Making documentary films

📖 Bài đọc (reading passage)

Making Documentary Films
A
A. For much of the twentieth century, documentary films were overshadowed by their more successful Hollywood counterparts. For a number of reasons, documentaries were frequently ignored by critics and film studies courses at universities. Firstly, the very idea of a documentary film made some people suspicious. As the critic Dr Helmut Fischer put it, 'Documentary makers might have ambitions to tell the "truth" and show only "facts" but there is no such thing as a non-fiction film. That's because, as soon as you record an incident on camera, you are altering its reality in a fundamental way'. Secondly, even supporters of documentaries could not agree on a precise definition, which did little to improve the reputation of the genre. Lastly, there were also concerns about the ethics of filming subjects without their consent, which is a necessity in many documentary films.
B
B. None of this prevented documentaries from being produced, though exactly when the process started is open to question. It is often claimed that Nanook of the North was the first documentary. Made by the American filmmaker Robert J. Flaherty in 1922, the film depicts the hard, sometimes heroic lives of nat ve American peoples in the Canadian Arctic. Nanook of the North is said to have set off a trend that continued through the 1920s with the films of Dziga Vertov in the Soviet Union and works by other filmmakers around the world. However, that 1922 starting point has been disputed by supporters of an earlier date. Among this group is film historian Anthony Berwick, who argues that the genre can be traced back as early as 1895, when similar films started to appear, including newsreels, scientific films and accounts of journeys of exploration.
C
C. In the years following 1922, one particular style of documentary started to appear. These films adopted a serious tone while depicting the lives of actual people. Cameras were mounted on tripods and subjects rehearsed and repeated activities for the purposes of the film. British filmmaker John Grierson was an important member of this group. Grierson's career lasted nearly 40 years, beginning with Drifters (1929) and culminating with I Remember, I Remember (1968). However, by the 1960s Grierson's style of film was being rejected by the Direct Cinema movement, which wanted to produce more natural and authentic films: cameras were hand-held; no additional lighting or sound was used; and the subjects did not rehearse. According to film writer Paula Murphy, the principles and methods of Direct Cinema brought documentaries to the attention of universities and film historians as never before. Documentaries started to be recognised as a distinct genre worthy of serious scholarly analysis.
D
D. Starting in the 1980s, the widespread availability of first video and then digital cameras transformed filmmaking. The flexibility and low cost of these devices meant that anyone could now be a filmmaker. Amateurs working from home could compete with professionals in ways never possible before. The appearance of online film-sharing platforms in the early 2000s only increased the new possibilities for amateur filmmakers. Nonetheless, while countless amateur documentaries were being made, perhaps the most popular documentary of 2006 was still the professionally made An Inconvenient Truth. New cameras and digital platforms revolutionised the making of films. But as critic Maria Fiala has pointed out, ‘The argument sometimes put forward that these innovations immediately transformed what the public expected to see in a documentary isn't entirely accurate’.
E
E. However, a new generation of documentary filmmakers then emerged, and with them came a new philosophy of the genre. These filmmakers moved away from highlighting political themes or urgent social issues. Instead the focus moved inwards, exploring personal lives, relationships and emotions. It could be argued that Catfish (2010) was a perfect example of this new trend. The film chronicles the everyday lives and interactions of the social media generation and was both a commercial and critical success. Filmmaker Josh Camberwell maintains that Catfish embodies a new realisation that documentaries are inherently subjective and that this should be celebrated. Says Camberwell, ‘It is a requirement for documentary makers to express a particular viewpoint and give personal responses to the material they are recording’.
F
F. The popularity and variety of documentaries today is illustrated by the large number of film festivals focusing on the genre around the world. The biggest of all must be the Hot Docs Festival in Canada, which over the years has showcased hundreds of documentaries from more than 50 different countries. Even older is the Hamburg International Short Film Festival. As its name suggests, Hamburg specialises in short films, but one category takes this to its limits - entries may not exceed three minutes in duration. The Short and Sweet Festival is a slightly smaller event held in Utah, USA. The small size of the festival means that for first timers this is the ideal venue to try to get some recognition for their films. Then there is the Atlanta Shortsfest, which is a great event for a wide variety of filmmakers. Atlanta welcomes all established types of documentaries and recognises the growing popularity of animations, with a category specifically for films of this type. These are just a few of the scores of film festivals on offer, and there are more being established every year. All in all, it has never been easier for documentary makers to get their films in front of an audience.

