Quarantine ( 2008 )

Introduction

Documentaries are nonfictional film, thus they depict not imaginary but are real event. The main purpose of documentary film is for instruction, education, or introducing a historical story. Documentaries filmmakers are assumed to observe the events and make objective record of the events.

Theory Discussion

 Bill Nichols claims that we should look at the particular techniques that applied in the documentaries film. We can observe the techniques uses by filmmakers and see how they record or shape the events for example the way they represent the documentary.

There are six modes of representation suggested by Nichols which are Poetic, Expository, Observational, Interactive, Reflexive, and Performative.

Poetic

Poetic documentary tend to deliver the information by using fragmented visual to make open to the public to think alternative forms of the knowledge. The information indirectly prosecute a particular argument or point of view. This type of documentary emphasize on mode, tone, and affect much more compare with the displays of knowledge or acts to persuade the audiences.

Expository

The expository documentary tend to use the “Voice-of-God commentary and poetic perspective to describe the information about the historical world itself to the audiences. Bill Nichols present a disembodied and authoritative voiceover that is combined with images to claims that use “Voice-of-God” together with informative films can influence the audiences directly. This mode is now common in TV documentaries and this mode is objectivity and direct represent to the audiences.

Observational

This mode is to observe the representation and to allow filmmaker to record what people did when people do not notice. This mode of observe representation limited the filmmaker to the present moment and required detachment from the events themselves such as no slow motion, no edit and do not have any intervention by the filmmaker. In this mode also do not use the voice-of-god, voice cover, no subtitles and no interviews. Besides, this mode also use long takes and record the sound directly and without distorting the event to establishing the reality of a film.

Interactive

Interactive documentary make the desire of filmmaker more obvious. This allowing the filmmaker participate more actively in present events. Bill Nichols claims that filmmaker interacting with the interviews can allow the filmmaker presence to be felt by the audiences. When mediator asking question on/off with interviewees can clearly show the power of documentary as well as editing. Interactive showing all the process of documentary instead of observational mode.

Reflexive

Reflexive make the documentary more reality because the filmmaker and the mediator participate in the whole process of documentary film. In the way the filmmaker put themselves in the event can revealing the truth to the audiences. This also help to reminding and informing audiences when they are watching a documentary film that is attempting to represent reality.

Performative

Performative began from 1980 until 1990s and emphasize on subjective aspects. The filmmaker focus on the poetic and expressive aspect. This atmosphere found in fiction films, representing of subject matter stylistically, evocative and expressively. This help to make the audience to feel like participate in the events.

Synopsis

This movie is about the cameraman and the television reporter, Scott Percival and Angela Vidal go to a fire station to interview the fire crew. The fire station receive a 911 call from a small apartment reported that an old women lock herself in the room. After the fire fighter bump the door and the old women bite the fire fighter. The virus soon infected to the other and all the people in the apartment are locked by the police. At the end of the movie, all the people are died because of they cannot escape from the apartment.

Analysis

Quarantine is a film that fall under performative mode documentary film in more specifically is mokumentary film because of using different technique to represent the events. This film using different mode to take the events which include expository mode, interactive mode and reflexive mode.

First of all, expository mode is used in the movie because of using the “Voice-of-God” commentary and poetic perspective to describe the information about what happening at the apartment. The television reporter Angela Vidal trying to describe everything that happening from the beginning of the movie until the end. This can be very directly telling what going on to the audiences to make the audiences feeling exactly what they are feeling.

Secondly, interactive mode of documentary is also applied in this movie. For example, a fire fighter is feeling not comfortable because he knows that the cameraman is shooting him. Angela Vidal trying to persuade him to act like do not know the cameraman is shooting him. We can also notice that the fire fighter is looking at the camera this can make the audiences know the cameraman is existing.

Last but not least, reflexive mode is also one of the documentary that applied in this movie. The most obvious scene is when they are all lock in the apartment the reporter keep telling the situation that just happened to the audiences to make the audiences to feel it. When they are running the camera also shaking follow by the cameraman this also make the visual more reality when the audiences watching it.

Conclusion

Quarantine was applied some of the mode of documentary mode to make it very interesting such as expository, interactive and reflexive mode. This can make the audiences feel like that are really happened in the real life.

References:

“Documentary Films.” An Award-Winning, Unique Resource of Film Reference Material for Film Buffs and Others, with Reviews of Classic American-Hollywood Films, Academy Awards History, Film Posters., www.filmsite.org/docfilms.html.

“What Is Documentary?” Little White Lies, lwlies.com/articles/what-is-documentary-cinema/.