Blog Post 1 — Errol Morris

Errol Morris has a very distinct and recognisable style that is so evident in all his films. He has a way of making his films feel personal — as if he has a direct relationship with the person we’re seeing on the screen. But don’t all good documentarians aim to do this? Well they do. But not to the extent that Morris does. His films have a sense of truth about them that seems fair and honest, without manipulating his interviewees in an attempt to gain the truth.

One way he goes about achieving this honest and genuine feeling with his films, is through the use of the ‘Interrotron’, a device which allows the interviewee to have a live projection of Errol Morris to look at, whilst still staring right into the lens of the camera. But of course they’re not making eye contact the whole time — with their eyes darting about as they make conversation. It’s the subtle things like this that make the feel of his films so genuine, as if we’re having a real conversation with the person on the screen.

But there are also times when Morris likes to remind us that we are indeed watching a constructed piece of media. In the film ‘Standard Operating Procedure’, the camera operator would constantly change the frame of the shot with each new question that was posed to the interviewee. At first, this can be brushed off as a way of keeping the audience from becoming bored or just a way of avoiding hideous jump cuts, but this technique also reminds the audience that this is indeed a construction of text and not just a conversation. It allows the audience to be a part of the interview and relate to the people they’re seeing on the screen — but at the same time, keeping in mind the whole story and piecing it together for themselves.

There is rarely ever just one single truth that can be found, but a collective truth from a variety of individuals. Errol Morris understands this, and constructs his films in such a way that he is sure to present the same events from so many different points of view. ‘Standard Operating Procedure’ is a great example of this. As an audience, you find yourself constantly changing your mind as to whether or not the actions that had taken place are justified or not. It’s through telling this same story from multiple angles that the audience is then left to make up their own mind. This is what Morris continues to do so well, and is why he is the revered film maker that he is today.

-Beau.