Making of a Murderer - the Most Important Doc I Ever Seen, and Shot Like Poop

[Ed_David]

Making of a Murdered on netflix, is probably the best doc I have seen in the longest time.  And just an example of incredible storytelling.  Amazing editing, and for us on EOSHD, a great example of how it doesn't matter what the camera is, how crappy the lighting is, as long as you tell a super compelling story.  

Having the latest and greatest camera means nothing without putting hard, painstacking effort into ones story.

Granted, I rather be caught dead than have to shoot again on the Olympus EMii or whatever that camera was called, but in the end, if it was for a doc like this, no one would say watching it, "oh boy, why was it so noisy in the shadows."

Please watch this doc - it's amazing.  The criminal justice system is broken in America.  Oh I am speechless about it.

[Shield3]

Considering much of the footage was stock footage from 1986-2005, how can you say it was shot like poop?

[fuzzynormal]

All you say is true, but I felt the filmmakers were a little too strict in defining their protagonists and antagonists. 

--Justified in doing so for the sake of storytelling, but it felt a tad over done to me.

Ultimately that works to help manipulate the story for the viewer, but it also diminishes the actual nuance of reality. 

Basically, the filmmakers sophistically exaggerated the elements of their already unfortunate story and I'm impressed by it, but find myself skeptical of their drawings of the characters.

And even though this is a doc and the reality of words said and actions done are damning, there's a lot of addition by subtraction when it comes to information in this series.

I don't know, I'm from small town Midwest.  I can see exactly how this sort of story could unfold.  Law enforcement has a real quality control issue that invites tragedy. 

 But on the other hand, I also knew a lot of dangerous low income stupid people who deserved their violent reputations, so I'm not eager to make Avery into some sort of martyr. 

Honestly, for me, I find more "truth" in a fictional series like Rectify, that deals with similar issues.

Also, it's the Em5ii. :-)

And I've recently made a doc with the  GM1, so you're right that IQ isn't always the goal, nor in docs should it be. 

[Ed_David]

Considering much of the footage was stock footage from 1986-2005, how can you say it was shot like poop?

You can - I mean would you give it a cinematography oscar?  It's news footage and the interviews are framed sloppily.  And I mean that in a good way - who cares - the interviews are completely compelling.  I didn't care at all that they shot a guy literally 1 ft from a bookshelf and everything was in focus.  I am hooked to the series.

Fuzzynormal - on this note, if you do a doc on Enron, should you make sure to give them complete equal time in your film?  Would that help your analysis of them?  Or a film on Snowden, should you get the full NSA perspective?  Would that get you closer to the truth?

Should doc films pretend they have no "angle" from the filmmakers?  Is there ever an editorial or investigative story in journalism that has no angle?

[Andrew Reid]

For me there's two kinds of docs, the ones which hook you visually and the ones that pull you in through a gritty ugly sense of realism, presence and story.

Take David Attenborough's nature films on the BBC (Africa series certainly) as a good example of the visually spellbinding type, where the camera work is so important they attach 30 minutes to the end of each episode to show how they did it. In that case the cinema aesthetics are mega important (and sound) in terms of building tension, mood, poetic struggles for survival and drama.

Take Koyaanisqatsi as another example - that's a poetic 'earth' doc shot in a visually mesmerising way, zero dialogue just spellbinding cinematic imagery and a Philip Glass score. No way would that have had the same effect on me if it had been shot sloppily by a news crew with a small chip ENG.

And for an example of the polar opposite kind of docs, well there's plenty of those. Ed is right, in this case the visuals matched the content and it didn't matter about making it cinematic.

I highly recommend the Nikon D5500 and D7200 if anyone wants to get out of the rat race of specs. They look just as good as the high end stuff in terms of style, with none of the hassles or expense of editing & storing 4K res footage.

[fuzzynormal]

Fuzzynormal - on this note, if you do a doc on Enron, should you make sure to give them complete equal time in your film to help muddle the truth with their take on it?  Or a film on Snowden, should you get the full NSA perspective?  Would that get you closer to the truth?

Not at all.  I actually believe the filmmakers in this instance are making the right choices for their tale. Their storytelling decisions are impressive.  Good storytelling isn't always comprehensive truth telling is all I'm saying, nor should it be. Nor, often, can it be.

And I just felt like I could see some of the narrative strings being pulled in this instance.  I do agree with most of their decisions regarding what strings needed to be yanked (and not yanked) in service of amazing a viewer.

In other words, I'm impressed with the story, but am confident a more nuanced reality of it exists.  I'm not saying I, as a viewer, should experience that nuance.

[Jonesy Jones]

[fuzzynormal]

Well, I don't think it's in any way a stretch to realize that the American judicial system is flawed and imperfect.  

Honestly, any system run by humans will always betray our foibles.  Regardless of this particular instance outlined by the documentary, I'd say it's reasonable to realize concerning problems do exists.  Sometimes they can be very deep, motivated by pettiness, institutionalized, and/or highly troublesome.

Cumulative realities about American law over the history on the nation are pretty telling.

So, on the other end of the spectrum in this example, to idealize an institution without honest critique isn't good either.

