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This is to certify that the

thesis entitled

THE STORY OF OLD STONES

presented by

YI-LE SUNG ‘

has been accepted towards fulﬁllment
of the requirements for

Master of Arts TelecommuniCation
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THE STORY OF OLD STONES
By

Yi-Le Sung

A THESIS
Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulﬁllment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

Department of Telecommunication

1998

ABSTRACT
THE STORY OF OLD STONES
By

Yi-Le Sung

In Taiwan, there are around 200 historic sites. These historic sites are
valuable assets, which witness the history and tell stories of our ancestors.
However, historic sites have been ignored by both the government and the
public for a long period of time.

The 28-minute video documentary thesis The Story of Old Stones is
intended to trigger the viewer's emotional response, to evoke people's
interest in historic sites through the aesthetic appreciation of their beauty,
and to awaken peOple's concerns about the succession of cultural values.

This paper is a supplement to the video program in which the producer's
motivation and video design methods are revealed; important documentary
theories and methods are brieﬂy reviewed; and the result of a group

evaluation and its implications are presented.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First of all, I would like to thank my parents for their never-ending love
and support. Without them, I cannot become what I am today. Thank my
sister and cousin for their comforts when I was down; they can always make
me laugh.

I owe a big thank you to my advisor, Robert Albers, for his endless
patience and valuable guidance for my project. He has had a great influence
on me. I knew nothing about video production when I came the MSU two
years ago. . Under his teaching, now I can produce, shoot, and edit my own
project. I am especially grateful for his help in ﬁnishing this thesis.

My sincere appreciation to my committee member, Lisa Whiting, and our
engineer Gary Roettger, for their time to help me when I need it.

I am grateful to Mr. Tao-Tsung Cheng, expert in the historic and folk arts
ﬁeld, and Chao-Ching Fu, Chairman of Tainan Cultural Assets Preservation
Association, for being my interviewees although their interview footage was
not used in the program under the consideration of the whole piece’s unity.

I would like to thank people who attended the group evaluation and
devoted their time to viewing the video and answering the questionnaire.

Finally, I want to thank Collin for his companionship in the past two

years. I always felt complete when he was with me.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................... 1
CHAPTER II
HISTORIC SITES IN TAINAN .............................................................. 7
History of Tainan ........................................................................... 7
The Aboriginal and the Early Immigration in the Ming Dynasty (?-1622). . .7
The Dutch Occupation Period (1622-1661) ..................................... 8
The Koxinga Governing Period (1661-1683) .................................... 8
The Ching Governing Period (1683-1895) ...................................... 9
The Japanese Colony Period (1895-1945) ........................................ 9
The Post-Retrocession Period (1945-present) .................................. 10
Historic Sites in Tainan ................................................................... 10
Ruins of An-P’ing Fort (Fort Zeelandia; Construction: AD. 1624) ......... 11
Tainan Confucius Temple (Construction Date: AD. 1665) ................ 12
Tainan Kuan-Ti Temple (Construction Date: AD.Ca. 1660-1680) ....... 13
Shrine of the Five Noble Ladies (Construction Date: AD. 1683) ........... 13
Erh-K’un-Shen Fort (Construction Date: AD. 1875) ........................ 14
CHAPTER III
HISTORY AND THEORY OF DOCUMENTARY ....................................... 16
French Lumiere and the Pre-Documentary Origins ................................... 16
Robert J. Flaherty and American Documentary ....................................... l8
Dziga Vertov and the Soviet Union’s Documentary .................................. 20
John Grierson and British Documentary ............................................... 22
Direct Cinema and Cinema Verite ....................................................... 25
CHAPTER IV
WHAT IS DOCUMENTARY? ............................................................... 29
Deﬁnition of Documentary ............................................................... 29
Modes of Documentary ................................................................... 32
Voice of Documentary ..................................................................... 35

iv

CHAPTER V

VIDEO PROGRAM DESIGN ................................................................. 37
Title Interpretation ....................................................................... 37
Purpose ..................................................................................... 37
Audience .............................................................. . ..................... 38
Mode and Voice ........................................................................... 38
Content ..................................................................................... 39
Production Process and Strategies ...................................................... 41

CHAPTER VI

EVALUATION AND CONCLUSION ...................................................... 44
Group Evaluation ......................................................................... 44
Conclusion ................................................................................. 48

APPENDD( A: SUBTITLES OF THE PROGRAM ..................................... 53

APPENDIX B: QUESTIONNAIRE OF GROUP VALUATION ....................... 69

BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................................................. 72

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

“Historic Sites” are relics of humanity and the witness of history.
Taiwan’s historic sites and their architecture styles and symbolic meanings
are “a combination of prehistoric, Dutch, Spanish, Chinese (the Koxinga
period and the Ching Dynasty), Japanese and the post-retrocession culture.”1
They are not only a record of Taiwanese’s ancestors’ lives but also
representative of reborn cultural values.

For decades, the succession of traditional culture and the preservation of
cultural heritage had been overlooked by both the government and the
multitudes. Before 1970, the government viewed Taiwan as a developing
country, which implies Taiwan’s legitimacy is built on its capability to
develop economically.2 The government paid little attention to historic
sites, especially their preservation. Many valuable historic sites had
suffered serious deterioration, or fallen to disuse.

The earliest preservation movement of historic sites was sparked during

the 19705. A group of intelligentsia called for the government to look into

 

l Chien-Lang Lee, “Understanding Historic Sites”, Theory and Practical Use of Historic Sites
(Taipei: Ministry of the Interior, 1995) 37-45.

2 Chu-Chiu Hsia, “Important Tasks of Historic Sites’ Conservation in the Present”, T sao-Y uan,
Sep. 1992: 19-23.

the problems and do something for Taiwan’s cultural property. However,
not until 1982, when the Appropriation for the Preservation of Cultural
Assets was initiated by the legislature, were Taiwan’s historic sites ﬁrst
appraised and ranked by the Council for Cultural Planning Development.3
The maintenance and conservation of 200 ofﬁcially declared “historic sites”
was begun.

Nevertheless, a problem exists in the appropriation and the government’s
attitudes. The so-ealled “historic preservation” only focuses on the
historically signiﬁcant buildings but neglects the most essential element of
the culture, that is, people and their connection to historic sites. Scholar
Chun-Lan Feng once pointed out that “preserved buildings” are like the
“goods” piled in the storage; they don’t have much to do with the public’s
lives.”4 Except for those religious pilgrims who are the “frequent users” of
historic temples, other historic sites such as fort battlements, grave yards, old
city walls, and tablets have few connections with people’s lives. For the
general public, these sites are merely old architectural structures with a

“historical label.”

 

3 According to the appropriation, the Council for Cultural Planning and Development takes
charge of the historic sites’ maintenance and preservation. In 1982, The Council organized an
ad hoc team of scholars and experts to investigate 460 potential historic sites throughout
Taiwan. Aﬁer twenty-seven phases of investigations over more than three years, 200 sites
were ranked and declared as oﬁicial historic sites. See Chien-Lang Lee, et.al. Forward.
Historical Sites of the First Rank in Taiwan and Kinmen By Chi-Lu Chen. ( Taipei: Council
for Cultural Planning and Development, 198 7) i-iii.

