1st Readings (2nd Week)

To be truthful there seems to be an awfully lot in the first reading assignments about to figure out what one is to do in order to make a successful documentary (or at least an interesting one). I felt that this was two years of lectures and asides and pointers that have been given out by various professors succinctly summarized by Rabiger. Some of the issues such as how much the auteur theory applies to documentary were interesting, considering Alan Berliner's "The Sweetest Sound" and Judith Hefland's "Blue Vinyl." Both offer greatly different amounts of personality in their films, yet these two are both very personal films. Especially when considered against National Geographic specials in which the auteur is never mentioned as a factor. I have been meaning to start a dream journal for upwards of a year now, i suppose this is as good a time as any. I can hardly ever remember my dreams in the first place so the idea always sounded kind of vague and corny to me, but i suppose the author is right, that it, like anything else, takes much practice to be accomplished at.

Richter's article was very interesting (though at times a little more confusing). To hear someone speak of these films that we regard as the canon for understanding the industry's infancy as they are precursors of great things to come is marvelous. I had never before had as perfect an explanation on the individuality of film among the arts as this. To thing about how long it took for an art form to evolve from robbing a train to cutting an eye to placing a private eye in a filmic world in a film. Reading this makes me so glad to have been born after film has shown itself as an artistic medium unlike an other. And I look forward to the changes I will see in my lifetime.