The logging death march is done. Getting closer to the fun
stuff, the editing puzzle.
Watching “Royal, Nebraska” and “White Sky” got me thinking
about the pace of the story. How fast do I want the montage? Perhaps what I am shooting for is a clear premise—pleasing
the pedestrian viewer who wants everything fed with a spoon—but yet with long
acts, ambiguous enough to allow for some insights. Or maybe not.
Keep being pressed to present my logline with these Grand
Terms. Globalization. Climate Change. Victims of Changing Times Tell the Story
of Death and Destruction to Viewers Who Love a Good Moral Outcry Because That
is What Good People Do. Point taken but
I do think social documentation can be more nuanced. Which is why I am looking
forward to read Ordinary Aspects for next week.
re. your second paragraph: please read this (one of my very favorite pieces of writing about documentary). I think you absolutely do not need to make a film with the kind of grand social message that usually comes down to the kind of "thank god that's not me" moment (that you describe as moral outcry). Here's Jill Godmilow with her thoughts about what it might look like to make socially engaged film: http://www3.nd.edu/~jgodmilo/reality.html
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