4 Chun-Lan Feng, “The Study of the Conservation of Taiwan’s Historic Sites”, Shih-Lien
Magazine, Nov. 1995: 1-22.

Another problem faced by historic Sites nowadays is the general public’s
attitude toward them. Owing to the increasing inﬂuence by western
countries, traditional culture has declined to a lamentable degree. A
common phenomenon is that most peOple are willing to accept western values
but are indifferent to their own.5 People generally take no notice of these
valuable historical sites’ preservation and they don’t even go to visit these
places. As for peOple who visit historical sites, they don’t have much
concern about these sites; they only view historical sites as places for
recreation instead of meaningful records of humanity. For instance, scholar
Heng-Tao Lin did a survey several years ago. He asked 76 visitors about the
history of the ﬁrst-ranked Hung-Mao Castle in Tanshui and found that very
few of visitors could answer questions and none of their answers were
complete. Most people did not take Hung-Mao Castle as a historic site but
as a park. Half of the visitors are lovers who are seeking a place far away
from the city.‘5

Tao-Tsung Cheng, an expert in the historic and folk arts ﬁeld, pointed

out in an interview with the producer:

 

5 Chin Hsueh, “The Urban Development Strategy for Conservation of Historic Sites and
Historical Building”, Chu-Tu, Apr. 1992: 39-43.

6 Heng Tao Lin, Interview. “The Problems of Historic Sites Nowadays - Interview with Heng-
Tao Lin”, ed. Yi-Hsuan Kao and Shou-Chih Yen, National Historical Museum Periodical, 5:
4 (1995): 6-14.

.The main reason that most people don’t value historic
sites is because of the deviation of the historical education.
After the Retrocession, the ruling party has had a particular
selection on the content of history textbooks under the
consideration of regaining Mainland China. AS a result,
most Taiwanese do not understand the whole development
of Taiwanese history and its exact orientation. The general
public views historic Sites as spots for sightseeing and for

recreation but not living records of social development.7

In an interview with Chao-Ching Fu, Chairman of Tainan Cultural Assets
Preservation Association, he suggested that some methods can be adopted to
motivate people’s interests in historic Sites, such as adding more introductory
brochures and explanation tablets on location, making use of media like video,
audio, and internet as a propaganda tool.8

This video documentary thesis entitled The Story of Old Stones is
produced with the intention of provoking people’s interest in historic sites,
and awakening people’s concerns about the succession of cultural values and
preservation of the historic property. In Taiwan, folk religion has played a

signiﬁcant role for hundreds of years. As a result, there are more than 5,000

 

7 In May in 1997, an interview with Tao-Tsung Cheng was shot in front of the Tainan

Confucius Temple. The original footage of this interview was merely a reference and not used
in the video.

8 This interview was shot in July 1997. The original footage was not utilized in the video
program.

temples in Taiwan, which make up a large proportion of historic sites. Old
temples can be taken as the most representative historic sites. Thus, two of
Taiwan’s oldest temples, Tainan Confucius Temple. and Tainan Kuan-Ti
Temple, are chosen as the ﬁlming subjects. The video text is designed with
the attempt to provoke the viewer’s interests by guiding them with the camera
to experience the beauty of these two temples. The camera leads the
audience to view areas of each site and provides background information
including the history, spirits, and symbolic meanings. By using
juxtaposition of details such as speciﬁc camera movement and
unconventional angles, the projected world the producer creates for the
viewer is different from that of a purely informative documentary. It is
rather a poetic one in the sense that the program de-emphasizes arguments
and stress an aesthetic function. Focusing on the beauty of historical sites,
The Story of Old Stones has emotional appeal as-a strong component. It is
intended to help the audience form a new conception that will enable a change
in the way historic sites are perceived; and, hopefully, to stimulate the
viewer’s empathy, allowing them to cherish historic sites.

This paper is a supplement to the video program. Chapter Two consists
of the general introduction of the history of two selected sites. Three other
Tainan’s historic sites’ stories that could not be put into the video are also
included in this chapter to help the viewer have a comprehensive

understanding. Chapter Three brieﬂy summarizes contemporary

documentary history and important ﬁlmmakers and their approaches. In
Chapter Four, how the documentary is deﬁned and categorized is outlined.

The results of a group evaluation will be discussed in the ﬁnal chapter.

CHAPTER II

HISTORIC SITES IN TAINAN

History of Tainan

In 1982, under the Appropriation for the Preservation of Cultural Assets,
about 200 sites were evaluated and ranked as per their national and local
historical meanings. From old wells, resident houses, shrines and temples,
forts and battle sites, graveyards, to arches and portals, the types and
contents of Taiwan’s historic sites are full of variety.

Among 200 relics, there are a total of 52 historic sites in Tainan.
Tainan, located in the south-western plain, is the earliest developed city in
Taiwan. From the Dutch occupation period to the Japanese governing
period, it had been the political, cultural and economic center of Taiwan.
Its history can be generally divided into six periods: the aboriginal and the
early immigration, the Dutch occupation period, the Koxinga governing
period, the Ching governing period, the Japanese colony period, and the

post-retrocession period.

The Aboriginal and the Early Immigration in the Ming Dynasty: (2-1622)
The aboriginal people were said to live in Taiwan perhaps beginning

6,000 years ago. The aboriginal’s record was ﬁrst found in the ofﬁcial

documents of the Ming dynasty. In the middle decades of the seventeenth
century when the Japanese pirates harassed the western coasts, the emperor
of the Ming dynasty sent the military to help the aboriginals. Thus is the
ﬁrst contact between the Chinese and the aboriginal culture, and this hence
opened the door for the Han people’s immigration.9 Since this time, more
and more immigrants from the coastal provinces such as Fukien and
Kwangtung moved to Taiwan and most of them landed in Tainan and lived

there.

The Dutch Occupation Period: (1622-1661)
From 1622 to 1624, the Dutch invaded the Pescadores and set up a

military base, expanding their garrison and taking Taiwan as a trading center.
In 1624, the Dutch were exiled by the army of Ming Dynasty. They moved
to the south of Taiwan and transferred the trading center to Tainan. In

Tainan, they built Fort Zeelandia,, Fort Provintia, Taiwan Street, and

Provintia Street. m

The Koxinga Governing Period: (1661-1683)
The rule of the Dutch ended in 1661 when the force of a loyalist of the

Ming dynasty Koxinga (Cheng-Kung Cheng) expelled them. After Koxinga

 

9 Before the inﬂuence of the democracy, “the Chinese” generally refer to ﬁve major peoples
living in the Mainland China: the Han, the Manchu, the Mongolian, the Uiqurs, and the
Tibetan.

