Scholarship & Research
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Item An interpreter's guide to filmmaking(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2022) Andrus, Olivia Fay; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Dennis AigPolitically divisive topics like climate change are notoriously difficult to effectively communicate to the public. Using a different communication approach called interpretation within the filmmaking process, we can bridge the gap current climate change films have today with their audience. Interpretation means "a mission-based communication process that forges emotional and intellectual connections between the interests of the audience and the meanings inherent in the resource," according to the National Association of Interpretation (What is interpretation?). In this paper I will analyze the history behind interpretation and the methodology in implementing this communication style within films. Through the works of various filmmakers such as, My Octopus Teacher (2020), Ice on Fire (2019), and Ocean Souls (2020), my own experience creating an interpretive short film, The Dolphin Dilemma, this paper will discuss how specific interpretive communication methods can take politically divisive subjects, like climate change and more effectively communicate science within documentaries.Item Sowing the seeds of love: a look into non-conventional science documentary with a focus on audience entertainment(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2023) Young, Riley Ilyse; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Cindy StillwellThis paper explores the makings of the film Sowing the Seeds of Love and the stylistic choices made to produce a science documentary film focusing on audience entertainment. Sowing the Seeds of Love, a three-part short film starring an animal and a celebrity for each section bringing attention to the non-heteronormative mating behaviors of each animal species. The entire film is shot on 16mm film and uses animation and scripted scientific information representative of each celebrity host and their time of peek popularity to focus on the nostalgia of the audience. The goal of this film is to highlight a commentary on heteronormative roles in our society challenged by the mating behaviors of animals across our planet. This paper also explores three different documentaries that inspired the topic and style of Sowing the Seeds of Love and how the filmmaker came to the decisions of certain stylistic choices to create a non-traditional documentary in wildlife film.Item Influence of emotions: how a film score aids audience attention and understanding in documentary film(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2023) Weikert, Grace Allison; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Dennis AigThe music that accompanies documentaries often needs to be more valued and utilized. Although documentaries primarily focus on facts or discoveries, their musical scores, which are often secondary, house the emotional nuances and sensitivities that are the true key to their meaning and impact. Intentionally crafted scores--as the emotional undertone--draw viewers into the inner world of the film. By maximizing intellectual stimulation through the visual means of film and auditorial means of music, there is a greater chance for audience attention and understanding. This thesis seeks to examine original scores within documentary films, applications pertaining to learning capabilities, and the proper execution within documentary context to direct attention of the viewer. I include a case study using my science documentary film Holy Curiosity: Uncovering the Expansion Rate of the Universe to assess the effectiveness of sequences in aiding audiences' attention and understanding of complex scientific information through its original musical score as a structural device. Ultimately, documentary films employing an original film score may garner increased audience attention and understanding.Item Beyond continuity within the frame: experiments in 360 documentary(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2021) Barker, Richard Dozier; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Theo Lipfert360 video is a new medium, with different opportunities than traditional film and a need for new conventions. In a traditional film, the typical HD resolution contains about 2 million pixels spaced over a screen which fills only a portion of the viewer's full range of vision. The filmmaker must squeeze all of the information they are trying to convey into that small space and direct the viewer's attention within the frame. In 360 video, the lowest resolution in frequent use contains about 10 million pixels, over 8 million more than the traditional HD standard and distributed over a range that fills the viewer's entire vision in every direction. Similarly to how the advent of traditional film gave photography the use of motion and time, the challenge and opportunity of 360 video is to effectively direct attention while making full use of the extra space. This Master of Fine Arts thesis is an exploration of potential avenues for making use of those extra pixels in documentary film, the immersive aspects of the 360 medium, and maintaining the editorial agency of the filmmaker while taking advantage of new opportunities for collaboration with the viewer.Item Environmental documentaries that reach across the aisle: proposed methods on how to demonstrate diverse values in documentary film in order to engage a wider audience(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2020) Siana, Ashley; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Cindy StillwellDocumentary film has achieved an acclaimed status as an effective form of communication, one that can serve as an advocate for environmental issues. Documentaries intending to engage wider audiences and break down polarized issues can employ specific strategies that have proven to create subsequent positive impact. Comparing 'Before The Flood', 'Gasland', and 'Last Call for The Bayou', I analyze strategies in each film that were either effective or ineffective in helping to resolve environmental issues and polarization. The Cultural Cognition Project suggests audiences are more willing to incorporate differing views when perspectives are presented in a way that allows them to grow identity rather than challenging