Reenactments?

E

ece

Member
Hi All,

I am filmming a historical documentary and I would like to film some reenactments. I understand that there is a debate over whether you can keep the integrity of the subject matter when using reenactments. I would like to know your opinion on using reenactments, and how one should go about filmming it. Should I film it like a narrative or are there specific techniques that apply to documentary reenactments? Thanks for your help in advance.
 
ece said:
Hi All,

I am filmming a historical documentary and I would like to film some reenactments. I understand that there is a debate over whether you can keep the integrity of the subject matter when using reenactments. I would like to know your opinion on using reenactments, and how one should go about filmming it. Should I film it like a narrative or are there specific techniques that apply to documentary reenactments? Thanks for your help in advance.
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I am not a fan of reenactments, being of the DA Pennebaker school of documentary filmmaking, but if you must use them, at least don't let the characters talk. How old is the subject? Is it from a time period in which you could use other media, be it artwork, pictures, or film instead? Even if it is from a pre-photo/film time period, hiring one artist to do renderings is going to be far less expensive than reenactments, something to keep in mind....
 
Thanks DuctTape. The time period is the fifties, sixties, and seventies. I've hired a few artist already but I was worried that the viewer would get tired of looking at drawings. I'll edit a rough cut and if it's not working I'll go for the reenactments.

GenJerDan, I know what you mean. I don't plan on doing anything like the stuff on Talk shows. Dramatizations are what worries me about reenactments. However, if I do film it I will not film any sound. I saw a reenactment recently that I thought was done really well. The faces were skewed and not visible. Very tight closeups and fast editing. I liked it so I'm thinking of trying that if I need to.
 
For some examples of incredibly artful uses of recreation see Erol Morris--The Thin Blue Line and Dr. Death. For the right subject, recreations can be very powerful.
 
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