1° Fort Zeelandia is now called Fort An-Ping; Fort Provintia is now named Chih-Kan-Lou,
Taiwan Street is now Yen-ng Street; and Provintia Street is called Min-Chuan Road.

regained the rule of Taiwan by driving out the foreign invaders, he made Fort
Zeelandia his house. He also changed Fort Provintia’s name to Cheng-
Tien-Fu and made it an administration organization. Koxinga died in 1662,
his son Ching Cheng became the new governor. Under the General Yung-
Hwa Chen’s assistance, Ching Cheng made Tainan a cultivated community.
Immigrants began to expand to other areas of Taiwan from Tainan. Many
historic sites such as the Confucius Temple and thirty other temples were

founded in Tainan during this time.

The Ching Governing Period: (1683-1895)

In 1683, troops of the Ching dynasty defeated the Chengs and took over
Taiwan. The rein of the Ching government lasted for 200 years. In the
ﬁrst forty years, the Ching government prohibited immigration because they
were afraid that the Han people would take Taiwan as a base to regain the
regime. By 1725 an embryonic model of a city was formed and the Ching
government sent high-ranking ofﬁcials to Taiwan and made the island a
province. There was much concern for Tainan’s security; the city walls and

moats were constructed.

The Japanese Colony Period (1895-1945)
AS per the Treaty of Shimonoseki, 1895, Taiwan and the Pescadores were

ceded to Japan in 1895. The Japanese government took Taiwan as a colony

and imposed colonial laws in governing Taiwanese people. In order to
control people’s thoughts and to consolidate their regime, the Japanese
government asked people to destroy Chinese cultural. assets and establish
Japanese shrines and schools. On the other hand, the colonial government
changed the look of Tainan City by constructing modern public buildings,

such as the present District Court and the city government building.

The Post-Retrocession Period (l945-present):

In 1945, Japan was defeated in War World II and returned Taiwan to the
Chinese Nationalist’s government. In 1946, Tainan was divided into seven
districts. Being defeated in the Chinese civil war in 1949, Chiang Kai-Shel:
withdrew his regime to Taiwan and moved the capital to Taipei ,and thus
Tainan gradually lost its political status. Its economic priority was also
taken when an international harbor was built in its neighbor city Kaosiung.
However, one thing that is not replaceable is its cultural essence and long

history.

Historic Sites in Tainan
Tainan is a city for temple hoppers. Every religion and every major
deity is lavishly represented in the city’s many shrines and temples. Besides

temples, Tainan boasts several historically signiﬁcant forts and battlements.

10

Ruins of An-P’ing Fort (Fort Zeelandia; Construction Date: A.D. 1624)

An-P’ing Fort was the earliest fort built in Taiwan. Today there
remains only part of one wall, a well, the semicircular base of a lookout tower,
and the outer wall of what as once Fort Utrecht. At ﬁrst known as Fort
Orange (which was built by the Dutch in 1623), the name was subsequently
(1634) changed to Fort Zeelandia. When the Dutch were defeated by
Chinese on the Pescadores, they retreated to Tainan and Spent seven years
completing this fort. The Dutch used bricks from Java and a mixture of
sugar syrup, glutinous rice and crushed oyster shells as plaster to build the
walls of fortiﬁcation. The walls are over thirty feet high, with a
circumference of 2776 feet. It was the residence of the governor-general
and the point from which the Dutch controlled administration during their
occupation of Taiwan. When the Dutch were expelled by Koxinga in 1662,
the site-name was changed to “An-P’ing” , meaning “Calm Peace.” In 1863,
when Taiwan was brought to the jurisdiction of the Ching dynasty, the
administrative center was shifted to nearby Tainan City. The fort then
became the Bureau of Military Supply. In 1871, when the British invaded
Taiwan, the arsenal inside the fort exploded, destroying the walls. The
structure of what we see today as An-P’ing Fort was built by the Japanese
governor of Taiwan to entertain visitors during the Japanese occupation
period. Time moves constantly. The ownership of this beautiful island

changed hands ﬁve times, but this sites remains with traces of its past.

11

Tainan Confucius Temple (Construction Date: A.D. 1665)

In the past, Confucius Temple was the center of Traditional Chinese
culture and learning. The Tainan Confucius Temple is the oldest and
historically the most signiﬁcant one among all in Taiwan. Because of its
existence, Chinese culture was able to take root in the island. The temple
was founded in 1665 by Ching Cheng at the recommendation of the General
Yung-Hwa Chen. Chen held that education insures the prosperity of the
nation and only when the country is served by wise ofﬁcials can its foundation
be solidly built. He suggested that a Confucian temple should be
constructed in order to educate young talent and to revive scholastics.

The temple complex is organized on a principle called “left school, right
temple,” which means that the eastern side of the complex was for studying
and the western side was where homage was paid to Confucius. Since then
there have been 36 repairs or renovations. The basic layout remains much as
it was during the Ching dynasty. With its fourteen buildings and nineteen
rooms, the Tainan Confucius Temple has been a symbol of traditional Chinese
architecture. The worship and sacriﬁcial ceremonies carried out here
throughout the past three hundred years together with the repeated
restoration works are sufﬁcient to prove the spirit of benevolent love for the
Confucian scholars. The spirit of ﬁve thousand years of orthodox ethics

ﬁnds its appropriate expression here in this temple complex.

12

Tainan Kuan-Ti Temple (Construction Date: A.D. Ca. l660~l680)

The Tainan Kuan-Ti Temple, together with the Temple of Civic Culture
(Wen-Miao), represents two of the most completely preserved and beautifully
constructed temples in the old provincial capital. Originally established
before the Ching dynasty assumed jurisdiction over Taiwan, the present
structure of the Kung-Ti Temple follows the layout of the temple as it was
rebuilt during the closing years of the Kang-His period (1662-1722). In
1727, the temple was designated as the site for ofﬁcial sacriﬁces, or Ssu-Tien;
hence its current popular designation is Ssu-tien Wu-Miao (An ofﬁcial
Kuan-Ti Temple). This temple is the only one used for ofﬁcial sacriﬁces;
the most important sacriﬁces are held in spring and autumn. Tainan
Kuan-Ti Temple is famous with its vast wall and roof styles. Major gods and
goddesses worshipped are Kuan-Ti, Kuan-Yin, Kuan-Ti’s ancestors, Five

Wen-Chang gods, and the Fire god.

Shrine of the Five Noble Ladies (Construction Date: A.D. 1683)

This shrine stands before the tomb of the ﬁve concubineS of the Prince of
Ning-Ching. The Prince of Ning-Ching, who was a descendant of the royal
house of the Ming dynasty, was brought to Taiwan by Koxinga in 1662. He
dwelt in a palace built for him and his household until the advent of the Ching
armies in 1683. In June of that year, when the Commander Liu Kuo-Hsuan

negotiated with the Manchus for terms of surrender, the Prince resolved to

13

martyr himself for the cause of his collapsing dynasty. His concubines were
the ﬁrst to take their own lives as a Sign of their ﬁdelity to their lord; they
hanged themselves in the palace hall. Their bodies were buried at a tomb on
Cassia Bud Hill. In honor of these women, a mortuary temple was
established and the memorial tablet inscribed with an epitaph was set up in

front of the site.

