Errol Morris behind the lens: Blog 2
Revered filmmaker Errol Morris’ documentary standard operating procedure is a great example of his directorial style and how he invented and implemented a revolutionary piece of film equipment.
Standard operating procedure (2008) is a feature length documentary about the U.S. military soldiers stationed at military prison Abu Ghraib, and the 2003 photo scandal.
The purpose of the documentary is not only to inform the audience of the face value reports and series of events but to also investigate the soldiers in order to reach the truth about what really happened, that is buried beneath the surface level.
It is with this that we get a key point into his directorial style. To Errol Morris, the idea of the interviewer looking towards the director and interviewer was integral to forming a relationship and a door to honesty, but because of the off camera eye-line it directly causes a disconnect with the audience and a void is created on a psychological level between them.
As a direct result, Morris set out to create a new piece of film equipment based on the teleprompters made for news work, which he called ‘The Interrotron.’ By using a two-way mirror and mounting a monitor behind the mirror with the camera lens. He was able to achieve a greater connection by having the subject look directing at the camera but from their perspective look him in the eyes and converse with him. It also most likely makes the subject feel someone more interrogated because of the disconnect from the human on human interaction but intimate enough to spill the truth.
Thanks to this piece of technology Morris was able to film a captivating spine-chilling film that feels often too intimate and causes the discomfort in the audience knowing they are hearing awful things by someone involved as they look you in the eye.
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