Between the three short documentaries, the stylistic choices
differ greatly. The newest one on Netiquette in Korea took on a newsy feel. The
purpose of this documentary is obviously to inform, but it’s somewhat
irrelevant to me since I am too far-gone to save from internet etiquette (I’ll
do as I please), and I also don’t have children currently so I don’t really
need to worry about educating my children on how to behave and use the power of
the internet responsibly. Unlike the other two documentaries, this one doesn’t appeal
to my emotions, except maybe the entertainment from watching and listening to
these Korean 7 year olds sing about “Netiquette.”
The way it was shot was very
bland compared to the others, no filters, no interesting transitions or cuts,
as if it’s just trying to get the information across. As far as other stylistic
choices, it was smart of them to use a voice over of the Korean instructor
speaking, which is totally useless to the audience of this video, who are
mostly Americans. There are tracking shots where the camera is following the
host and his interviewees, and also shots than pan in and out inside the
classroom, there aren’t really many transitions, mainly just cuts onto the next
thing. Another thing that differs between this documentary and the other two we
watched in class is that you actually see the interviewer. We are following him
around and it is as if we are looking through his eyes at what’s happening
around him in this Korean elementary school environment. So instead of thinking
of a camera, a camera man, or not thinking at all about who is conducting and
filming the interview, it is quite obvious to us and contributes to the
news-type feel of the documentary.