Erh-K’un-Shen Fort (Construction Date: A.D. 1875)

Under the direction of the Commissioner of Naval Affairs of Fukien
Province, this fort was erected in connection with the Moutan-She Tribal
Incident in 1871.11 The incident revealed the strategic weakness of
Taiwan’s defense, and this site was built to serve as an important step toward
a defense network. A French construction expert was invited to design and
direct the construction work. The fort’s ﬂoor plan is square with a parapet
in each of the four corners. There were food storage area, bunkers, a mess
hall, and an arsenal. The castle could accommodate 1500 persons and was
equipped with ﬁve big cannons, six small cannons, 272 gunners and a
squadron of shooters. The ﬁrepower of the arsenal was brought into play
during the short-lived resistance to the Japanese takeover in the summer of

1895. In the Japanese occupation period, the Japanese built a bridge over

 

1‘ In 1871 when some Okinawan ﬁshermen were blown ashore near the southern tip of Taiwan,
they were killed by the aborigines living in Mu-Tan Village. The Japanese government used
this as a pretext to launch an attack against Taiwan.

14

the moat. The old artillery was sold off in exchange for modern arms at the
time ofthe World War 1. Later, the expansion of Tainan city resulted in the
commercial development of the land around the site, so that its military

usefulness further declined and eventually disappeared altogether.12

 

'2 All background information for the historic sites introduced comes from the following
brochures: The Historical Sites of the First Rank in Taiwan and Kinmen, Brief Introduction of
the Historical Landmarks of Tainan, The Tainan Confucius Temple, and Tainan ’3 Historic
Sites.

15

CHAPTER III

HISTORY AND THEORY OF DOCUMENTARY

The term “documentary” was ﬁrst used in French to refer to
“travelogue.” At almost the same time in the early 1920s, the American
Robert Flaherty and the Russian Vertov began laying the groundwork for
documentary moving pictures, and the continental realists ﬁlms, part of the
avant-garde, were starting in Western Europe.13 Not until British John
Grierson was documentary used as a social instrument. In the late 19505,
the evolution of production technology occasioned direct cinema and cinema
verite which represent two different approaches regarding the role of camera
and ﬁlmmakers. This chapter brieﬂy reviews inﬂuential ﬁgures, their

theory, and their movement in the contemporary documentary history.

French Lumiere and the Pre-Documentary Origins
The prototype of documentary could be retraced to French Louis
Lumiere. With his invention of cinematographe“, Lumiere brought the

documentary moving picture closer to a reality. Lumiere had aspired to

 

'3 Jack C. Ellis, The Documentary Idea: A Critical History of English-Language
Documentary Film and Video (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1989) 46 & 271.

” Cinematographe is the ﬁrst light-weight, portable camera launched in 1895.

16

catch life “sur le vif, ” and for him, the cinematographe was "an ideal

5 William Guynn credits Lumiere as

instrument for catching life on the run."1
“the ﬁrst practitioner of a natural cinematographic language”. He says,
“Lumiere's portable apparatus moves out into the world to encounter the
camera's natural object -- the real.” ‘6 In 1895, Lumiere's short one-minute
ﬁlms were ﬁrst shown in public. His Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory
(La Sortie des Usines) involved “actuality items” (the workmen) from his
own factory. Camera movements of long shots and close-ups that Lumiere
adopted as an approach to the arriving train and the passengers in Arrival of
a Train (L 'Arrivee d’un Train en Gare) gave the viewer a novel experience
different from that of the theater. And newsreel tradition may be said to
have started with his newsworthy “interest ﬁlms,” in which the subjects were
heads of state and ceremonial occasions. In this pre-documentary period,
Lumiere and his operators played many potential roles of a documentary
maker: he was a promoter in Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory (1895), a
reporter in The Arrival of the Conventioners (Arrivee des
Congressistes,1895), a genre painter in Wood Cutters in the Street in Paris

(Scieurs de Bois, 1897), and in many Lumiere’s operators’ ﬁlms, such as

Coolies at Saigon (Coolies a Saigon,1897) and Elephant Processions at

 

‘5 Erik Barnouw, Documentary: a history of the non-ﬁction film,.2"‘l rev. ed. (New York:
Oxford University Press) 6.

‘6 William Guynn, A Cinema of Nonﬁction (Lutherford: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press,
1990) 21-22.

17

Phnom Penh (Promenades des Elephants a Phnom-Penh,l901), a travel

lecturer. ‘7

Robert J. Flaherty and American Documentary / 1

Without Robert J. Flaherty, the documentary conception might not have
arisen. John Grierson designates Flaherty as the Father of Documentary --
the creator of documentary methodology.18 In the 1920s, Flaherty and his
Nanook of the North ﬁrst drew world-wide attention to the camera as a
powerful tool for natural observation. The silent ﬁlm Nanook of the North
tells a story of a real-life Eskimo family and their struggle against the bleak
Arctic. It was a whole new kind of ﬁlm different from the contemporary
Hollywood melodrama and the precedent travel ﬁlms. Its commercial
success in the box ofﬁce brought Flaherty a contract by Paramount to go to
the South Seas and shoot his other Nanook -- Moana (1926), in which the
native Samoans' lives were shown with the beautiful ceremonial prayers,
dance, and the almost extinct ritual art-- tattoos.

It is in Moana that the term “documentary” was ﬁrst applied in English by
Grierson"; it is in Moana that Flaherty's elementary demands for

documentary were demonstrated and become absolute principles:

 

‘7 Barnouw, 29
18
Guynn, 23.

‘9 Carl R. Plantinga, Rhetoric and Representation in Nonﬁction Film (Cambridge, UK:
Cambridge University Press, 1997) 27.

18

‘...the story must be taken from the location, and
that it should be (what he considers) the essential Story
of the location. His drama, therefore, is a drama of days
and nights, of the round of the year's seasons. Of the
fundamental ﬁghts which give his people sustenance, or

build up the dignity of the tribe.’

(John Grierson, Cinema Quarterly, vol. I, no. 2.)

In other words, the theme of Flaherty's documentary arose from an
observation of natural material on its actual location and an interpretation of
that material must occur by “a complete understanding 'from the inside' of
such material and its relationships.”2° Flaherty is taken as the initiator of the
naturalist tradition in cinema as he “merges himself into the real life of the

people and brings back a dramatic record of their daily lives.”21

Flaherty
shot his ﬁrst Nanook and subsequent ﬁlms with the main interest in the theme

of “humans versus nature” and cultural practices. His ﬁlms Man of Aran

(1934) and Louisiana Story (1948) feature a ”poetic" and rhythmic camera

 

2° Paul Rotha, Documentary Film, 3.“1 rev. ed. (New York: Hastings House, 1952) 106.

2‘ Helen van Dongen “Robert J. Flaherty: 1884-1951” in Film Quarterly 1 7, no. 4 (Summer
1965) 2-14.

19

movement, in which Bill Nichols associates Flaherty with poetic realism.22
Flaherty’s example was followed by other American anthropological
ﬁlmmakers, such as Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack with Grass
(1925) and Chang (1927), and Martin and Osa Johnson with ﬁlms Congo

(1931), Baboona (193 5), and Borneo (1937).

