Research into Art Documentaries
- Matei MIKO
- Feb 6, 2025
- 7 min read
As I get closer to producing and making the documentary, I need to look more and more for inspiration. I want to give my documentary the professional look that big production companies like Netflix or HBO have.
For that, I want to research documentaries from big production companies and small creators that still achieve that professional look without the need for extreme equipment. At the same time, I want to see some examples of conventions in practice from which I can get inspiration.
I have already watched documentaries like The Social Dilemma, but they have nothing to do with art. Therefore, I need to watch some documentaries that revolve around the art subject to better align with our final goal of an art documentary. Also, the researched documentary should be made either in Observational Mode, Expository Mode, or Performative Mode because we will definitely use one of these modes of production.
I started to look for documentaries on Google by typing Art Documentaries then I stumbled upon a playlist made on YouTube with the caption ' Best art documentaries on YouTube ' after going through some videos, I stumbled upon ' George Condo: The Way I Think ' made by Louisiana Channel which met all my demands therefore I decided to watch it and analyze it. Now that I have a professional interview to research, I should search for ones made with a more minor production team and not big corporations to have a more realistic look at what I can achieve.
Again, I found it on YouTube through another search, but this time using YouTube's search engine. It is a short documentary produced by a much smaller company. It is about a Homeless individual living on the streets of Romania who expresses himself through amazing art. The documentary is called ' The World According To Ion Barladeanu. ' It's three minutes long and meets a lot of the conventions that I am looking for.
For the third and final documentary for my research, I wanted to do one from a mainstream production company with big budgets and professional gear. I found the series Abstract the Art of Design on Netflix, a Netflix original documentary television series. This meets my goal of studying a more professional documentary.
Now we can go into deeper detail about these documentaries.
George Condo: The Way I Think
Summary
This documentary/interview focuses on the biography of the American contemporary visual artist George Condo. In the 39 minutes, he tells the audience about the struggles and challenges that he faced throughout his life. He delves into subjects like multiple art forms and how he changed how he expressed himself from music to painting. He discusses modern painting and how the public interprets it wrongfully, but that's also how the value of the art piece increases, which is very interesting.
Conventions
Performative Mode OBSERVATIONAL
Cutaways of his paintings
Editing ( simple, realistic )
Graphics ( Names and dates, watermarks )
Mise-en-scene ( Workshop )
Only Diegetic Sound
The interviewee looks at the interviewer
Static camera during speeches
Eye line is in the top 3rd of the frame
My first observation is that this documentary is made in a Performative Mode, which emphasizes individual experiences and personal storytelling. Throughout the documentary, there are multiple occasions where old photos of popular paintings are shown and discussed. They are accompanied by tiny graphics with text using simple fonts that give details of the paintings ( name and year ). The mise-en-scene was located at Geroge's Studio in Soho, New York City, in September 2017, which shows his workspace and where he produces his art. Also, he works on a painting throughout the interview, leaving the viewer wanting to see the final result. George looks at the interviewer when he is not painting, making it seem professional, as shown in his eyes in the top 3rd frame. The edits are mostly simple straight cuts without non-diegetic sounds but with his voice being heard even when Cutaways are shown.
Representations
George discusses different social and geographical issues while discussing renowned artists like Picasso and Velazquez. He delves into how abstraction and realism were used as tools to represent social struggles and cultural shifts from the mid-20th century to the start of the 21st. The documentary highlights how art bridges historical events such as the World Wars and contemporary interpretations. George also allows the viewer to be present in the creation of one of his pieces, which can inspire the viewer to start creating himself. This shows how the community of artists help each other and how easy it is to get inspired. He also talks about how abstract is viewed ( stereotyped ) for the human figure by saying that 99.9 % of people will see the painting in a pictorial language and not truly understand the meaning behind the abstract figures that represent the human being.
The World According To Ion Barladeanu
Summary
This documentary, made by Alexander Nanau and HBO Romania, delves into the Story of Ion Barladeanu and how he can change his life around from being a beggar on the streets of Bucharest for 30 years to "having a life of a prince". The documentary illustrates the misery in which the 60-year-old is living as a remarkable exponent of the pop art movement.
