WWII in HD
World War II is a popular subject, and one assumes it is fairly dry as it tends to target a certain demographic. When I began watching this documentary, I learned how wrong that assumption was. This documentary uses many styles and techniques that make it captivating to me and, no doubt, to a larger audience.
One thing that makes this documentary so incredible is its extensive and vivid footage of the war. It uses never-before-seen, re-mastered clips with intricately accurate created audio. These clips served to help portray the stories of certain individuals who were involved in the war.
World War II in HD was told from the perspective of a number of veterans, using present-day interviews along with voiceovers to represent the veterans in their youth. These voiceovers are paired with the footage of the world as it was in WWII, as well as pictures from the storytellers' pasts. These are very effective tools to "set the stage" for the story.
The interviews were also very interesting. In most of them, the interviewee was in a setting in which we feel he is comfortable. The current interviews were broken up with B-roll of the veterans looking at old photographs, looking out the window, walking, and more. These images work well because you see the vitality of the young soldier in the photograph, contrasted with the age and lost innocence of the men now. The interviews also work well because they are used at random intervals all throughout the documentary. There is never an interview sequence that bores us with its length.
The music in this documentary is an important part of its make-up. The music always fits the mood the filmmakers are trying to convey. They use a lot of intense, driving music for scenes of war and action. They use melodic, emotional music for impact in scenes with the veterans remembering hard times, footage of destruction, and more. Often, the music is jazzy, Big Band kinds of music if the scene is describing carefree city life, aspirations of soldiers, and the like. At one point, the makers of the documentary use a piece of vocal church music.
The variation with which this documentary is cut together also makes it enjoyable to watch. There is never the same type of clip, image, or technique used too often in sequence. Since there is a wealth of material used, and the material is so varied, the documentary is more interesting. The way that the clips are organized is important as well. Every detail seems to be planned to the nth degree. For example, images of happy young people, children, and families are used often to stress the carefree life of ordinary people before the war. These images also stressed for what the soldiers were fighting. Images of soldiers playing cards, having fun, and doing normal activities help us to identify with them as people. I was also impressed with the footage used to depict the States' incompetence when it came to military training. We saw images of soldiers who could not complete the simplest drills. Also, the images of Nazi invasion demonstrated the vast number of soldiers and resources at their disposal.
Radio broadcasts were also key to this documentary. Broadcasts were used to show public opinion and the fear with which everyone lived during the war. Using radio broadcasts over footage of war is a very effective technique.
These are just few of the important things that make this documentary exceptional and riveting.
Straight Outta LA - Ice Cube
This documentary was also very interesting, though on a completely different subject matter: rap and football. I found this interview quite fun and entertaining.
The first thing that got me right off the bat was the subject matter. I thought it was really interesting the way they combined two seemingly unrelated topics to create something really interesting.
Since this documentary had a much lighter subject matter, there were a few elements that the filmmakers did differently. It still used many of the same techniques, such as interviews, stills, old footage, suitable music, and interesting B-roll; however, they were presented differently.
First of all, it was highly stylized. There were lots of bright colours, a lot of movement, and even cartoon/comic book type of sections. This reflected their young target audience and dynamic topic.
This documentary differs from the other in that the creator of the documentary is in it. In this case, I think it works well. Since Ice Cube is so involved in the topic, he can give us his perspective on the events as well as ask others about their opinions.
I found the interviews in this documentary particularly interesting. They, like the rest of the piece, were very stylized. The filmmakers used close-up shots of interviewees' eyes, nose and mouth, glasses, and more. Oftentimes the people being interviewed were way in the right or left of the shot. The lighting for the interviews was dramatic and different. Most of them were lit more sharply from one side, casting shadows on the other side of their faces. Unlike World War II in HD which used real settings for the background in the interviews, Straight Outta LA used plain black and white backdrops. This also fits with the style of the documentary.
The individuals who were interviewed were also very interesting. There were famous musicians, athletes, businessmen, and managers who gave the interviews more interest.
I also liked the interview with Snoop Dogg that was used throughout. It was interesting how Ice Cube interviewed him conversationally outside. Sometimes they were just standing outside, sometimes they were throwing a football back and forth. During these interviews, the subjects were filmed using an active camera. This gave the video more of a genuine feel.
I also enjoyed how Straight Outta LA used cartoons. These added to the fun aspect of the documentary. They were black and white, in an almost comic book, stop-motion style.
Just like in the previous documentary, the music was really appropriate for the subject. Often the filmmakers used rap (for obvious reasons), but they also used some funk music, some popular hip-hop, a tango, and some pieces that were mostly rhythm.
There were many colourful images in this documentary as well. In particular there were many images if extensive and bright graffiti used at various times in Straight Outta LA.
The busyness, bright colours, and style of this documentary make it really entertaining, and even though I do not really like either football or rap, I enjoyed Straight Outta LA.
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