Dziga Vertov and the Soviet Union’s Documentary

The pioneer Soviet ﬁlmmaker, Denis Arkadievich Kaufman, was the most
inﬂuential ﬁlmmaker in Russia's ﬁlm history. His pseudgnym Dziga Vertov,
which translates as “turning,” “revolving,” or “spinning top,” well-
characterized his role in the early years of the Soviet Union's documentary
development. Before becoming a ﬁlmmaker, Vertov was a an experimental
futurist poet. In June 1918, he joined the Cinema Committee in Moscow and
edited the ﬁrst newsreel project Kino-Nedelia (Film Weekly) in Soviet Russia.
During this period, Vertov had functioned as an editor of footage supplied by
others. His compiled releases included Anniversary of the Revolution
(Godovshtchina Revolutsii, 1919) and History of the Civil War (Istoriya
Grazhdanskoi Voini, 1921). In 1922, Vertov began to produce the irregular
ﬁlm series Kino Pravda. The title kino pravda, which literally means film

truth, was itself a kind of manifesto. Kino Pravda, serving as a newsreel

and propaganda ﬁlm series, was released for 23 issues. Each issue

 

22 Bill Nichols, Representing Reality: Issues and Concepts in Documentary (Bloomington:
Indiana University Press, 1991) 182.

20

comprised three or more reports on separate subjects; all of which related to
social, economic, and political problems being solved and things remaining to
be done.23 What Kino Pravda intended to achieve was to provide its
audience a close relationship with ongoing events around them, to awaken
interest, and to encourage action. The nature of the ﬁlm was persuasive and
informative. The production method used in the ﬁlm was to shoot events
unnoticed as they were occurring, in “reality caught unawares,” known as the
technique for cinema verite.”

Two points were emphasized in Vertov's continuing manifestos. One
’ was the camera's mechanically “superhuman versatility.” He described in
his futurist poetry “...use of the camera as a cinema-eye more perfect than the
human eye for exploring the chaos of visual phenomena ﬁlling the universe.”25
Vertov meanwhile stressed the editor's role. Compared to Flaherty, he did
much more shaping in the editing by fully choosing the frames and by
thematically organizing them in order to make a clear communication with his
audience. His adoption of rapid intercutting between related action within a

single scene in Kino Pravda also marked the beginning of Soviet montage.26

 

23 Ellis, 32.
2‘ This French term appeared around 1960, which means “ﬁlm truth.”

2’ Bamouw, 58.

2" Ellis, 34.

21

Vertov's production theory and methods ofKino-Pravda, along with his
gradually-appearing artistic development, were practiced in some of the
Soviet Union's early documentaries, including Cinema-Eye (Kino-Glaz,
1924), Forward, Soviet! (Shagai, Sovietl, 1926), and One Sixth ofthe World
( Shestaya Chast Mira,1926).

In 1929, Vertov created one of the most complex and experimental ﬁhns --
The Man With a Movie Camera (Chelovek s Kinoapparatom). Carl
Plantinga calls this ﬁlm a "metadocumentary" among the four groups of
alternative nonﬁction ﬁlms.27 Metadocumentaies, as Plantinga says in
Rhetoric and Representation in Nonfiction Film, are explicitly reﬂexive in
that “they are fundamentally ‘about’ the documentary and ‘about’ the
representation itself,” which draw attention to its own making at every turn.2s
With technological reflexivity, Vertov's The Man With a Movie Camera
manipulated the formal elements of image and sound to represent the
phenomenal world, creating a new form of communication in the post-

revolutionary Soviet Union.

John Grierson and British Documentary
John Grierson and his movement changed the expectations aroused by the

word “documentary” since Flaherty; his documentary directives and his

 

2’ Plantinga, 172.

2’ Plantinga, 179-180.

22

propagandist approach of selective dramatization of actuality have long been
an exemplar. Financially supported by the Empire Marketing Board
(E.M.B.), a government organization at that time intended to cement the
British Empire by promoting trade and a sense of unity among its various
parts, Grierson shot Drifters in 1929. Drifters was Grierson's ﬁrst and only
personally directed ﬁlm, which combined some of the techniques of Flaherty
and Eisenstein. It is a story of an “adventure of the herring ﬁshery.” Paul
Rotha says Grierson, in his book Documentary Film, “took a simple theme
(there for the taking), took actually existing material (there for the shooting),
and built a dramatized ﬁlm by interpreting the relationships of his theme and
material in the sphere of daily existence.” It not only “brought alive” the
labor ofthe North Sea herring catch but also “the whole drama” of emotional
values that underlay the task.29 Drifters laid the foundation for
documentary in the Anglo-American tradition with a greater aim than mere
description or observation.30 Drifters made clear the Grierson deviation
from Flaherty in the way of presenting social point of view. Instead of
showing the beauty and workings of the natural world and the cultural
practices of the past, Grierson was concerned more about the relation of his
subjects to contemporary industrial society. He wanted to “bring

thecitizen's eye in from the ends of the earth to the story, his own story, of

 

2" Rotha, 97-98.

3° Plantinga, 28-29.

23

what was happening under his nose...the drama of doorstep.”l This
“ﬁrst-hand” drama from a real life was undoubtedly revolutionary in 1929.

The success of Drifters made Grierson a creative organizer of the EMB
Film Unit (1930). John Grierson had been trained as a sociologist and spent
three years in the US. on a Rockfeller Research Fellowship in social science.
He studied all the instruments of public opinion and recognized that the
power to motivate people to social action lies in the popular media. In the
belief that documentary was best used as an instrument of propaganda and
public persuasion, he told his staff in EMB Film Unit that they should take
themselves as propagandists ﬁrst, ﬁlm makers second.32 Documentarists
Paul Rotha in “Some Principles of Documentary,” William A. Bluem in
Documentary in American Television, Lewis Jacobs in The Documentary
Tradition, Michael Rabiger in Directing the Documentary, and Bill Nichols in
his book Representing Reality, repeat Grierson’s claim of the documentary's
social function.

In 1934, the Empire Marketing Board was abolished by the &

Wand the ﬁlm unit was moved into the General Post Ofﬁce to

become the GPO Film Unit. Song of Ceylon (1935), a project under both the
EMB and the GPO Unit, is the beginning for documentary to explore the

world of sound: “the voices of commerce” were heard in the sound-track

 

3' Barnouw, 85-88.

32 Ibid., 90.

24

montage. Night Mail (1936), directed by Harry Watt and Basil Wright, was
the ﬁrst ﬁlm edited to the rhythm of its sound track and soon became a model
for numerous imitations. In Edgar Anstey and Arthur Elton's Housing
Problems (1935), slum-dwellers appeared as spokesmen for themselves.
This novel method was later used extensively in television.

Documentary ﬁlmmakers take Grierson as godfather and under his
inﬂuence, ﬁlms gushed forth throughout the 1930's: Elton's The Voice of the
World (1932), Rotha's Contact (1933), Anstey's Granton Trawler (1934),
Legg's BBC: the Voice of Britain (1935), John Taylor's The Smoke Menace

(1937), Watt's North Sea (1938), and Elton's Transfer ofPower (1939).