Also, the main point of the post I got is that a filmmaker can tell a good story without great gear.  Other factors are wildly more important than image quality.  

[Jonesy Jones]

Flawed is very different than broken. To lump the entire judicial system into the same bag as this one is broken reasoning. 

I know of no one who does not accept that our system can improve. Most people, myself included, believe something inappropriate happened during the course of this case. But that does not equal a broken system and warrant an #OccupyJustice mentality. 

I would also add that our system is one of if not the best system to have ever existed historically speaking. And to disrespectfully throw the whole thing under the bus because of this documentary is faux courage. 

[M Carter]

Actually the US justice system is the worst one on earth… except for all the other ones.

[Ed_David]

Uh yes I am.  Little things represent bigger things.  If one town is found to be corrupt with their police and justice system, what do we think about other towns?  About our whole government?  About the NSA, police force shooting unarmed black men and getting away with it, about the big banks ruining lives, about Enron, about Volkswagon, about Exxon mobile.

Where does it all stop?  

Can we assume that this is just one small incident? An anonmoly?

Is the film heavily edited?  Aren't all films?  

I don't see much feedback upon this.  It seems pretty thoroughly researched.  It's a 10 hour film!  Most docs are 2 hours.

Was the Thin Blue Line, one of the great classics of docs,  heavily edited?  Yes.  Did it not give the side of the law justice?  No.  Did it release a man from jail?  Yes.

How about Paradise Lost?  Was that heavily edited?  Yes.  Did it not get the side of justices perspective? No.

Again, if you make a film about Enron, you don't need to fill it with their talking points.  You have your perspective that you believe is true - your theory, and you explore it.  

Back to the Murderer - our justice is based on innocent until proven guilty.  Is there is a reasonable doubt, the accused should go free.  This is what the film is about.  Not whether or not they solved the case.  And in my mind, and everyone's mind, there is many flaws in the prosecution's work.  Why did the Sheriff know the license plate and car before they "found it" - why were they allowed to be on the site for 8 days?  If they forced a wrongful confession of a 16 year old slow-intelligent boy, what else are they capable of.

This film shows it to you, right in your face.

[Jonesy Jones]

As I said, good day sir.

[Ed_David]

And a good day to you, sir.

 

[fuzzynormal]

Yeah, well, you know, it's like, just our opinions, man.

 

[Inazuma]

I tried Making of a murderer but couldn't get into it. 

Yesterday though I watched Cartel Land (also on Netflix), which I believe to have been the best documentary I've ever seen. The filmmaker was able to get deeper than any other before him. And you have to remember the cartels are notorious for murdering journalists, so the feeling of danger to the crew is very real - especially towards the end. The things that they record are very eye opening and emotionally draining. One of the most memorable moments is when theyre suddenly being shot at in their car. The cameraman gets out and ducks down, then whilst still pointing at the streets adjusts his ND filter! And I'm sitting watching, just gobsmacked at the absurdity of the dedication to his craft

[BenEricson]

I tried Making of a murderer but couldn't get into it.

I haven't talked to anyone who couldn't get into it. The story is just unbelievable. I haven't seen Cartel land, but this sounds like it has a lot of intense visuals, etc, Making a Murderer is pure story. There have also been tons of docs on drug cartels, not so many on police corruption. That is a pretty scary road to go down...

Haha, could you imagine if there was 60fps slow motion footage of people's backs the whole time. I love the way it looks. It looks raw and real. The cameras they used were efficient and allowed them to capture the story perfectly. 

One thing to mention is that the editing and the audio are both done really really well. The fact that someone can hold my attention for 10 hours is incredible. 

[Inazuma]

I haven't talked to anyone who couldn't get into it. The story is just unbelievable. I haven't seen Cartel land, but this sounds like it has a lot of intense visuals, etc, Making a Murderer is pure story. There have also been tons of docs on drug cartels, not so many on police corruption. That is a pretty scary road to go down...

Haha, could you imagine if there was 60fps slow motion footage of people's backs the whole time. I love the way it looks. It looks raw and real. The cameras they used were efficient and allowed them to capture the story perfectly. 

One thing to mention is that the editing and the audio are both done really really well. The fact that someone can hold my attention for 10 hours is incredible. 

I do highly recommend Cartel Land. Yes it was shot on a c300 but there is no lack of story. It follows two vigilante groups; one in the US on the border of Mexico and one in the south of Mexico.

[agolex]

Try Workingman's Death or Darwin's Nightmare if you need kick-ass documentary. The Swiss and Austrian, to me, seem to be the only ones capable of making honest documentaries.

[hmcindie]

I find the criticism this documentary receives very strange. Krantz comes out with unsubstantiated things (sweat on a hood latch?) afterwards to media and every one believes him?

This doc has 10 hours of episodes. It is A LOT of material, way more than quick little recaps of scenes. The evidence is heard from the defence's standpoint but so what? Krantz didn't even want to participate in the doc but afterwards he wants to be heard? What kind off weird logic is that?

[animan]

our system is one of if not the best system to have ever existed historically speaking

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2014/03/06/top-10-countries-where-justice-prevails/#5bef3eea6b6c
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/24/chicago-police-detain-americans-black-site