Conventions
Participatory Mode
Inserts ( projects and collages )
Non-diegetic sounds ( rapid pace music )
Interview Voiceover
Mise-en-scene ( filth and misery )
Cutaways
Graphics & subtitles ( intro and outro )
The documentary was filmed in 2008, making the quality in today's times really bad at 360p; however, it is filmed in Participatory Mode as the filmmaker appears in the video asking Ion multiple questions. Throughout it, we can see archival footage of Ion's old and new magazine clipping collages through Cutaways to illustrate what the interviewee is talking about. The mise-en-scene was made specifically to showcase the life that Ion is living by having trash all around him, old clothes, sleeping on the floor, and drinks all around to show that he struggles with addiction to alcohol. In the intro, a black background followed by a graphics slideshow strikes the viewer. They give a backstory to what they are about to watch through simple white text and font. They talk in Romanian as this action happens in Bucharest ( east Europe ) therefore, there is a need for subtitles for people who don't know the language. Fast-paced, dramatic music follows the scene being non-diegetic and therefore only hearable to the viewer.
Representations
This documentary presents an original viewpoint about art and society by showing the world through the perspective of a Romanian self-taught collage artist. Through his artwork, Barladeanu uses surrealism and satire to analyze both communist and capitalist systems that were popular in Eastern Europe. The documentary also showcases how hard it is to be an artist living in a post-Communist country. He creates visual representations through his magazine-clipping collages that express individual and communal stories while questioning established historical accounts. In short, the documentary demonstrates how art functions as a tool for individual expression and survival while showing how creative work can transform personal experiences against social barriers.
Abstract: The Art of Design
Summary
Abstract: The Art of Design is a documentary series which explores the creative thinking of influential designers and artists across all fields, like graphic design architecture, photography, and fashion. Each episode focuses on a different artist, revealing how their work shapes the world around us. Our final project will also be a documentary series, meaning each episode should focus on a different subject ( person, country, form of art ). I will be researching the first episode of the series called Olafur Eliasson: the Design of Art. The first episode focuses on Olafur Eliasson, a renowned Icelandic-Danish artist known for his immersive, large-scale installations that explore light, space, and human perception. In the documentary, he delves into his creative process, highlighting how he blends science and art to create amazing experiences.
Conventions
Performative Mode
Interviews
Archival footage
Non-Diegetic sounds ( background music )
Voiceover ( only Olafur's voice )
Letterboxing
Direct Address ( talks directly into the camera )
Editing ( lots of effects and transitions audio and video )
Graphics and Text ( subtitles )
During interviews, the camera remains static
Eyes in the top 3rd frame during interviews
Cutaways
This documentary series was made in 2017 and it follows conventions such as. Performative mode because it closely follows Olafur Eliasson's life through his own words.
Archival footage of his old works is shown as he explains their meanings and how they were created. In the interviews, Olafur directly addresses the camera when talking, creating a sense of intimacy between him and the audience. In the first 6 minutes, he furthermore breaks the 4th wall by interacting with the audience. For example, the intro is about changing the viewer's environment to certain colours and in the 5th minute, he shows the viewer how he sees them ( as cameras and gear ). Non-diegetic music connects viewers more with the film as the music is also interactive with the display. The editing includes many transitions and effects as well as letterboxing that help give the documentary a professional look. The bright, saturated colours make the scenes and art look amazing, emphasising the professional editing of raw footage. Furthermore, common conventions like static camera during the interview, voiceovers, graphics and text are present.
Representations
Olafur Eliasson touches on many social contexts that highlight certain global problems, such as climate change and human interactions. One example of how he raised awareness about global warming was the project Ice Watch, in which they brought glacial ice from Greenland and put it in the populated streets without restrictions. He focuses a lot on natural elements like light, water, and ice, raising awareness about the planet again. He inspires people to look differently at the environment next to them and allows a sense of freedom to enter the people's hearts
What did I learn? What do I want to use?
During this research, I realised how interesting and complicated the world of documentary production is, from planning to execution. One thing that I know I want in my project is to also raise awareness about different subjects. Regarding the production part, I saw some amazing intros, effects, camera angles, transitions, and questions that would inspire me. The research helped me understand how conventions affect the final outcome of the documentary and how important they are. Now, I already have a lot of ideas for the future production of the project, like
using two static cameras during the interviews aligned at the top 3rd of the frame with the eye of the interviewee and focusing on having good lighting at all times. When it comes to editing, I find that letterboxing really helps the video look more professional as it preserves a widescreen aspect ratio. In the future, I will definitely come back to this research to get inspired.
Other research methods used for these texts
Comments