Direct Cinema and Cinema Verite

When the major breakthroughs occurred in the development of
production equipment in the late 1950s, documentary was moved closer to
the dividing line between art and life. New technology, such as a 16mm
shoulder-mounted camera together with the 1/4" magnetic tape sound
recorders which could be synchronized with the camera, made an intimacy of
observation possible. All the actions (what could be seen and what could be
heard) taking place in front of the camera and microphone could be now
recorded without interruption.

In the US in the early 1960s, an observational approach known as
“direct cinema” was pioneered by Drew Associates (in the Close-Up! Series

on ABC-TV), and articulated by Robert Drew and Richard Leacock. They

25

asserted that ﬁlmmaking must ﬁt into an ongoing event in an unobtrusive way
in order to capture spontaneity. Filmmakers play a role as a mere observer;
they don't direct or participate in the scene in any way. In order to represent
reality free of preconception, they refuse to use lighting equipment on
location and avoid to apply an omniscient voice-over narrator and
nondiegetic music in the post-production. Their attitude toward the
viewers is to merely provide them more freedom to interpret events. Drew
Associates found that in such ﬁlms as Primary (1960), Mooney vs. Fowle
(1961, aka. Football), The Chair (1962), Jane (1962), their methods
worked best "ifthe situation they chose had its own drama which would come

3 Direct cinema techniques were favored

to a climax within a limited time."3
by the Maysles brothers, who made Showman (1962), What's Happening! The
Battle in the U.S.A. (1964), Meet Marlon Brando (1965), Saleman (1969),
Grimme Shelter (1970); and by Frederick Wiseman, the ﬁlmmaker of Titicut
Follies (1967), Law and Order (1969), Hospital (1970), and Welfare (1975).
As Plantinga points out, what direct cinema implies is “a method of ﬁlming, a
Stance toward representing reality, and an attitude toward the spectator.“4
The direct cinema documentary trend soon appeared throughout the world

during the mid-sixties.

Although direct cinema proponents try to remain as unobtrusive as

 

33 Ellis, 224.

3" Plantinga, 1 17.

26

possible while making a ﬁlm, they are criticized for their ostensible objective
stance. Unless the camera is completely hidden, subject persons are usually
aware of the existence of the camera and adjust their behavior accordingly.
Absolute objectivity is hard to obtain. David Maysles and Wiseman both
admit the impossibility of representing objectivity. David Maysles says that
there is no such a thing as “being strictly objective in anything that is at all

artistic is impossible.”5

Wiseman also rejects the claims of objectivity
although his ﬁlms are prototypical examples of observational cinema. He
says “I don’t see how a ﬁlm can be anything but subjective... They are not
objective, because someone else might make the ﬁlm differently.”36

Jean Rouch also denies that the ﬁlmmaker can achieve objectivity or that
the camera can be unobtrusive.” Instead, he assumes that the camera acts as
a stimulant in provoking events it ﬁlms, and the artist as an avowed
provocateur. He ﬁrst applied the term cinema verite to his ﬁlm Chronicle
of a Summer.38 Cinema verite, as Michael Rabiger stated in Directing the
Documentary, “legitimizes the camera's presence and gave a director the role

of catalyst.” It “encourages the interaction between subject and director”

and “authorizes the director to initiate characteristic events and to prospect

 

’5 Quoted in James Blue, "Thought on Cinema Verite and a Discussion with the Maysles
Brothers”, in Film Comment 2, 4 (1964), 27&29.

3‘ Quoted in B. Roy Levin, “Fred Wiseman”, in Documentary Explorations, ed. G. Roy Levin
(Garden City: Doubleday, 1971), 318.

3’ Ellis, 225.

38 The term cinema verite refers back to the Russian equivalent, kino pravda.

27

for privileged moments.”39

For instance, in Chronicle of a Summer, people
were stopped on the street and asked questions. Rouch and Morin (co-
producer of the ﬁlm) together with the camera served as “psycho-analytic
stimulants” to enable people to think and to express their feelings in a way
they don't usually do. Other examples of the American approach to cinema

verite methods includes Ross McElwee's Sherman's March (1986) and Time

Indefinite (1994).

 

’9 Michael Rabiger, Directing the Documentary, 2”d ed. (Boston: Focal Press, 1992) 23.

28

CHAPTER IV

WHAT IS DOCUMENTARY ?

Definition of Documentary

The word “documentary” as a concept or practice has no ﬁxed territory.4o
It has been deﬁned in many ways by documentarists. Maybe John Grierson's

deﬁnition for documentary as “the creative treatment of actuality” is the most

oft-quoted one. In his stipulations “ﬁrst principles,” Grierson claims that

documentary must meet the requirement of creativity and dramatization and

that the treatment in a documentary “must be of actuality,” which is, to use
\
\

the original actor and the original scene to interpret the modern world.41

1
l

Bill Nichols, Jeanne Allen, and No'l Carroll deﬁne the documentary as a ﬁlm

which makes an argument rather than entertains or diverts."2

Jack Ellis characterizes documentary and makes distinctions between

documentary and other ﬁlm types in terms of documentary’s ﬁve-part

 

4° Nichols, 12.

‘1 Plantinga, 12.

‘2 Bill Nichols writes in Representing Reality that a documentary requires “a representation,
case, or argument about the historical world.” Similar arguments made by Jeanne Allen in
“Self-Reﬂexivity in the Documentary,” Cine-Tracts 1, 2 Summer (1977), 37, and No'l Carroll,

“From Reel to Real Entangled in the Non-Fiction ﬁlm,” Philosophical Exchange 14 (1983),
15.

29

formula: subjects; purpose, points of view, or approaches; forms; production
methods and techniques; and the sorts of experience documentary offers
audiences. Generally, the documentary focuses on something speciﬁc and
factual concerning public matters; consequently, its “subject” must be actual
people, places, and events. As for the “purpose” of documentary, most
ﬁlmmakers are trying to record and interpret the actual social and cultural
phenomena in order to inform or persuade people “to hold some attitude or
take some action related to their subjects.” A “form” of a documentary
includes the ﬁlm-makers’ original conception, the sight and sounds selected
for use, and the structures into which they are ﬁtted. It is the formative
process determined by the subject, and the purpose of the ﬁlm. “Production
method and technique” refer to the ways images and sounds are recorded and
then edited together. Finally, documentary ﬁlmmakers seek to provide their
audience an aesthetic “experience” on the one hand; and, possibly, “an effect”
on attitudes leading to action on the other.‘3

Most documentarists have centered their deﬁnitions around the purpose,
functions, and effects of documentary. “Documentary,” described by
Wolverton, “reveals and reshapes reality in a universal language that compels
attention and involvement regardless of one's interest in, or need to know

”44

about, the subject of the documentary. In Theorizing Documentary,

 

43 Ellis, 1-8.

44 Mike Wolverton, Reality on Reels: How to Make Documentaries for Video/Radio/Film
(Houston: Gulf Publishing Company, 1983) 18.

