Documentary - "Dougie Wallace: What Do Artists Do All Day?" Observational Documentary Review

 "Dougie Wallace: What Do Artists Do All Day?" Observational Documentary Review

"Dougie Wallace: What Do Artists Do All Day?" (2017) is an observational documentary filmed, directed and produced by Jack Cocker, following Scottish photographer Dougie Wallace as he finishes his "Harrodsburg" (Wallace, 2021) project. The "Harrodsburg" (Wallace, 2021) project is a "social documentary project" (Wallace, 2021) about the super rich and the interesting characters that one often encounters in Knightsbridge, London. 

Observational documentaries allow for the subject/s to be central and the sole focus of the content, with the director of photography and/or crew "acting as a fly on the wall" (Masterclass, 2021), following the contributor around. As a result of this, minimal crew is often used (Artis, 2014:9), hence why Jack Cocker acted as producer, director, sound operator and director of photography. 

The title "What Do Artists Do All Day?" (2017) causes the audience to think and reflect upon this question throughout the film. As it is an observational documentary, the audience is left to figure out and interpret the answer to this question by themselves. The fact that they're left to interpret the answer to the question, could be representative of the fact that art is open to interpretation and causes people to think and reflect. 

Dougie Wallace is an interesting and potentially controversial character in terms of the fact that his way of going about taking his photographs often involves invading his subject's personal space and doesn't really care what people think. In addition to this, Dougie Wallace also appears to be someone who is completely unapologetically themselves (Cocker, 2021), which Jack Cocker emphasised the importance of in the talk he gave to us. It could be said that this makes an audience more drawn to him and allows for the audience's attention to be maintained. Dougie Wallace is entertaining and gains the audience's attention right from the get go. The audience is led to believe that Dougie is innocently waking up, but are hit with him getting out of bed in the nude and placing a hat upon his head. This showcase, encapsulates Dougie's personality and character, whilst providing an insight into the unexpected the audience can expect in this documentary.

The documentary had moments of tension, particularly the moment when Dougie had photographed a group of women, who didn't want to be photographed due to their religious beliefs. As the shot was a long take, you, as an audience member, were experiencing the tension unfold, watching it from start to finish, from the point the began conflict between the women and Dougie, to it ending in Dougie being assaulted on camera. Due to Dougie Wallace's carefree nature, he is able to brush these sometimes tense and negative interactions off and continue on with his life and work.

Throughout the film, Wallace's work is shown, often that of the photographs he was observed taking throughout the documentary. This gives more meaning to the photographs as the audience get to see the process of the photographs being taken, the interaction between the photographer (Dougie Wallace) and the subject/s, and the final product. It makes the audience feel as though they are somehow involved in this process. 

A wide range of shots are used for the duration of the documentary. Close ups and mid shots were commonly used as well as wide shots. The close ups and mid shots were mostly used when the focus was on Dougie Wallace/and or his subjects. Wide shots were often used when Dougie was travelling, out taking photographs or something was happening. In addition to this, the camera is handheld, creating a greater sense of intimacy and making you, as an audience member, feel as though you are there, following/with Dougie Wallace yourself. 

When talking to Jack about the script for the documentary, he explained that he didn't have a script. For Dougie, he felt as though it was best for events to unfold naturally and ask him questions in response to interesting things he said and/or did. However, for our documentaries, he advised that we have a script or a rough outline. 

As well as seeing what Dougie does for a living, the audience also get to meet some important people in his life, who play a role in his career. For example, the audience is introduced to photographer Martin Parr, who appears to be a sort of mentor to Dougie Wallace, particularly as their photography styles are fairly similar. Furthermore, the audience is also introduced to some of Dougie's subjects. This adds to the feeling of intimacy between the audience and Dougie himself. 

"Dougie Wallace: What Do Artists Do All Day?" (2017) is an authentic, entertaining documentary that provides an insight into Dougie Wallace's career as an artist. It causes you to think about the process of creating art and the effort that goes into it as well as the interesting characters behind it. Allowing the documentary to be contributor led creates a deeper sense of connection with the audience, which I will try to incorporate in my work going forward, especially with regards to our documentary. 

Bibliography:

Artis, A. (2014) The Shut Up and Shoot Documentary Guide. (2nd ed.) New York: Routledge. At: https://www-taylorfrancis-com.ucreative.idm.oclc.org/books/mono/10.4324/9780240824444/shut-shoot-documentary-guide-anthony-artis (Accessed 16/05/2021)

Cocker, J. (2021) Talk with Jack Cocker. [Online 17/03/2021]

Dougie Wallace: What Do Artists Do All Day?" (2017) [Television Programme] BBC 4 16/03/2017. At: https://vimeo.com/194869208 (Accessed 16/05/2021)

Masterclass. (2021) Film Documentary Guide: 6 Types of Documentaries. At: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/film-documentary-guide#what-are-documentary-modes (Accessed 16/05/2021).

Wallace, D. (2021) Harrodsburg Photos. At: http://www.dougiewallace.com/harrodsburg (Accessed 16/05/2021)

Wallace, D. (2021) Dougie Wallace. At: http://www.dougiewallace.com/hhhjjjjj#:~:text=Scottish%20photographer%20Dougie%20Wallace%20is,style%20of%20expressive%20street%20photography. (Accessed 16/05/2021)