Inspiring Docs

The last class screening we had before I left for China was Touch the Sound, and right after wards I thought that might play a big part in the aesthetic of my doc. I found their method of visualizing the abstract very interesting, and thought that I might do something similar to get across the concept of Chi.

That did not end up happening. Partly because I am not an experimental guy and the idea of trying to make visual metaphors was embarrassing. I imagined trying to explain through a translator why I was spending all my time filming a blade of grass or a pile of snow instead of the Kung Fu. Another, and really the most important thing, was that I do not know what the sensation of doing Tai Chi feels like. I could ask people, and try to turn that into visuals, but that would be pretty phony. Finally, in the heat-of-the-moment nature of shooting a documentary, I have trouble being intellectual on that level. I can recognize something visually interesting or a heated exchange going on in the moment, but I cannot bring my thinking to that next, abstract level. The main thing I could do, while shooting and doing interviews, was to try and think of the kind of story I wanted to tell, and how I wanted my film to be different from what had already been done on the subject.

Before going over to China, I watched a couple of Kung Fu documentaries on the Internet, including this one. It is not bad, but it represents what I have seen to be true in a lot of Kung Fu documentaries. I am not aware of any that strive to be more than a forgettable hour or a half on the Discovery Channel or National Geographic. They are usually surveys of a bunch of different Kung Fu styles and masters that never try to achieve any depth or delve into the personalities of the people involved. I think that is because the surface is so cool. The people are doing interesting, physical things, and they often say philosophical things that seem profound. What else do you want? The problem is that kind of approach is distancing. It creates a general sense of: these are strange foreigners, doing strange foreign things. How exotic.

I wanted to profile people that were recognizably human, with all their flaws and quirks and humor. The documentaries that have real impact on me are often structured around characters and personalities, and that usually deal with obsession. For example: Grizzly Man. When you are dealing with a profound and lifelong obsession, the people and situations involved usually have some degree of absurdity to them. Still, their passion is real, important, and, if presented the right way, relatable. I wanted something that could acknowledge the bizarre elements of the story, but that would ultimately give at least some degree of insight and understanding into why this is important to the people involved.