Analysis of Documentary: ‘Jiro Dreams of Sushi’
A most elegant and precise exposè on the workings of the ‘Sukiyabashi Jiro’ the famous three Michelin star sushi restaurant located in the Tokyo subway.
As demonstrated by the above poster the documentary takes a minimslist approach to the art of film making. The simplicity of the film reflects the minimalism and simplicity that Jiro’s sushi is both renowned for and prided upon by the restaurant’s owner: ‘Jiro’ (pictured above). For the most part ‘Jiro Dreams of Sushi’ forgoes any form of traditional narration opting instead to allow Jiro himself and various members of his staff to take up the job that the narrator would normally fill. The closest thing this documentary offers in regards to a narrator is the food critic Masuhiro Yamamoto who begins by explaining his own great knowledge and explaining how Jiro’s sushi stands above the rest. In this respect Yamamoto acts as a pseudo ‘voice of authority’ as his expertise in this field is established early on however he cannot be considered a true ‘voice of authority’ narrator as his inputs are neither frequent enough nor informative enough to take precedence over the inputs of Jiro and his staff.
Overall this documentary is stylistically rather unique. In order to convey the importance Jiro himself places upon simplicity in regards to his food this documentary has took a minimalistic art direction. Therein lies one of the greatest strengths of this film, by reflecting so effectively the subject matter in both the style of narration and the shot choices along with the art direction makes this documentary a uniquely coherent experience.
It is the camera work and the framing along with the cinematogrophy which i would like to take into my own production. Much like ‘Jiro Dream’s of Sushi’ i would like my production to turn out rather Avant-Garde.
Notice how the chef is narrating the first part himself and then it transitions into showing him being interviewed. Also notice the use of slow-motion and focus pulls to achieve the simplistic and minimalist effect which i would also like to achieve.
Lighting
Also notice how soft and aesthetically pleasant the lighting is. This effect can be achieved through reflecting or by using an umbrella to soften the light, this will give the subject less definition and will reduce the harshness of the shadows, this makes gradients smooth across the image.
It is most likely that on the close ups of the sushi a mixture of both soft and hard lighting is used. Soft light in order to soften the edges of the image to give it a sort of soft focus and hard lighting to increase definition and exposure. It is also likely that the key light in these shots is reflected off of a yellow or golden reflector in order to both soften the light and to give the bright but not harsh yellowish hue which is present in the shot.
Conventions of Documentaries
Definitions:
Actuality footage- Real Footage of the event not using actors. Example- A documentary on 9/11 showing real footage of the world trade centre falling
Voiceover- An unseen commentator who will tell us the story of the subject matter, as the audience we are encouraged to take what the this commentator says as truth
Narrativisation- To communicate events or experience through narration so that the audience may better understand
Interview- Allows people whom are involved in the documentary to speak directly to the camera prompted by specific questions
Text- Often times, dates or locations these are often used at the beginning of archive clips in order to introduce and/or reiterate context
Sound- Used in order to influence the audience’s opinion and to set a desired tone
Dramatisation- A reconstruction of a real event using actors, used to give the audience a further insight into what occurred
Realism- A documentary is able to achieve this by using archive footage, interviews and location shots
Things that may signify a documentary being real and live:
Shaky camera work- This implies that the particular tim being shown was took not by a professional and thus reduces the chances of professional manipulation of the footage.
Unintended sound- Once again implies that the particular clip is a live recording and thus has not been altered.
Both of these are shown in: ‘Japan’s Tsunami: Caught on Camera’ –
The 6 Modes of Documentary (Bill Nichol)
1. Expository- Uses voiceovers in order to address the audience directly, also it will use a variety of material to support its argument- Most ‘History Channel’ documentaries
2. Observational- Usually focuses on one camera which observes the surroundings, rarely uses interviews or voiceovers- ‘The War Room’
3. Participatory- The documentary maker is visible within the film and often takes part as the voiceover- ‘Man on Wire’
4. Reflexive- Based on real life moments and objects, these types of documentaries are based more on opinion than fact- ‘This is Spinal Tap’
5. Performative- Based on emotion, the documentary maker/crew may interact with the subject- Programs such as ‘Cops’
6. Poetic- A subjective representation of reality often experimental or Avant-Garde- ‘General Orders no. 9’
A documentary is a recording of an event, generally based on peoples perspectives and/or genuine facts.
‘Creative treatment of reality’ – John Grierson
Lighting
Yesterday using the lights in school we experimented with different set ups in order to view the created effect. We utilised three lights, various colour reflectors (gold, silver and white) and a white umbrella for each light. Changing the positioning of the lights and the additional apparatus we achieved various effects, some desirable some not so:
Our first attempt uses a basic three point lighting set up, it yielded this overly bright scene:
This is not a desirable effect. We then used an umbrella over the key light and a white reflector over the fill light to dim the scene and to give the subjects a softer exposure.
Utilising the gold reflector and the umbrella over the key light this shot is more softer and more mellow, and also has a certain classy feel courtesy of the gold reflector. Both subjects are distinct from the background. This kind of lighting set up would be useful for my documentary in interviews.
We then went on to try a more dramatic lighting with one subject the scene was intended to be rather dark:
This also utilises the gold reflector however due to the lack of overall light it does not harbour the desired effect and instead looks somewhat washed out.
This uses the white reflector and I personally prefer this one as it darkens the background and isn’t so obvious in the direction of the light. It achieves the desired effect better than the other photo.
We also dabbled in silhouetting, by only using the back light and having the subject stand directly in front of it we achieved a silhouette much like this:
The difference being is that we only had one subject and we didn’t have the smoke however the effect was much the same
This is a shot I’m seriously considering for my final piece, along with some nice smooth lighting for interviews.
Script Writing
I have put together a powerpoint presentation showing the conventions of script writing. You can download it by clicking below.
Josh Donaldson A2 Media Blog 