Essay: Producing an observational/participatory mode documentary

CRITICAL COMMENTARY
What aspects of shooting and editing did you find most effective in telling your story? How is the information conveyed to the viewer? How does the documentary address the viewer? How do the images serve the story?
It is difficult to pinpoint a definition to documentary filmmaking. However, documentaries differ to other genres of film, and are one of the most unique genres. The Observational Mode is a mode that is simple but so effective, and the outcome is always amazing in its own way. There is something so intriguing about allowing the audience to create their own opinion, through watching an observational documentary. No voiceovers, just simply the diegetic sound and moving images of the film itself. The documentary that I have created and produced, “Fumiko and Mamoru”, is an observational/participatory mode documentary in its own unique way. Fumiko and Mamoru tell their own story, through interview dialogue, footage of them in their own unique habitat, and archival footage. This documentary has fit in perfectly with the observational mode, as well as participatory, as they are telling their own story, and are allowing the audience to form their own opinion based on what they see and hear.
My quest was to produce an observational/participatory mode documentary based on the theme of exploring the lives of Fumiko and Mamoru, who are a Japanese couple that have recently migrated from Tokyo, Japan. They both are underground musicians in Japan, who want to bring that to New Zealand and start a new life here. The documentary basically explores who they are as people, and what they want to achieve here with themselves and their music. Nichols (2017) believes that there is a story behind every film that we engage with. It comes from somewhere and someone, and there is always the question about how and why the film was made. The theme and my idea arose from the fact that I had met them not too long before I made this documentary. We instantly became good friends, and I thought what a perfect way to showcase their personalities by creating a documentary on them.
My documentary consists of two modes, participatory and observational mode. It is participatory because of the interviews that I have conducted between Fumiko and Mamoru. However, I wanted to also incorporate an observational feel, as the visuals pair well with their dialogue.
The interview that I conducted with the Japanese couple was more of a conversation. They were saying what they genuinely felt, rather than me enforcing them to say something just to fit in with the script. This turned out effectively, as they spoke in Japanese for majority of the interview, which really allowed them to open up to me and provide more genuine, heartfelt content. When they spoke in English, I found that they were struggling to think of what to say, which was not as natural as when they spoke in their native tongue. According to Nichols (2017), observational mode documentaries rely heavily on the filmmaker and the subject. This is because they are utilising the subject to tell the story. In my case, Fumiko and Mamoru were the main subjects of my documentary, which meant that their characters had to do all the storytelling for themselves. They did this well, through the use of their voice and the visuals that were created in order to back up what they were talking about.
Nichols (2017) believes that documentaries address the world in which we live, rather than a world that is created from your imagination. This differentiates the documentary genre from other genres such as science fiction, horror, adventure and more. I combined a mix of interview footage, archival footage in Tokyo, Japan, Auckland City footage of them roaming the streets, Fo Guang Shan Temple footage and also studio footage. These were the main components of my documentary, and they were effective in telling the story of Fumiko and Mamoru because it was all natural, raw footage. I took them places that related to them and their personality, and then filmed them exploring those locations, which was all natural and not staged. Nichols (2017) also believes that many filmmakers have now begun to observe lived experiences “spontaneously”. I think thats what was so special about my documentary, as it was almost like creating memories. Participatory mode documentaries allow audiences to learn from “personal interactions”, by what the subject says and do. Interviews create this effect, which is why the interview carried out in my documentary was so effective. By doing this, it allowed the viewers to see what their personalities were truly like, and made them feel more engaged with their characters as subjects.
Bernard (2016) states that stories have a beginning, middle and end with characters (or questions), tension, leading to conflict and then coming to a resolution. Bernard believes that this is a storyline at its most basic, which engages the audience to an emotional and intellectual level, which therefore allows viewers to want to know what will happen next. There were a few obstacles and challenges that got in the way during the editing process, as I was struggling to find a way to create and tell their story whilst editing and putting together all the footage. I was originally going to use a voice over, which would mean that my documentary would be an expository mode documentary. However, I feel as though it would not suit the theme of my documentary, and I found it more effective to just have their voices talking overtop of the visuals. I  ended up having to move around the voiceovers to create a story that would flow well together. This states that Bernard’s theory of stories is correct, as a story needs to flow with a beginning, middle and end in order to create good engagement between the subject, the film and the audience. As Nichols (2017) says, every filmmaker has to understand that three different stories intertwine, including the filmmaker’s, films, and the audience’s.
From this experience of creating this documentary on Fumiko and Mamoru, I have learnt many significant lessons with filming and editing that I can apply to my future documentaries. I have developed skills using the Year 2 AUT Camera, Sound Kit and Tripod, and have also developed skills with the editing software Adobe Premiere Pro. These were the main skills that I have developed and will allow me to easily continue to create documentaries in the future. Aside from the technical skills, I have also learnt how to become a director, a fast forward thinker and a leading communicator with my team members. With this documentary being my idea, I felt as though I was the director of my group, and therefore developed great leadership skills that will benefit me in the future. Jong, Knudsen and Rothwell (2014) believe that creativity can be stimulated, nurtured and fostered, rather than to be taught how to be creative. I believe that this theory is accurate, as my creativity was found through meeting this Japanese couple. They inspired me whenever I was around them, and therefore I knew that I wanted to find a way to create something that would showcase their personalities to the world.
I was satisfied with the outcome of my documentary. I learnt many things along the way, including conventions of documentaries, different camera shots and angles, how to utilise different cameras and different locations of footages, whilst also incorporating the language barrier of  Japanese, and translating it to English. With Bill Nichols theory (2017), I managed to understand and identify that my documentary was observational mode with its visuals, whilst being participatory mode with its interviews. I was satisfied with my documentary in the end, however if I were to change anything I would have filmed more footage at a different location, and therefore have more of a variety of shots to choose from.  I definitely would also switch up the editing of my film, as I felt that I was cut short on time. However, the main outcome from this experience is the fact that I have made lifelong friendships with Fumiko and Mamoru, and have thoroughly enjoyed creating a bond and connection that is unique and memorable.