THE INSTRUMENTAL USE OF FILM ...

A forum for sharing views on the art of film, video and AV sequence making as well as on competitions, judging and festivals.
Post Reply
User avatar
Dave Watterson
Posts: 1872
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 11:11 pm
Location: Bath, England
Contact:

THE INSTRUMENTAL USE OF FILM ...

Post by Dave Watterson »

We usually think about the making of stories, travelogues or conventional documentaries. But there is another type, sometime described as "the instrumental use of film", where the medium is used for a purpose we might roughly call "not entertainment." For example video to support teaching sessions, to record scientific information such as what goes on in an animal's burrow or the heart of a nuclear power station, and to record living history.

I have recently watched several films of the last type. They are mainly interviews with an old person recalling something or someone with whom they were associated. If you have no interest in what they are discussing the films would be extremely tedious, but if you are interested they can be a goldmine of information.

Should we in the hobby try to support and encourage this sort of movie making? If so ... how?
User avatar
TimStannard
Posts: 1225
Joined: Fri Feb 11, 2011 5:20 pm
Location: Surrey

Re: THE INSTRUMENTAL USE OF FILM ...

Post by TimStannard »

Dave Watterson wrote: Should we in the hobby try to support and encourage this sort of movie making? If so ... how?
An interesting subject, Dave. My answer to the first question would be a definite "Yes".

My initial reaction was that irrespective of the content, technical aspects are still all relevant and can be easily learned (lighting, sound, eexposre, camera angles), but after a few seconds I realised that all aspects - artistic/creative as well as technical are relevant (with the possible exception of a film being used as "evidence" in an experiment or similar).

A friend was recently asked to record a 90+ y/o recounting her life to her two (70+) daughters. This had no interest to anyone outside her family. But that is irrelevant - surely it is the maker's duty to make the film as interesting as possible to the target audience. Hence my friend shot the interview from several angles, used cutaways from aroud the room to patch edits, where necessary and used still photographs to illustrate points brought up in the "memoir". This was never going to make it suitable for showing at a club or festival, but bet it makes a hell of a lot of difference to how often the family watch.
Tim
Proud to be an amateur film maker - I do it for the love of it
col lamb
Posts: 680
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2007 9:51 pm
Location: Preston, Lancashire

Re: THE INSTRUMENTAL USE OF FILM ...

Post by col lamb »

I have had an idea for quite a time now and with the article that Tom H has in the current issue of FVM makes my idea cheap and viable.

It involves have said small action camcorder recoding in the direction of movement every time I am out in the car or on the motorcycle.

The resulting video clips will be then uploaded onto Youtube to a site called: -

"ikdc ehda of the day"

(you will need to re-arrange the first two words into a popular derogatory term).

Then the site you will doubt be a mecca to see videos of all the idiot drivers that do something stupid right in front of me.

You know the type, those that: -

see you coming and still cut out when you are nearly at their junction,
stop suddenly
indicate right and turn left
set off without looking
change lanes on the motorway without looking
middle lane owner drivers
mobile phone users
ladies applying make up

Last week I was travelling down a road in Preston and an Asian driver of a Mercedes cut out in front of me at the last second, made a bad job of it by nearly colliding with a car coming the other way, then put his foot down and 100m later instead of giving way to pass a stationary truck on his side of the road he went onto the wrong side of the road forcing another driver coming towards him to take avoiding action to miss crashing into him. Notice that I state that the driver was Asian, I am not being racist but in Preston this ethnic group makes up 20% of the population yet 90% of the bad drivers, so be warned next time you are in Preston you know what to expect.

Picture this, traffic lights, two lanes to wait in, with the right lane to turn right only. Driver in right lane turns left nearly colliding with the car in the left lane who starts to move off forwards, yes another ethnic minority driver

:oops:
Col Lamb
Preston, Lancashire.
FCPX, Edius6.02, and Premiere CS 5.5 user.
Find me on Facebook, Colin Lamb
Lee Prescott
Posts: 213
Joined: Sat Jul 03, 2010 9:20 pm

Re: THE INSTRUMENTAL USE OF FILM ...

Post by Lee Prescott »

:P

Well Dave first of all, I would say a big yes to the idea of putting on record the "visions" of not only older folks but also younger ones, in fact anyone with something of interest to offer......with good preparation by the Interveiwee and by the Producer such can be made extremely interesting, not only from a historical P.O.V but from often interested young people, especially those of school ages......

Schools often hold "expeditions into the past" around here anyway and the media, newspapers as with the WDP this last week, delving back into people's memories and photo archives. The (Gloucester) Citizen now runs a page weekly of columns doing so. Way back 30, 40, 50 years and more at times with old photographs. A week or so ago they published references to the Palestinian / Israeli conflict as if it was something fairly recent. I was able to submit some paragraphs with family military taken photos from 1936 plus references to pre 11th. century Middle East and before!!! It made for interesting reading even if I say so here myself! Anyway the Editor pounced on it before I hardly had time to turn off my PC!

The Internet on its more serious side can provide a mine of information on almost, I've found, "every subject under the sun"! So why not as video film makers? As far as I can see this is virtually a virgin avenue!

Oh, and as an "epilogue" to Col's driving bit - Col you've left out those "ikdc ehdas of the day"- and night - HGV drivers who constantly hog the middle Motorway Lane "trying" to pass a HG Vehicle in the inside lane travelling at the same speed! --- As for your "Asian Citizens" nothing peculiar to Preston, they all think they're still in the Middle or further East!!!

LEE: :wink:
Michael Slowe
Posts: 807
Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 4:24 pm

Re: THE INSTRUMENTAL USE OF FILM ...

Post by Michael Slowe »

In an additional answer to Dave, yes, of course discussion and illustration of the past is just the right thing to promote.

I did just this in my film The Last of The Wolfgang which proved surprisingly popular. This is surprising because the prominent musicians forming the subject of the film ceased playing over twenty five years ago and are unknown today. Yet people still find the stories, posters, documents and archive film to be interesting. History is interesting and we do have a duty as film makers with the means to achieve this, to compile records like this, be they of famous people or our families. I do agree though that it is also our duty to try and make the production watchable in order not to give the art of film making a bad image.
Post Reply