productions.

Now with larger camcorders that have XLR inputs I simply run the wireless into one channel and the second microphone into the other channel, but what about when you’re using a wireless that has a 3.5mm mini-jack output and you’re plugging into a camcorder with a 3.5mm mini-jack stereo input?

For this situation I took a Y headphone adapter cable I had laying around and rewired it so that I could run two separate mics into the 3.5mm stereo input, one routed to channel 1 (left) and the other to channel 2 (right). If you are not inclined to cut, solder, and heat-shrink your own concoction, you can purchase a ready made cable, for example, the Cables Unlimited AUD-3010 8-Inch 3.5mm Stereo M to Dual 3.5mm Mono F Splitter is available from Amazon.com.

For use with the wireless microphone as a second microphone in the vicinity of the camera, I purchased an inexpensive plug-in powered omnidirectional microphone from Giant Squid Audio Lab. They can provide you a microphone with custom cable lengths, the one I’m using is one foot long to avoid having to dress cables. Unfortunately a foam wind screen can’t be purchased along with the microphone, so I had to order a Pearstone 1/4″ foam wind screen from B&H photo video, it fits the microphone perfectly. I also use a Rycote Lavalier Windjammer on my lavaliers on windy days.

Below is is a video I put together quickly that demonstrates capturing the audio from both the wireless microphone and the small omnidirectional microphone attached to the wireless receiver cable on top of the camera.

 Play Video Clip

Some things to notice in this recording, there’s two parts, Demo 1 and Demo 2. For Demo 1 I cross faded between the wireless microphone and the wired microphone, note the difference in background sound between the two mics. For Demo 2 I mixed the wireless microphone and the wired microphone, the overall noise level is higher. Whenever you have two different microphones, you’re going to get different background ambient sound. In this case, the fact that the wireless is clipped onto the subject’s shirt provides a very different sound perspective than a wired onmi attached to the camera. The mic on the camera is getting reverberation from the hard walls all around. The wireless mic, given the placement on the subject’s body, is only recording reverberant sound from 1/2 of the room, the close proximity to the body and the soft shirt is really cutting down on the overall ambience, and, give the close proximity to the voice, it also has the gain at a lower setting, so you are getting more signal and less noise. You are also picking up the speaker with both the wireless and camera mic, so now you have two perspectives of that voice in Demo 2. Nonetheless, a second microphone close to a second sound source that you want to record will result in a better recording that simply depending on a single wireless microphone. Again, each mic was recorded to a discrete channel. This offers more versatility in post. The editing and audio mixing was done with Final Cut Pro.

An audio quality note: the video embedded in this page has been compressed to Flash with not the best audio compression settings, if you want to better hear the difference between the microphone positions and the ambient noise differences, go to the blip.tv page (UsingBothChannels859.m4v) to listen to the original QuickTime file that was uploaded to blip.tv.

This splitter cable is also handy if you’re running two wireless microphones into the camera and want to run one into channel 1 and the other into channel 2. In order to mount two Senneheiser Evolution G2 wireless receivers on a single cold shoe adapter, the Rycote Hot Shoe Extension comes in handy, I keep one in my sound kit.

Whenever possible, make full use of both audio channels! You will truly appreciate it when you’re editing your piece, and this is one of many techniques for making good use of of both channels.

If you wire your own adapter, the tip of the mini-connector corresponds to the left channel, the ring corresponds to the right channel, and the sleeve is ground. It’s always a good idea to double check your wiring with a continuity tester. If you’re cobbling an existing cable with molded plugs, usually the wires are color coded with white corresponding to the left channel, red to the right channel, and black to ground. But you never know, still a good idea to double check with a continuity tester.

Special thanks to Kyle Brock who graciously allowed me to videotape him for this and the original purpose of the video. Sennheiser Evolution G2 wireless microphone system generously provided by Professional and Continuing Education at MassArt.