30

Michael Renov deﬁnes documentary as a ﬁlm “to record, reveal, or preserve,

. 4
to persuade or to promote, to analyze or 1nterrogate, and to express.” 5

6

Willard Van Dyke views documentary as a ﬁlm ‘intended to bring about
change in the audience -- change in their understanding, their attitude, and
possibly their actions.”46 Jack Ellis put more emphasis on the actuality of
the material than documentary’s purpOse and its possible effects on audience.

Grierson was the ﬁrst ﬁlmmaker and documentarist who claimed the
documentary's social functions. For Grierson, a documentary must have a
serious social purpose to educate the audience and to enable them to have
better understanding about their place in society and the public institutions
that organize their lives." This social aspect of documentary is agreed to by
most theoreticians. Paul Rotha, for instance, writes that one of the primary
requirements of the documentary is “the expression of social analysis”“; the
documentary brings alive the realities of the modern world in which he
lives so as to base our themes on the relationship of Man to the world in

n 49

which he lives. Lewis Jacobs in The Documentary Tradition also asks for

 

‘5 Michael. Renov, ed., “Toward a Poetics of Documentary,” in T hearizing Documentary (New
York: Routledge, 1993) 21.

‘6 Plantinga, 6.
47 Ibid., 27.

48 Paul Rotha, "Some Principles of Documentary;" in Richard Meran Barsam, ed., Nonﬁction
Film Theory and Criticism (New York: E. P. Dutton, 1976, 42-(?).

‘9 Rotha, 115.

31

99 50

a clear social purpose. Michael Rabiger in Directing the Documentary

points out a ﬁlm can only be called a documentary when it “invites the

spectator to draw socially critical conclusions.”SI

Modes of Documentary

In an article “The Voice of Documentary” in New Challenges for
Documentary, Bill Nichols identiﬁes that four major modes of representation
stand out as the dominant organizational pattern in documentary ﬁlms, “each

”’2 These categories of

with distinctive formal and ideological qualities.
documentary -- expository, observational, interview-oriented, and reﬂexive
-- follow a chronological order in the development of documentary and
represent four alternative styles and assumptions about the appropriate
functions of the non-ﬁction ﬁlm.

Expository documentary, or direct address, with its authoritative “Voice
of God” commentary, was the ﬁrst mode developed from the Grierson
tradition. ‘ In expository documentary,MW
wimftit19§_orﬂ_v9jces that advance an argument about the histgiic/alfwcrld.”

In most cases the narration dominates the visuals; footage only serves as

illustration or counterpoint. Filmmakers of direct address mode stress the

 

5° Louis Jacob, The Documentary Tradition (New York: Hastings House, 1974), 2.
5‘ Rabiger, 6.

52 Alan Rosenthal, New Challenges for Documentary (Berkley: University of California Press,
1988) 48.

32

impression of objectivity and the viewer of the expository mode expects to
see a “commonsensical world” unfold through the linkage built between
sequences and events. The expository mode of documentary is the primary
mode for “relaying information and persuasively making a case” since the
1920s}3

Observational documentary comes after the expository style. As
Nichols argues, the observational mode promised an increase in the “reality
effect” with its directness, immediacy, and impression of capturing

untampered events in the everyday lives of particular people?“

Observational ﬁlmmaking allows control over the subjects in fr the

,..—_.——__._ ‘
‘E—
_r__—-_H.—

camera and makes use of editing to improve the impression of real tim
_ _._ _____/

\Jé-

Without any implicit or explicit commentary, the observational mode offers

the viewer Waste people in action and leads the viewer to draw

thwhﬂ_ .

I \_ ._......___.._________
ﬁlm ar ’direct cirﬂa and “Cinema verite.”

‘—.——-

a conclusion about the ﬁlmed subjects. Two_ methods within observational

 

 

Observational documentary seldom provides its viewer a sense of history,
context, or perspective. AS a result, the third type of documentary, the

Miew-orientedjilms emerged. The interactive mode incorporates the

It‘-

style Wren in which the major part of the ﬁlm’s argument comes

— q.......¢¢...—.— “in—n-

 

 

 

A-I-o-auu- . "H

fromﬂtﬂhehsocialactors’ comments or responses in the forms of monologue or

 

 

53 Nichols, 34.

5" Rosenthal, 48.

33

 

dialogue. “Sometimes profoundly revealing, sometimes fragmented and

9,

incomplete, says Nichols, “such ﬁlms have provided the central model for

contemporary documentary.”55

me had gradually formed in the 19705 and 805. It

 

 

 

 

 

 

“mixes observational passages with interviews, the voice-over of the

—""“‘h.‘-

 

 

_. ﬁlmmaksjnmthlntertnles making patently“ clear,“ what has been implicit all

WM.

310113156

In reﬂexive mode, the representation of the historical world is the
topic of cinematic meditation. Instead of speaking to the viewer about the

historical world, the ﬁlmmaker addresses ___t“h_e process of representation

,-—_.._. a----- --.

 

M- The ﬁlmmaker of reﬂexive mode is We-..”

'4 HW—“wﬂw
“H. W -. mum-u- u

than Neutral. 9.1121,!:kn.o..vyina-tsp_o.tt_er of ths way things truly are.”57 What

this mode of representation emphasizes is not the encounter between
ﬁlmmaker and subject but that between ﬁlmmaker and viewer. The ﬁlm
serves as amjo,,awake-_th.e -audienceefﬁ._m§_ciousness of their
relationship to the text. Editing is used to enhance the consciousness of

M "ﬁ‘, ‘ﬁ 1‘ —“"‘ mnmv-mu”.-_ --.-—_-—Inaa I'd-Iii

cinem,aﬁciorma&ep4ha&e#thamstogjgworld.

(Jinn-Iliu-

 

“w. ...- maul-rd“

Plantinga points out in Rhetoric and Representation in Nonfiction Film

 

55 Ibid., 49.
56 Ibid., 49.

5’ Ibid., 49.

34

that Nichols’ four modes don’t deal with poetic and experimental nonﬁction
ﬁlm, such as Flaherty’s Nanook and Walter Ruttman’s Berlin: Symphony of
the City. Although Nichols assigns them as “poetic exposition” according
to the historical period, he overlooks that their primary functions don’t ﬁt
into the expository ﬁlm conceptually and stylistically. Plantinga thus

suggests there should be a category for the Wnﬁction ﬁln_1_.58

 

Voice of Documentary
All documentary ﬁlms have a voice. Plantinga gives the “voice” a

deﬁnition as “the visual VilPFQSSPQiFLEijhe spectator or character, the

m._———s._~_._4 s“

 

 

 

 

 

 

attitude of a character or narrator toward events, or the attitude of the ﬁlm’s
discourse overall.”9 In other words, an a documentary expresses
the information of the documentary’s projected world. Plantinga also
proposes an heuristic typology for documentary voices by attributing them
into three categories: Mal, 03g; and poetic.

