Mockumentary Reflection

Mockumentary 2025 What type of documentary did you base your mockumentary on? Participatory How did your film imitate or exaggerate this type? Too many confessionals, shaky cameras, James looking at the camera occasionally, interactions from James with the interviewer, and the game night guesses being very concerning. What techniques or clichés from traditional documentaries did you intentionally use? (ex. jiggly camera, slow dissolves, dramatic narration, charts/graphs) I used some dramatic zoom into character’s expressions, jiggly cameras when things don’t go to plan (like in the end when James leaves), the whole game night trope, fast cuts in the middle of expressions, loads of confessionals, questions from off-screen interviewer and lots of concerning un-normal situations. Which key elements gave your film a sense of authenticity as a documentary, even though it was satirical? (Be specific about editing, camera techniques, and narration style.) The camera following them around and James looking at the camera every time something concerning happened + the confessionals. What was the main "conflict" or storyline in your mockumentary? How did that evolve throughout the film? The main storyline was that James and his seemingly normal girlfriend are visiting her friend’s house and his seemingly normal girlfriend becomes completely different around her friend and they both expose some….concerning information. What was the most creative or unexpected moment in your film? Why are you proud of it? I LOVED editing the colors, some may argue that I have saturation blindness but to me Paula’s confessionals with her red shirt, yellow couch, (both warm tones) and the green and blue/white background (cold tones) worked perfectly together. What role did sound or music play in creating the tone of your mockumentary? I used silence a lot to create awkwardness, like when the girlfriends are talking you hear them be loud and shrilly and then as they fade off and exit screen you’re left with the awkward silence between the two boyfriends because they have just met each other, Robert barely speaks, and the silence really shows the contrast between the girls who have known each other for years, and the awkward situation the guys who just met are in. How was editing used to enhance pacing, humor, or drama in your piece? The color as previously mentioned (I had to create a toooon of presets on movavi because everything looked super gray and dull and the lighting in different scenes didn’t match) Fast cuts in-between silence and really loud voices created this almost comedic effect as you go from awkward silence or calm Kathy to very chatty and excited scenes. Confessionals + zooming into James expressions, he’s almost seeking help or reassurance that what’s happening IS weird because everyone else is acting like this is completely normal . What did you learn about filmmaking, storytelling, or satire from this project? I learned a lot about color and making sure you have an evident plot as well as working with actors to make sure they see your vision. At first I was kind of hesitant to get them to re-do takes but by the end I realized it was necessary. If you could share this film with a larger audience, what would you want them to notice or take away from it? Id want them to be wow-ed by Paula’s confessionals because the first one was shot once and only once and the color and expressions and tone is PERFECT. I’d also like to recast Robert and re-film the game night scenes because we did it again and thought it was perfect but in editing I noticed that Jacob and Sophie looked straight at the camera and Jacob was laughing in it so we couldn’t use it :c I’d also like to make my audience have fun watching it, like not even laugh just maybe chuckle, I was aiming for like an snl-type of skit and I think I did that