❓ Câu hỏi (questions)

The main idea of the third paragraph is that environmental damage

requires political action if it is to be stopped

is the result of ignorance on the part of the public.

could be prevented by the action of ordinary people.

can only be stopped by educating business leaders.

In the fourth paragraph, the writer describes ways in which the public can

reduce their own individual impact on the environment.

learn more about the impact of business of the environment.

raise awareness of the effects of specific environmental disasters.

influence the environmental policies of businesses and governments

What pressure was exerted by big business in the case of the disease BSE?

Meat packers stopped supplying hamburgers to fast-food chains

A fast-food company forced their meat suppliers to follow the law.

Meat packers persuaded the government to reduce their expenses.

A fast-food company encouraged the government to introduce legislation.

The list below includes factors contributing to classroom noise. Which TWO are mentioned by the writer of the passage?

current teaching methods

echoing corridors

cooling systems

large class sizes

loud-voiced teachers

playground games

The public should be prepared to fund good environmental practices

There is a contrast between the moral principles of different businesses.

It is important to make a clear distinction between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.

The public have successfully influenced businesses in the past.

In the future, businesses will show more concern for the environment.

Novices and experts use the same system to classify objects.

A novice’s training is focused on memory skills.

Experts have higher efficiency than novices when solving problems in their own field.

When facing a problem, a novices always tries to solve it straight away.

Experts are better at recognising their own mistakes and limits.

﻿

For what period of time has hearing loss in schoolchildren been studied in New Zealand?

﻿

In addition to machinery noise, what other type of noise can upset children with autism?

﻿

What term is used to describe the hearing problems of schoolchildren which have not been diagnosed?

﻿

What part of the New Zealand Disability Strategy aims to give schoolchildren equal opportunity?

﻿

Vertical tubes are used to grow strawberries, 
            
﻿
 and herbs.

﻿

There will eventually be a daily harvest of as much as 
            
﻿
 in weight of fruit and vegetables.

﻿

It may be possible that the farm's produce will account for as much as 10% of the city's 
            
﻿
 overall.

Britain's Industrial Revolution

Steam power
Newcomen’s steam engine was used in mines to remove water.
In Watt and Boulton’s steam engine, the movement of the 
23.
            
﻿
 was linked to a gear system.
A greater supply of 
24.
            
﻿
 was required to power steam engines.
Textile industry
Before the Industrial Revolution, spinners and weavers worked at home and in 
25.
            
﻿
.
Not as much 
26.
            
﻿
 was needed to produce cloth once the spinning jenny and power loom were invented.
Iron Industry
Smelting of iron ore with coke resulted in material that was better 
27.
            
﻿
.
Demand for iron increased with the growth of the 
28.
            
﻿
.
Communications
Cooke and Wheatstone patented the first telegraphy system.
The telegraphy system was used to prevent locomotives colliding.
Urbanisation
Small towns turned into cities very quickly.
The new cities were dirty, crowded and lacked sufficient 
29.
            
﻿
.

PACKHAM'S SHIPPING AGENCY - customer quotation form

- Name: Jacob 
30.
            
﻿

- Address to be collected from: 31.
            
﻿
 College, Downlands Rd
- Town: Bristol
- Postcode: 32.
            
﻿
﻿
- Contents: clothes
33.
            
﻿

Though experts are quite effective at solving problems in their own domains, their strengths can also be turned against them. Studies have shown that experts are less ﻿ at making predictions than statistical models. Some researchers theorise it is because experts can also be inconsistent like all others. Yet some believe it is due to ﻿ , but there isn’t a great deal of ﻿ as to its cause and manifestation.

