What Documentary Filmmakers Can Learn from Narrative
Mar 9, 2023
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The podcast discusses the visual style of the Oscar-nominated documentary 'All That Breathes' and how it stays true to its style in documentary filmmaking. They explore topics such as the human-animal relationship, editing process, and knowing when to stop filming. The chapter also highlights the impact of the editor on the film's tone and the challenges of editing documentary footage.
The filming style of 'All That Breathes' evolved to provide a visually stunning film, utilizing cranes, tracks, and dollies to reflect the contemplative and meditative nature of the story.
The deliberate choice to drop the audience into the lives of the characters without extensive context or information allows viewers to immerse themselves, access the brothers' minds, and engage in intelligent reflection.
Deep dives
The Evolution of Filming Style
The director, Chinak Sen, reveals how the filming style of 'All That Breathes' evolved throughout the production. Initially shooting handheld, they later scrapped six months of footage and shifted to a more fluid and beautiful aesthetic, employing cranes, tracks, and dollies. This decision was made to reflect the contemplative and meditative nature of the story, focusing on the lives of the brothers who run a bird hospital in Delhi, India. The deliberate change in filming style required choreographing blocking and camera movements, resulting in a visually stunning film.
The Art of Restraint
The film, 'All That Breathes,' adopts a restrained approach, dropping the audience into the lives of the characters without providing extensive context or information. This deliberate choice allows viewers to immerse themselves and access the psychological recesses of the brothers' minds. The director, Chinak Sen, explains that the film follows a poetic tradition where image is not simply information, and the audience is rewarded by simply observing what the camera captures. This oblique and tangential approach allows the film to prompt viewers to reflect and think about its themes, ensuring a more intelligent engagement.
The Editing Process and Visual Style
The collaboration with editor Charlotte Mangin played a crucial role in shaping the tone and style of 'All That Breathes.' Mangin brought a different approach to the edit, emphasizing movement, mood, and feeling over strict interpretations. The film's distinct visual style, comprising long takes and deliberate camera movements, required making tough decisions during editing, sacrificing many stunning shots for the sake of narrative economy. The film's restrained narrative approach and the aesthetics of the leak, subtly referencing the political turmoil in Delhi, were intentional choices that allowed the visuals to communicate and engage the audience more deeply.
The Oscar-nominated documentary All That Breathes has a distinct visual style: long, beautiful, perfectly-constructed shots akin to narrative films. How can one stay true to this style in the unpredictable, often chaotic environments that define documentary filmmaking?
Director Shaunak Sen came on the pod to discuss his film's visual style, how he was able to capture so many unique, organic moments, and his approach to the edit.