Do not copy, do not commercialize
Documentary is a real video art. Documentary should incorporate as much of its true feelings as possible on the premise of ensuring authenticity. That is to say, the authenticity of documentaries includes two meanings: 1. The authenticity of the documentary filming process; However, every documentary is the product of the director's subjective will. The director chooses the subject of the documentary according to his own will, and chooses the point of emphasis and weakening. Therefore, there is no absolute truth in the documentary. In "Nanuk of the North," director Flaherty's reconstruction of the Eskimo's igloo is a "true rendition." This practice has caused a lot of controversy. Some people think that this practice violates the principles of documentaries. Others think that documentary films can only have the participation of the subject on the basis of respecting the facts. re-enacting the past).
In fact, sometimes in order to better express the theme and create a better shooting effect, many documentaries will adopt the method of rehearsal. Based on the conditions at that time, Flaherty not only considered the need to reproduce the scene, but also considered that the lighting conditions of the igloo were better. Building an igloo for scene reproduction can achieve better visual effects. Second, the rehearsal makes the documentary break away from the pale material presentation and has a certain dramatic effect. Simply recording the life clips of the subject, the resulting video may be fragmented and illogical, but if the meaningful clips that have occurred in the past are logically replayed, the documentary will add some fun to watch. In "Nanuk of the North", the spectacle of the igloo built by Flaherty satisfies the audience's curiosity to a certain extent. At the same time, the performance of the Nanook family in the igloo is also full of interest. Thirdly, the igloo is also a background material for the life of the Nanook family. The construction of the igloo to recreate the scene is essentially a supplement to the background material. In this sense, the relocation enhances the authenticity of the documentary.
Although many advantages of the act of "replay" have been mentioned above, the unreality in form of "replay" cannot be ignored, so replay cannot be used as a recording method for a long time. Extensive use of renditions in documentaries will make the audience question the documentary quality of the film, and be dubbed "fake documentaries", which will greatly damage the quality of the film. Excellent documentaries understand the boundaries between reality and performance, and know how to perform reasonable performances without hindering reality. This is also the success of "Nanuk of the North". It combines reality and rehearsal, integrates it, maintains the viewing quality and vitality of the image on the basis of reality, arouses the audience's thinking about the Eskimos, and arouses the audience's appreciation. Emotional resonance.
"Nanuk of the North" is also an ethnography film. Flaherty has done a lot of field research and interviews before shooting the film, and he is already quite familiar with the living conditions of the Eskimos. The "rehearsal" carried out at this time is based on a real rehearsal, which is an experienced image shaping. Inexperienced fake renditions will make the audience question and make the film seem overly pretentious, but the images of "Nanouk" show a kind of delicateness that has never been seen before. This shows that only by conducting long-term on-the-spot investigations and visits can we carry out "replays". The acting is not an imaginary scene, but a reality that has been verified through investigation.
All in all, "rehearsal" can exist as a special documentary technique, but it can never be regarded as a common documentary technique. The rehearsal has to go through a long-term on-the-spot investigation and cannot be imagined or fabricated. When used properly, rehearsal can supplement the background information of the documentary, but if used improperly, the authenticity of the documentary will be lost.
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