Frames of Reference

Just as I finished watching Ken Burn’s 14-hour documentary on The Roosevelts, I read Archie Bland’s article on the GoPro camera from the October 3rd edition of The Guardian. In that instant, I went from an old school perception of documentary film to considering a “new school” application which raised a slew of questions about the nature of documentary film today.

(http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/04/rise-of-gopro-wearable-cameras)

Though not a fan of Ken Burns per se, I felt The Roosevelts one of his best docs, made compelling by how he adeptly interwove the dramatic life stories of Theodore, Franklin, and Eleanor.

At one time, everybody seemed to fancy themselves a critic; now, with our rapidly developing technology, it seems everybody, cell phones or iPads in hand, documents anything and everything that transpires right in front of their noses. And they don’t hesitate to share these personal recorded moments on the net.

Following Chauncey Gardiner’s lead, have we become a society that just “likes to watch?”

Of course, at the advent of the cinema, the Lumière’s did just that, documenting every day occurrences with their new invention.

So, in an age when everyday life is being recorded extensively through the lens of our handheld devices, what actually constitutes a documentary?

Check out Dziga Vertov’s Man With A Movie Camera…