Our first seminar introducing Applied 2 was not what I expected this module to be about, however I am very eager and enthusiastic to start now we have been briefed on what to expect! Applied 2 will consist of making an animated documentary that lasts 1-2 minutes, again working in groups, to explore and illustrate a topic in a creative but educational and informative way! Working in a group was a big test for me in the previous module as I can be a bit dominating and pushy, but hopefully with this project, I will be able to learn from my mistakes and do a lot better.
So, what is a documentary? Usually when I think of a documentary, I think of those on the Discovery Channel with David Attenborough narrating them, and this is not a negative thing as I actually love watching documentaries, hence why I was surprised but excited to experience another new side to animation. However documentaries aren't always like the ones that first came to my mind.
In today's seminar, we learnt that documentaries are very broad, and have a variety of uses. Propaganda for example, is an area that I did not consider for one bit, but can be used to educate and inform in a negative way. They can portray history and experiences inaccurately, but in a persuasive way so that audiences will believe what they see. In essence, documentaries are about spreading a message, getting an idea across through visuals, analogies and of course narration.
But why animate a documentary? Animated documentaries are not familiar to me, but I can see now why people have created them. They are a great way to engage new audiences who see documentary topics as boring or monotonous. They can also be a unique way to pitch awkward or difficult subject matters, such as child abuse or mental health. These are things that some people don't like to talk about, so animation is a great vehicle to portray them without having to be so brutal or graphic.
One documentary that stood out to me today, was "Sharaf" by David Aronowitsch. This animated documentary exhibits a story of a young boy who is a refugee, and he talks about his experience on how he got to safety, travelling two days and two nights soaking wet, but being only one of the few who survived, as thousands of people just like Sharaf did not. This was quite emotional for me as I have seen stories and experiences of refugees from Syria who have been turned away, are hungry and have no home. Some of these refugees helped those in my hometown just recently in the floods to give back for giving them a place of safety, so this documentary reminded me of this. I did not realise that this method of animation could be so powerful, and I regret that I had not heard of animated documentaries previously.
Another animation that captured my attention was "Ryan" by Chris Landreth. It captured my attention because usually when I watch documentaries, I watch them to understand processes and lifestyles that are foreign to me, but when I watched "Ryan" I just got more confused as it went on. It wasn't until Martin explained that it is about mental health and how it may not be visible on the outside, but inside it is like chaos and it feels as though parts of you are missing. I think this is a great way to illustrate this, especially to people who want to understand what it is like to be addicted to things. Of course the viewer might have to watch it a few times if they don't relate to it, like I had to, however once you understand the concept I think that it is genius. "Ryan" is another example of how unique and original an animated documentary can be and I am eager to start thinking of what I can contribute to my group for when we start planning our own short documentary.
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