and demonizing firmly held values. I apply the identified techniques to shape my creative process of constructing my film, 'The Gilded Trap,' with the goal of presenting issues pertaining to climate change from a new angle, thus engaging a wider audience, and increasing cultural cognition regarding the negative impacts of climate change in New England.Item The function of factual content within an essay film(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2020) Roehrig, Jason Van Alan; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Cindy StillwellIn the traditional approach to documentary films, the presentation of facts can be cold and sterile. When placed alongside the personal perspective in the essay film form derived from the literary essay form set by Aldous Huxley, the information filtered through the characters as they attempt to work through a mental knot now serves a function beyond just data. Out of this synthesis, an overarching thesis emerges which, I argue, is the function of the factual pole of Huxley's three-pole framework (Maes- Jelinek, 261). This paper examines 'Seizing the Unrecorded', 'The Gleaners and I', and 'San Soleil' as case studies of essay films to investigate the function of factual information. I find that the use of information aids in contextualizing the author's perspective through research and allowing the viewer to interpret the narrative in their individual way while allowing character vulnerability. This leads to a strong filmmaker-audience connection giving reach to a broader audience. My film, 'The Freelancer', adopts this argument in order to expand the importance of factual information.Item Directing audience attention: cinematic composition in 360 natural history films(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2021) DeHart, Clark Gabriel; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Theo LipfertSince cinema's creation, the standard format for viewing video content has been a flat, planar image projected onto a screen. The recent invention of the 360-film format allows for a panoramic view of a spherical visual video surface. Cinema composition is a series of aesthetic tools and processes that support a visual framework that filmmakers utilize during production. Composition choices in filmmaking help direct the audience's attention to the most important aspects of each scene. 360 formats in natural history filmmaking defy some of the conventional cinematic standards that have been in place since the early development of cinema production. These differences are due to the larger field of view in 360 filmmaking, which is created by the panoramic, equirectangular shape of 360 video. Through case studies of 360 natural history films 'My Africa', 'Expedition Everest', and my production 'You Are Here: National Parks in 360', this paper examines how the 360-film format has affected composition choices in natural history filmmaking and analyzes the 360 conventions used to direct audience attention in alternative cinema formats.Item Ocean conservation films: connecting the viewer(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2020) Lanier, Sarah Elizabeth; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Dennis AigDocumentaries about ocean conservation have relied on the model of conventional environmental science documentaries with their use of expository film techniques. Ocean conservation films of this kind follow traditions of objectivity, authority, pressure for change, and placing the audience in the uncomfortable role of acting as an antagonist to aquatic life. By examining a new model for ocean conservation films in which audiences feel connected to the ocean instead of alienated from it, we can create more profound stories as well as emotional connections with the viewer. My film, 'The Crab Man of Kodiak' (2020), utilizes a localized portrait film format to engage the viewer in a discourse about ocean conservation without vilifying them, creating a balance between advocacy, science, and emotion.Item Get one million views overnight!: How YouTube influences the creation and reception of documentary film(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2019) Hockett, Marcus Andrew; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Theo LipfertTrends in media creation, distribution and consumption have led YouTube to become a platform where masses of creators and consumers come together to tell stories, entertain and share information. Documentary filmmakers have begun to utilize YouTube for the distribution of films and develop content specifically for the platform. YouTube culture has influenced creators to produce content with an aesthetic distinct to the platform. The indiscriminate nature of the platform allows for nearly any creator to produce content. A participatory culture is created where viewers can critique and share additional information in a comment section and influence future content creation. YouTube is assisting filmmakers in accomplishing their objectives by linking them with an audience that desires their content. My film, Scumbag Hunters, was influenced by what I call the YouTube niche. Creating this film designed for the YouTube niche and distributing on the platform may be a favorable avenue compared to traditional distribution methods in accomplishing the objectives of entertaining, inspiring and educating the audience.Item Environmental films and their audience: captivating the viewer(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2019) Spear, Jonathan Edward; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Dennis AigThis paper examines how films concerned with environmental issues can add more elements to achieve a greater impact on the viewer than classic 'blue chip' films such as 'Planet Earth' do. For the viewer's attention to be truly engaged and for information to be retained so that it can lead to social change, the story, music, and cinematography must all strongly reinforce each other for the film to be an unforgettable experience. I will discuss and compare three films: 'Return of the River' (2016), 'DamNation' (2014), and 'The Art of Flight' (2011), and then discuss how they influenced my film 'Missoula: To the MAX' (2019). This discussion will detail to what degree we are drawn into the films based on the elements of a genuinely memorable viewing experience, and what lessons we are able to take away because of them.