Research For My Final Project: How to achieve nonlinear storytelling in a documentary

"A Journey review to Myself" - Haoran Zhang

Citation:

• Nichols, B. (2017). Introduction to documentary (Third ed.). Indiana University Press.

Annotation:

• In the book "Introduction to Documentary," author Bill Nichols mentions that documentaries have evolved over time. The stories in documentaries have a beginning, middle, and end. Most narrative styles primarily use linear storytelling to illustrate how changes occur over the course of the story.
• The author also mentions that the narrative in a documentary is essentially controlled by the filmmaker, as it depicts a real event. The way the story is told is often at the discretion of the filmmaker. As Grierson mentioned, "A filmmaker can tell a story according to their own ideas, but they must adhere to a standard to qualify as a documentary. This standard is the representation of historical truth; otherwise, it violates the rules of documentary filmmaking."
• Finally, the article states that documentaries should interact with the world. Through the combination of shots and editing, the relationships between images can be made closer, achieving temporal and spatial continuity without compromising authenticity.
• In summary, this film primarily tests how to achieve nonlinear storytelling in a documentary through the combination of shots and post-production editing.
• 在“Introduction to Documentary“这本书中，作者Bill Nichols提到纪录片是随着时间的推移而发生转变的。纪录片的故事有开始，中间和结束。大多数的叙事风格大多数以线性叙事为主，来讲述在过程中如何为发生了转变。
• 同时作者也提到了在纪录片的故事，本质上是由电影人控制的，即他讲述的是一个真实的事件。对于故事讲述的方式，往往也可以由电影人自己掌控。就像Grienson提到的”电影人可以按照自己的想法讲故事但必须符合一个标准，才有资格成为纪录片。这个标准就是对历史真实的再现，否则就破坏了纪录片的规则。
• 最后文章还到纪录片要与世界互动，通过镜头组合和剪辑可以使画面之间的关系更密切，在不影响真实的前提下完成时间和空间上的连贯性
• 综上所述，本次影片主要测试如何通过镜头组合和后期剪辑下完成纪录片的非线性叙事。

Film Examples:

"The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter"- Connie Field(1980)

"Nanook of The North" - Robert Joseph Flaherty(1926)

"The City"- Ralph Steiner, Willard Van Dyke(1939)