Questions need to think before making a personal documentary

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Citation:

  • Walsh, S. (2024). The documentary filmmaker's intuition: Creating ethical & impactful non-fiction films. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003320296
Annotation:
    In the third chapter of the book there is a theory "CRAWL" - (Consult, Read, Analyse, Watch, Listen). These are the things that make a good documentary. But here are some questions to consider before you "CRAWL"：
  1.  Why did I make this movie?
  • Through this film, I hope to rebuild the dialogue channel with my father and repair the father-son relationship. Also give my past self an answer, let myself no longer doubt my own existence itself, find confidence.
     2. What is the potential significance of this topic to me?
  • I want to know if my father does not care about me, whether my growth and achievements make him proud of me, and where I am in his heart.
     3. Is there a good story here? Is it engaging?
  • It's a good story. The film mainly uses the span of time to show the growth of the protagonist and the change of the family's attitude towards the protagonist's practice. From the subjective perspective of the protagonist, the audience can see the psychological defects that children of divorced families cannot be cured, and at the same time, reflect on today's family education and social stereotypes of marriage from an objective perspective.
     4. Is it feasible? Can "I" enter?
  • This story is feasible. "I" as the protagonist will inevitably enter the documentary itself. Complete the documentary by balancing subjective and objective perspectives.
     5. Are there strong interesting characters who can carry the story? 
  • Yes. The filmmaker and the two relatives of the divorced family (father and mother) tell the story from three different perspectives and complete the span of time. 
     6. What do people already know about this topic/story? 
  • From the subjective perspective of the protagonist, the audience gets the motivation of why they want to make the film, but they need to get the final outcome of the story from the other characters they record (other objective perspectives).
     7. What would I, and most people, really like to discover?
  • The filmmaker's father's attitude toward the producer. Did dad ever feel guilty about abandoning him? Father see now the film producer is not proud. The filmmaker wanted his father's approval.
     8. Do I have a passion and willingness to learn more? 
  • Read a lot of literature and videos:"Intro to documentary", "Documentary filmmaker's intuition", "The Cinema of Me"...
     9. What is unusual or unique about this subject? 
  • As a filmmaker, I am looking for a father's love as a character who does not lack material support. However, in the general environment of Chinese society, many children from divorced families have poor material conditions. From their perspective, parents' money is already a kind of care. However, as a film and television producer, I still want my father's love when I have excellent material conditions. In the eyes of others, it is a kind of pretentious reflection and will be criticized a lot. Secondly, there is a questioning phenomenon: Chinese parents think that as long as they meet the material conditions, or give their children what they think is good. But they never put themselves in the perspective of a child to think about what they really want Reveals the inner life of a Chinese family and the inner journey of a son.
      10. What are visual and sonic elements of this subject/story?
  • Visual: Some conversation scenes, some personal emotional feedback shots, a manual ledger (using the contents of the manual ledger to reproduce childhood life scenes) - the specific vision is mainly recorded
  • Sound: Sounds of different participants, background music
      11. Am I the right person to tell this story？
  • It suits. At the same time, a third-party perspective is needed as a supplement to improve the story, so that the creator does not lose his way.
      12. Can I do justice to the subject?
  • I can. The documentary itself is a projection of an inner desire. An adult gives a child a wish from the perspective of the past. And I'm not just documenting myself, but my parents' perspective on this. Be fair in presenting everyone's point of view. Finally, I will have a friend as an uninformed person to provide an outside perspective to help me not lose my way in my creation.
      13. What are ways I can mitigate my potential biases?
  • Balance the use of subjective and objective perspectives. (Currently I am learning, reading and finding ways to balance perspectives)

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