Research - Louis Theroux Scientology

Louis Theroux is one of my inspirations when making my documentary as he uses a variety of different shot types that are very unique to him. I like the use of shots however they will not all fit the style of documentary I am doing as mine is on independent music and so I will use simple shots to fit the simple nature of what indie used to mean.

Analysis - Music for Misfits

The above screenshots are of my first analysis. I analysed a documentary called 'Music for Misfits' and it was similar to the idea I had for my documentary and so felt it was necessary to analyse this documentary. I like the style of it and I want to produce something of a similar standard. I picked 6 shot types I liked and want to imitate in my documentary.

Portfolio - Update

Before

The above screenshot is my initial editing. I have dragged all my footage onto iMovie and have filtered it and decided what I am going to include. I have a montage of videos from concerts and gigs I have been to. I have edited these videos to change clip every time there is a chord change in the song 'Not Nineteen Forever' by the Courteeners which is a popular indie song.

After

In this screenshot I have added some footage from an interview and there are two units so I have two different shots. I have edited some footage to make it so it swaps from one angle to another. I have also got some footage of my model flicking through a rack of vinyl which fits the indie genre.

Research - Indie Record Labels

Indie Record Labels
Although seen as ironic as independent bands are meant to be independent, many bands are signed to record labels. They sign to get themselves the promotion that they cannot afford. The Stone Roses are a band who, after great critical success on their self-titled debut album, wanted to capitalise on the success and decided to sign to a major record label, however, their current label (Silvertone) did not let them out of their contract. This led to a long legal debate and eventually the band signed to Geffen Records and produced the 'Second Coming' album which was met with mixed reviews and not nearly as much success as their first album.
There are now multiple record labels who, although are labels, are not pressured into signing a specific sounding band or artist. The only issue with indie record labels is that they do not always have the funding and so the band have to pay for a lot of the benefits such as promotion. However, they have a team who is genuinely interested in the music the band writes which means they care about who they sign and are happy to help in whatever the band want. There is also a closer connection between the band and the team at the record label as there are not lots of popular artists so they can focus more attention on the band.  Indie label contracts are known to be more artist-friendly, giving the artist more money for their work through either giving them a larger percentage of revenue than given by the major labels or through a profit-sharing technique in which the band get a percentage and so do the label. Rough trade is one of the more famous indie labels. They are famous for signing bands such as 'The Smiths', 'The Libertines' and 'The Strokes'. These bands have all done very well in leaving a legacy behind in the music scene and also have given the label attention as they are very popular.

'Rough Trade' Indie Record Label Logo

Summer Work

So over the summer I have been collecting footage for my documentary introduction. I have lots of gig footage from indie bands which fits the question perfectly. I have started compiling it all into a short montage for the intro before the title screen.

As can be seen in the screenshot, I have added a song which is an upbeat indie song which is well known in the indie music genre. I have also uploaded some footage from the gigs I have been to and have removed the audio from them and cut them down to fit with the song. This is just a short montage and just a starting point for the rest of my documentary.

Question

The question I initially thought to answer was "Has the true meaning of indie been lost in recent years?".

The reason I have come up with this question is because it is an interest of mine and I feel as though I can make a documentary with content about this. There can be a yes or no answer but there is no specific answer and this will be explored in the documentary introduction.

The Stone Roses are an example of a true indie British band and so they will be involved in the documentary as well as other bands. I am going to try and organise interviews with local bands and also people who were around in the 70s and 80s when indie had it's true meaning.

I am going to use a small amount of archive footage to try and show the meaning of indie. This is a mainly opinion based question however I am going to try and en-cooperate as many facts and figures as I can to back up my opinion, however there is nobody that I am trying to sway or influence purely for the fact that this is an opinion based documentary.

The Stone Roses

Another question I thought of was "Is indie still indie?".
This question is similar to the other however, it would be interesting to study as indie means independent and alternative however The Smiths in the 80s were an alternative indie band who's debut album hit number 2 in the UK top 40. Also nowadays there are many indie fans. Also the idea of being indie is to be completely different and alternative but lots of people who call themselves indie follow codes and conventions such as wearing Doc Martens and denim jackets.

The Smiths

Modes of Documentary

Modes of Documentary

1. Expository documentary - Expository documentaries are more commonly seen on TV, rather than in the cinema. There are many different techniques that are used in this mode of documentary including voiceover narration, commenting on the images and explaining what is happening in a direct address to the audience. The aim of this mode of documentary is to inform the audience about an event or place with something in which they are not familiar. They usually have lots of factual information and figures. America's Most Wanted is an example of an expository documentary.

2. Observational documentary - These documentaries tend to represent a certain area of society. Techniques include long takes, hand-held shots and they usually have little or no interviews and voiceovers. Big Brother is a perfect example of an observational documentary as the audience are observing the people in the house.

3. Participatory (interactive) documentary - This is the opposite to an observational documentary as the filmmaker is foregrounded making it explicit that the film is made from their point of view. There is a lot of interaction in participatory documentaries as the filmmaker tends to want to interview people and meet other people. They actively engage with the situation they are making a film on. Living with Michael Jackson is a documentary that is interactive as the filmmaker/ journalist Louis Theroux is actively talking to people and interviewing others involved with Michael Jackson.

4. Reflexive documentary - This borrows techniques from fiction film for an emotional or subjective response. It emphasises the expressive nature of film and anti realist techniques. Voiceovers are likely to be questioning and uncertain.

5. Performative documentary - The final two modes are linked because they both investigate the relationship between the real world and the way in which documentaries are produced as representations based on the construction and manipulation of the image. The performative documentary takes this idea further, explicitly challenging the idea of documentary truth, instead emphasising the process of film language itself. Tongues Untied is an example of a performative documentary as it is not a typical documentary.