19. Research or No Research?

This is the Question

Richard Leacock the great British pioneer of Direct Cinema, a precursor to observational cinema,  said of his first filming experience in 1948.

I worked as cameraman on Robert Flaherty’s LOUISIANA STORY.  We were a tiny crew, most unprofessional. We shot, day after day, for 14 months more often than not, just the three of us, Mr. & Mrs. Flaherty, she with a Leica, he and I often with two Arriflex 35mm cameras, recently liberated from Hitler’s Wehrmacht, and sometimes an assistant. We shot and shot...A beautiful cloud, swallows wheeling through the sky preparing to migrate, a water-lily pad with a drop of water on it in perfect light, a spider completing the building of its web. Often the camera in motion or panning and tilting, no rules except look, look through the camera lens, search.

Kazuhiro Soda, who won the Ecumerical Jury Prize at Berlin Film Festival in 2020 with his documentary ZERO, a moving, inspirational observational film about Mr. Yamamoto, a physiatrist who gives up his career to look after his wife. 

Soda created a set of rules for creating his documentaries:

Ten Commandments

(1) No research. (2) No meetings with subjects. (3) No scripts. (4) Roll the camera yourself. (5) Shoot for as long as possible. (6) Cover small areas deeply. (7) Do not set up a theme or goal before editing. (8) No narration, superimposed titles, or music. (9) Use long takes. (10) Pay for the production yourself.

Dr. YAMAMOTO and his wife. Photo: Kazuhiro SODA

This made me think a lot this week, as I  just participated in my ex-student, Tianhui Li's MA dissertation at Concordia Film School, where she presented her deeply touching portrait of her grandmother, Wang Yunling. (Sadly I do not have the trailer yet - hopefully it is coming soon.)

Tianhui was very influenced by the idea of not conducting research, and speaks about Soda, who influenced her. She also says in her paper that not conducting research goes against everything she was taught in film school, including our school in China where I first met her.

The research element is vital as part of the training. We spend a long time in pre-production covering this, and research is not only about discovering more about your subjects, it is also about the legalities, target audience, possible funding if needed, location shots, synopsis writing, and preliminary shooting. However, my first feature film, Dust, A Sculptor's Journey, was filmed on the go, in the instant. I actually didn't even know I would make a documentary, it just happened. And thank God it did just happen, for if it didn't just happen I wouldn't have had the material for my film.

I did the research afterwards, which brings me to the point of this reflection: which comes first, the chicken or the egg?

It really depends on the type of documentary you are making. For Soda, and Tianhui Li, they make observational documentaries, and they are working in Asia which is easier to film in, with less constraints. 

Tianhui, writes in her thesis, 'Doing research will let me know the background of my subjects. But sometimes I can find some new points without research because it does not give me restrictions."

Thank you very much for passing by. Have a great week. If you enjoy, pass it on. Or subscribe below.

Jeanne