<b>Big businesses</b>

Many big businesses today are prepared to harm people and the environment in order to make money, and they appear to have no ﻿ Lack of ﻿ by governments and lack of public ﻿ can lead to environmental problems such as ﻿ or the destruction of ﻿.

funding

trees

rare species

moral standards

control

involvement

flooding

overfishing

worker support

GEO-ENGINEERING PROJECTS

Procedure
Aim
put a large number of tiny spacecraft into orbit far above Earth
to create a 42
 that would reduce the amount of light reaching Earth
place 43
 in the sea
to encourage 44
 to form
release aerosol sprays into the stratosphere
to create 45
 that would reduce the amount of light reaching Earth
fix strong 46
 to Greenland ice sheets
to prevent icebergs moving into the sea
plant trees in Russian Arctic that would lose their leaves in winter
to allow the 47
 to reflect radiation
change the direction of 48
to bring more cold water into ice-forming areas

Procedure	Aim
put a large number of tiny spacecraft into orbit far above Earth	to create a 42 that would reduce the amount of light reaching Earth
place 43 in the sea	to encourage 44 to form
release aerosol sprays into the stratosphere	to create 45 that would reduce the amount of light reaching Earth
fix strong 46 to Greenland ice sheets	to prevent icebergs moving into the sea
plant trees in Russian Arctic that would lose their leaves in winter	to allow the 47 to reflect radiation
change the direction of 48	to bring more cold water into ice-forming areas

List of Headings

The long-term impact

A celebrated achievement

III

Early brilliance passes unrecognised

Outdated methods retain popularity

The basis of a new design is born

Frustration at never getting the design right

VII

Further refinements meet persistent objections

VIII

Different in all respects

Bridge-makers look elsewhere

Transport developments spark a major change

Paragraph A

Paragraph B

Paragraph C

Paragraph D

Paragraph E

Paragraph F

List of Findings

Roger Angel

Phil Rasch

Dan Hunt

Martin Sommerkorn

The effects of geo-engineering may not be long-lasting

Geo-engineering is a topic worth exploring

It may be necessary to limit the effectiveness of geo-engineering projects.

Research into non-fossil-based fuels cannot be replaced by geo engineering.

List of Endings

prove that local people were wrong.

find work in Switzerland.

win more building commissions.

reduce the amount of raw material required.

recognise his technical skills.

capitalise on the spectacular terrain.

improve the appearance of his bridges.

Maillart designed the hollow-box arch in order to

Following the construction of the Tavanasa Bridge, Maillart failed to

The transverse walls of the Flienglibach Bridge allowed Maillart to

Of all his bridges, the Salginatobel enabled Maillart to

mention of a geo-engineering project based on an earlier natural phenomenon

an example of a successful use of geo-engineering

a common definition of geo-engineering

67
﻿
68
﻿
69
﻿

Dinosaur's name comes from spines. One theory: they were necessary to hold up a 70
﻿ which helped control body heat.
Skull is 71
﻿ compared with rest of body.
72
﻿ made easier by wide tail and highly developed muscles in legs.

STEP 01

Novice: needs ﻿ and to performa given task; exposed to specific cases; guided by a ﻿ through learning

STEP 02

Journeyman: starts to identify ﻿ within and between cases; often exposed to ﻿ cases; contacts a mentor when facing difficult problems

STEP 03

Expert: creates predictions and new ﻿; performs task independently without the help of a mentor

Peter Falkingham's computer model

STEP 1

Mud is simulated with attention to is texture and thickness and how much ﻿ it contains.

STEP 2

A virtual foot produces a footprint in the mud.

STEP 3

The footprint is dissected and examined from all angles.

STEP 4

Levels of ﻿ are measured with the footprint.

STEP 5

Multiple simulations relate footprints to different types of ﻿

STEP 6

More accurate interpretation of ﻿ is possible

STEP 01

Choose area of city to study

STEP 02

Did a survery of ﻿ in city centre to compare with old maps

STEP 03

﻿ was assessed in five key locations

STEP 04

Measured ﻿ twice a day

STEP 05

Research ﻿ during one afternoon

STEP 06

Looked at official figures

STEP 07

Measured ﻿ in several

STEP 08

Measured ﻿ twice a day

STEP1

Choose area of city to study

STEP2

Did a survery of ﻿ in city centre to compare with old maps

STEP3

﻿ was assessed in five key locations

STEP4

Measured ﻿ twice a day

STEP 05

Research ﻿ during one afternoon

STEP 06

Looked at official figures

STEP 07

Measured ﻿ in several

STEP 08

Measured ﻿ twice a day

🔥 Answer key (đáp án và giải thích)

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