Week 5 Screening 1.

Whateverest. 2012 Kristoffer Borgli (mockumentary).

http://vimeo.com/58444378

Guardian article;

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2013/feb/03/alexis-petridis-inspector-norse-whateverest

Music video;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHiqPG0526U

Resident Adviser (well respected music website).

http://www.residentadvisor.net/feed-item.aspx?id=58794

This short mockumentary uses the techniques of the documentary to convey realism to the viewer, it does it so well that it fooled The Guardian music writer Alexis Petridis whose article originally brought it to my attention. The music video itself has elements of the documentary, beginning with the character introducing himself through interview soundbites and continuing in an observational life in the day film format. This format is taken further in the mocumentary itself when a more extensive interview is used to set up the scenario. In the case of the mockumentary the introductory interview gives the film authenticity by interviewing Todd Terje at the start. The scenes of Marius Solem Johansen “Inspector Norse” going about his day to day activities are interspersed with interview footage of and about his quite solitary existence. Oit was mistaken for a documentary because it stays very close to realism, the character created for the mockumentary is has failed with what he set out to achieve and did not have a plan b. The realism of the documentary is suffused in the writing, the meloncholic character that forms its central theme is never exaggerated, he is always believable.

The mocumentary convincingly hits upon some of the well known motifs of the documentary; for example the lead character has interactions with the “documentary” crew seemingly on the spur of the moment, or when the lead character goes walkabout and the crew have to scramble to keep up. These scenarios have been seen often enough for them to become a distinctive feature of the documentary and using them creates the impression that what is being viewed is real. It is an example of the format of the documentary being a signpost for fidelity, it is almost as if the rules of documentary making are broadly accepted by filmmakers. This presumption gives the documentary a power over the viewer, the perception that what is being portrayed is actual and factual.