Parks and Rec!

Hi everyone!!

   I know we already discussed this topic a little, but I just wanted to explore the concept of cinema verite a bit more (sorry, I couldn't get the accent marks). The first thought that came to my mind when we talked about this tool was of course, documentaries. The we watched some great examples of how people have used it in narrative films as well.

   But it doesn't stop there. My roommate and I recently got hooked on the TV show 'Parks and Recreation' (that's actually what inspired this post). Although the style is not true cinema verite (I'm sure everything is still scripted), the shaky, focus-as-you-go feel of the camera, combined with the character interviews definitely give you a fly-on-the-wall vibe. And then I started thinking of other shows like 'The Office' and 'Modern Family' (and a bunch more, I'm sure) that make you feel like the characters are real people and not characters. I just think it's a really ingenious way of presenting a TV show; everything is so close and relatable. And when you put comedy on top of that, i don't know, it just works in a really unique way.

   I'm not sure exactly what the point of this blog was, I just wanted to say how much I like the concept of cinema verite/mockumentaries, (I'm not always sure where to draw the line between them). And 'Parks and Recreation'.