Primary mode: The primary mode in this documentary is observational. I believe the directors have chosen this style is because they wanted to create a personal connection between the spectator and these people from a completely different culture without interference. They wanted the voice to be solely from the voiceless, and these affects of connection and voice wouldn’t be possible if we had the filmmaker be a noticeable part of the film in any way.

Cinema Verite movement: Cinema Verite relates to using a handheld camera, following unscripted movement and speech, alongside natural lighting, hence being an essential part of an observational documentary. 1 example where this is used in Sisters in Law is during the classroom scene, where the camera whips around from the teacher to the students when they heard the students clapping.

Another example is during the court room scenes. The camera will pan across the room of people, then at the door when the judge is walking in, zooming at as they walk closer to the camera, and following them as they walk across the room. This is all done in 1 continuous shot. I believe this is very effective for the style and mode of documentary this was.

This is all because it reminds the audience that none of this is scripted, emphasising that personal connection between audience and these victims, and everyone in their culture.

Questions: 1) If Sisters in Law was produced by men, I believe it would depend on the man’s culture to decide if it would affect this documentaries view on women. Say if it was a man from a rural Muslim culture, such as this one, they’d most likely mediate the documentary to have a more positive view on men while stripping the women of the recognition they deserve. 2) Observational mode and Verite movement helps empower women because it largely restricts the amount of mediation that can be done to this documentary, and therefor gives the audience a greater sense of verisimilitude when they see these empowering women, knowing they are real people, making a real difference.

I’ll give this film an 8/10, despite not being something I’d personally watch, it does an amazing job of what it sets out to achieve.

Key moment: The moment where they present the aftermath of the court trials held against the abusive husband in a Muslim relationship really stood out for me. It shows these people for the first time in this documentary smiling, not being by their husbands side, and feeling empowered as a free community. This documentary is never interrupted with an interview, expert opinions or voice overs, but rather leaves it all to observational footage. This makes this scene all the more powerful, as we have created that personal connection with the victim rather than some other voice, so to see the joy on their faces is truly heart-warming.

Infotainment: Presenting facts about a subject in an entertaining form.

Mode of address: Direct will give a personal connection, with the filmmaker speaking or looking directly at the audience. Indirect will disconnect the audience with the filmmaker.

Polemic approach: Carefully selected footage to give a specific point of view on the story.

Chill footage: Letting the camera run without setting up shots. Usually background stuff which sets the scene and location. Neutral establishing shot.

Actuality footage: Raw unedited footage from eye witnesses, such as body cams on police or mobile phones.

Library footage: Footage from an archive somewhere else to help tell a story.

Reconstructions: using visuals where there are not to fill in the gaps.

Noddy shots: Reaction shots, usually nodding. Shows the relationship between subject and filmmaker.

Superimpositions: Statistics and graphics used as evidence to back up facts and guide the audience.

The mockumentary Borat is mediated in a way that it gives the spectator a distorted view on Kazakhstan, creating a sense of hyperreality where the spectator questions whether what their watching is real or not.

Mediation: Controlling how the spectator perceives the footage through the producers interpretation.

Distortion: altering or manipulating real footage or information to fit a purpose.

Hyperreality: perceived to be more real than a real thing, or too real to be real.

Verisimilitude: how believable the it is.

Bias: Having personal opinion alter how facts are percieved.

Objectivity:

Selecting & editing: The process of choosing what to show and what not to show which in turn will create new meanings.

Observational: Aim to find the ultimate truth, via observing someone or somethings real life without interfering.

EXAMPLE: High School (Fredrick Wiseman, 1968) where Wiseman wanted to discover what really happens in a typical American high school.

Poetic: A highly stylized documentary with visually striking images to tell it’s story rather than adding additional verbal context.

EXAMPLE: Sans Soleil (Chris Marker, 1983) where Marker wanted to show the imperfection of human memory, and how we cannot recall past events or certain nuances with complete accuracy, and how this affects historical events.

https://www.imdb.com/video/vi26985241/?playlistId=tt0084628&ref_=tt_ov_vi

Expository: Often featuring a “voice of god” style voice over, and gives a very specific point of view. The cinematographer is responsible for collecting supporting footage to strengthen the spoken argument.

EXAMPLE: Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet (Jonathan Clay, 2021) where David Attenborough wishes to discover and look deeper into the natural world of our planet and it’s biodiversity.

https://www.imdb.com/video/vi2194587673/?playlistId=tt14539726&ref_=tt_ov_vi

Participatory: The interviewer is just as important as the interviewee as they interact with their subject. These often try to prove the filmmakers point of view as “the truth”.

EXAMPLE: Roger & Me (Michael Moore,1989)

https://www.imdb.com/video/vi1705051417/?playlistId=tt0098213&ref_=tt_pr_ov_vi

Reflexive: Focusses on the relationship between filmmaker and audience. This will include plenty of behind the scenes footage as well, showing the process of the documentary.

EXAMPLE: The Act of Killing (Joshua Oppenheimer, 2012)

https://www.imdb.com/video/vi2071766553/?playlistId=tt2375605&ref_=tt_ov_vi

Performative: Uses filmmakers personal experience with the subject as a jumping off point for exploring larger, subjective truths about politics, history, or groups of people.

EXAMPLE: Fahrenheit 9/11 (Michael Moore, 2004)

https://www.imdb.com/video/vi1235616025/?playlistId=tt0361596&ref_=tt_ov_vi

Definition of a documentary film:

A non-fictional motion picture intended to “document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record”

Examples:

Wild Life (Elizabeth Chai & Jimmy Chin, 2023)

Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive (Ross Wilson, 2006)

The Truth Game (John Pilger, 1983)

The Difference between a documentary film and a documentary tv show is that a film tries to condense a story into one coherent form factor, usually telling a slightly smaller story, whereas a tv documentary will have a much larger story, that can be split into different ideas and chapters that can be explored per episode

Blocking – When and where the actors and objects move throughout the shot.

Staging – How the blocking is crafted in relation to the camera shot, how the shot is composed.