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An interpreter's guide to filmmaking
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2022) Andrus, Olivia Fay; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Dennis Aig
Politically 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.
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 Stillwell
This 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.
Breaking through: how documentary filmmakers expose and unravel the fossil fuel hegemony
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2022) Dinner, Joshua; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Theo Lipfert
By analyzing contemporary environmental films within Antonio Gramsci's theoretical framework of hegemony, this MFA thesis highlights a path for storytellers and science communicators to overcome hidden barriers built into the language of environmental activism. Part one uses scientific papers, academic research, and my MFA thesis film 'No Time for Trees' (2022) to scrutinize the environmental stewardship activity of tree planting, which municipal governments and non-profit organizations often promote as a strategy to sequester atmospheric CO 2 emissions. It will contextualize the hegemonic "tree planting message" as a false narrative that empowers individuals to partake in ineffective strategies to combat global warming. Part two examines The 11th Hour (2007) to identify how a documentary's narration impacts how viewers assess their role in the environmental arena. It identifies the pronoun "we" as a small but influential element of the film's language that may connote hegemonic messaging that blames individuals for climate change and directs them to see it solved. Finally, part three examines several rhetorical film strategies used in 'Merchants of Doubt' (2014) to expose the fossil fuel industry's comprehensive history of deception. Even will limited visual evidence of hegemony, films can help viewers think critically about stories they hear in the news media or within publications that skew climate science to favor the continued use of fossil fuels.
Investigation of how poetic mode documentaries work as a catalyst for information in science and natural history filmmaking
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2022) Bach, Harrison; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Dennis Aig
Poetic mode storytelling comes in the form of a new, unusual, and abstract means of expressing information and conveying emotion in media narrative production. When used in the context of science and natural history filmmaking it is a double-edged sword; it can induce intrigue or instigate bewilderment. When the poetic mode elements are used in conjunction with science and natural history filmmaking, there is a defiance in the expectations of what both conventional cinema and experimental cinema are trying to convey. These differences come in the form of producing films that visually and emotionally express features of poetic mode storytelling techniques while still creating a film that is about a real process, person, and place. Through case studies of poetic mode science and natural history films Samsara, Sweet Grass, and my film 'Flourish,' this paper will examine how the use of poetic mode film techniques in science and natural history films are utilized, and the accolades and critiques that come as a result.
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 Stillwell
In 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.
Allow me to introduce you to: an argument for the efficacy of portrait filmmaking in science communication
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2021) Hill, Nicholas Scott; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Theo Lipfert
Media influences how we perceive the world. Reductive portrayals of scientists in literature and motion pictures have contributed to negative connotations of scientists and scientific fields. In a culture of personality where a person's credentials are linked to their likability, breaking these connotations is crucial. If the goal of science communication in documentary is to inform the public about scientific principles, research, or new discoveries; using portrait filmmaking can assist in meeting that end. Effective use of portraiture filmmaking in science communication can help show that scientists are much more complex than some media have portrayed them. They are people, with real passion about the field they are exploring as well as for other aspects of life. When a filmmaker shows a scientist as a character with more depth than just their profession, they can create empathy and connection between viewers and scientists. If viewers can relate to the scientists, they may be more receptive to the field or the research the scientists are passionate about. In this paper, I suggest that the use of portraiture filmmaking in science communication is an effective tool to use in showing the public that scientists are relatable people, not reductive representations of their profession.
Ocean conservation films: connecting the viewer
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2020) Lanier, Sarah Elizabeth; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Dennis Aig
Documentaries 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.
Framing science and conservation films for wider acceptance: using social science to engage audience through their worldview and cultural cognition
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2019) Smithee, Tara Pearl; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Theo Lipfert
Using the work of Yale professor Dan Kahan, this thesis explores how his 'cultural cognition' theory demonstrates the ineffectiveness of communicating controversial environmental topics using the deficit model. It applies Valerie Reyna's Fuzzy Trace Theory, which demonstrates how communicators can use 'gist' and 'verbatim' in their messaging to connect to an audience's worldview and reduce polarization. This thesis uses these theories to analyze three documentary case studies, including my MFA thesis film, Deep Discoveries. Deep Discoveries documents the underwater ocean exploration of Marine National Monuments in the Pacific Ocean from 2014 to 2016 and utilizes the above tools to promote conservation of the ocean.
Science communication and the advantages of the contextual model in documentaries
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2020) Portuondo, Jessica; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Cindy Stillwell
Documentaries can be an effective method for informing the public on agricultural trends and policies. Incorporating the contextual model of science communication into these films is one way to improve public awareness and to explain the complexities of sustainable agricultural practices. A comparison of Food Inc. and the 'Dan Barber' episode of Chef's Table demonstrates how a reliance on the deficit model inhibits the propagation of knowledge about sustainable agriculture. This critique also highlights how a character-based story can function as an educational tool to teach audiences about the value of regenerative food production practices by emotionally connecting with the protagonist.
Approaching the science of food waste through documentary film
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2019) Bates, Samantha Ellyn; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Lucia Ricciardelli
'Trash' does not exist in nature, as any waste generated by an organism is utilized by another. Humans have strayed away from the earth's natural processes by exporting waste towards a dead end, allowing it to pile high in landfills where it most likely will never decompose. Documentary filmmakers have attempted to raise awareness about this pressing environmental issue of waste by illustrating the negative impacts of landfills on our lives and providing the viewer with attainable and sustainable waste diversion solutions. This study will describe, discuss, and compare the different aesthetic and thematic approaches adopted in 'Wasted!' 'The Story of Food Waste', 'Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story' and 'Rot', three documentary films that propose environmentally-friendly waste disposal strategies as possible solutions to our global food waste crisis.

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