Favorite Documentary This Year

I just finished watching The Chair. It documentary show on Starz about two directors first time directors making the same movie. I have to say, I was very impressed with it. I had my doubts about it, but in the end, I was very pleased with the whole thing.

To begin with, one of the more fascinating parts about this was the way in which one gets to see the whole process that goes into film making. From writing a script, to rewrites, to hiring producers and tech people, to scouting locations and finding actors. There is so much stuff that happens in pre-production that completely alters how the film will be.

There are even things that one might not think would have much of an affect that really do change everything about the mood of a film. For instance, one director brought in only one person to handle the technical side of things with him. He works with a producer on his other projects and she worked with him on this one. Everyone else he hired was new to him. The other director had a small, close group of people she works with to handle this project with her. They were more collaborative in their approach. During the documentary, there are times when one director's choices seem to be working the best, and times when the other director's choices work the best.

Even the way the two directors lived during the filming affected their films. One director rented a house, where she lived with several people working in production with her. They cooked together, had meals together, and discussed the film late into the night. The other director stayed in a hotel. His meals were all from restaurants. When he was finished with the film for the day, he could close himself off in his room and not deal with anyone else. He was able to stay in his own headspace and reflect on the movie in private.

The amazing thing is, both directors managed to finish their films. Two movies actually WERE made out of this. Even if those movies aren't that great, I believe it's quite impressive that they were able to accomplish this. If you enjoy watching how complicated things get made, I very much recommend The Chair. I think you'll enjoy it.