.# mu...“

Films ofthe formal voice tend to be “classical” in form, style, structure,
XXN-J/

and technique, with “the classical aesthetic characteristics of harmony, unity,

and restraint.” Documentary ﬁlms of formal voice “pose a clear question or

a relevant and coherent set of questions and then answer every salient

question they pose.” An overt position of knowledge is assumed. It is

 

5“ Plantinga, 103.
59 Ibid., 99.

35

'2’,

Z Z2

“relatively omniscient”; it “possess ostensible knowledge and imparts it to
the viewer.” The formal voice tends to be highly communicative and
reliable in the sense that it functions to teach, to direct, and to explain.

The open voice is an alternative to the formative. Unlike the formal
voice, the 9L6!) xm'cemxploits the capabilities of cameras and microphones to

observe to ro to ex lore. Its attitude toward the project world

differs from that of the formal voice. It_avoids making broad claims about

Wand offers‘ ‘neither contve

closure. The open voice is ‘m‘ore hesitant 1n its eplstemologrcal position”

m”

 

and “in an unwillingness to offer neat explanations.” It emphasizes the
iconic and indexical functions of image, allowing the viewer to come to their
own conclusions.

The poetic voice is more concerned about the documentary ﬁlm as art and

as “a means of exploring representation itself.”‘°

The poetic voice
“foregrounds the aesthetic qualities of what it presents”; meanwhile, the
narration in poetic voice ﬁlms “maintains a sort of epistemic aestheticism.”

Four groups within the poetic voice are: poetic documentary, avant-garde

non-ﬁction, metadocumentary, and documentary parodies.

 

“mm,m9

36

CHAPTER V

VIDEO PROGRAM DESIGN -

Title Interpretation

The program is entitled The Story of Old Stones for it presents stories of
historic sites. Historic sites are not mere piles of old stones and old buildings
but relics of humanity. They witness the history, architectural skills, and
standards of beauty in earlier periods of time. Therefore, to understand
historic sites may be the best way to know about Taiwan. Recognizing the
beauty of historic sites and the value of cultural property can help Taiwanese

gain insight of their roots and their living realities in the modern world.

Purpose

According to David Smith, "a major source of the power of television and
video to communicate effectively is their stimulation and extension of our
experience and emotions through empathy and sympathy."61 This video
program The Story of Old Stones is intended to trigger the viewer's emotional
response, to evoke the viewer's interests through the aesthetic appreciation
of the historical beauty. The viewer is expected to be led with emotion

through the pictorial presentation of the historic sites, ﬁnally arriving at a

 

6‘ Smith, 129.

37

feeling that they should pay more concern to historic sites and take action to

preserve the valuable treasures.

Audience

The target audience are Taiwanese people who only have a superﬁcial
understanding about the historic sites and people who are indifferent to
Taiwanese traditional culture, especially those who are adults with more

capability to inﬂuence the society.‘52

Mode and Voice
Like most documentary ﬁlms which rarely fall into only one category to
the exclusion of the others, the video text The Story of Old Stones mixes some

modes and voices. It applies both expositoryand observational mode. For

 

most scenes such as the buildings and the decorations, expository mode is
adopted to directly address the audience. The off-screen narration
effectively dominates the scenes, offering “epistemic knowledge” and
background information. Editing for this expository part generally serves
to maintain rhetorical continuity. Observational mode is used in the scenes
of the users of two historic sites and the scenes of the music performance of
Pei-Kuan and Nan-Kuan. Both direct cinema and cinema verite are adopted

to observe people’s activities. The sounds and images were recorded at the

 

62 The “adult audience” generally refers to people who are 18 years old or above. According
to Taiwan civil law, these peOple are considered “adults.”

38

moment of observational ﬁlming. In order to get most spontaneous shots
for the visitors of two historic sites, the camera was “hidden” and set in the
corners of the historical buildings and the producer. played the role of
uninvolved bystander. When shooting the musicians in Kuan-Temple, on the
other hand, the camera used in W took an active role in provoking
the events, and the producer served as a W The observational
cinema provides the spectator a chance to be an ideal observer to look in and
overhear the musicians’ live performance. The formal voice applied in the
parts of historic sites’ introduction is “relatively omniscient”. Through
narration and visuals, it functions epistemically to explain the historical
world to the viewer. Similar to the observational mode, the open voice
observes or explores rather than explains in the shots of the music

performances and the users of both temples.

Content

This 28-minute video program focuses on the historical, cultural, and
architectural beauty of two selected sites -- Kuan-Ti Temple and Confucius
Temple in the city of Tainan. The whole program is divided into seven
sections and three montages: the opening, the front halls of Kuan-Ti Temple
(including Montage One), the back halls of Kuan-Ti Temple, the outer
courtyard of Confucius Temple (including Montage Two and Three), the
inner courtyard of Confucius Temple, the eastern complex of Confucius

Temple, and the ending. Both historic sites were shot according to their

39

geographical order, which is, from south to north.

The opening attempts to lead the viewer to what they are going to see in
the program. It begins with a set-up question, which is proposed to
stimulate the viewer to question whether they ignore the historic sites around
them. Then comes a description of the importance of historic sites. The
second part starts with an introduction of historical background of Tainan
Kuan-Ti Temple, followed by the architectural forms and the gods of the
front halls. A live performance of the traditional music Pei-Kuan is shown
to the viewer and Montage One in this section shows the gorgeous
atmosphere the candles and incense build for the temple. The third part
focuses on the architecture and gods of the Three-Generation Hall, the
Kuan-Yin Hall, the West Society, and the Liu-Ho Hall. Another
segmentation of live Nan-Kuan performance is Shown at the end of Kuan-Ti
Temple sections. Confucius Temple is introduced in the fourth section.
After a description ofits history, the beauty of the outer courtyard unfolded.
The architecture in this area and it symbolic meanings are unveiled, including
the Gates of the Sage, the Gate of Propriety and it's corresponding Way of
Righteousness, the Door of Achievement, and the Pool of Higher Learning.
Montage Two of the user’s collective shots is inserted between the scene of
the frontyard and that of the entrance to the inner courtyard, providing a
relaxing moment after an intense informative narration. Montage Three,
which shows the details of the decorations of the Door of Achievement,

intends to lead the viewer's aesthetic empathy to a climax. The ﬁfth section

40

shows the audience the main architecture of the inner courtyard, including the
Hall of Achievement, the Eastern Corridor, and the Western Corridor. The
sixth section mainly introduces the eastern side of the complex, the Min-Lun
Hall and its interior design. Following that is the ending of the video
program, which echoes the opening, re-emphasizing the importance of
historic sites and pointing out the argument the producer makes for The Story

of Old Stones: we ought to cherish and understand these valuable assets.

Production Process and Strategies

The pre-production phase covers all the decision-making and
arrangements before ﬁlming, from selecting the subjects, doing the research,
choosing equipment, and deciding the methods, details, and timetable of
shooting. In order to be familiar with the topic’s background and current
status, the producer watched ﬁve video tapes on the tepic of historic sites.
This also helped the producer gain some expertise in the subject area.
Libraries provided useful resources in focusing and organizing in the topic.
Apart from the visual and written references from the libraries, the producer
got lots of background information from the interviews with the management
of both temples and Tao-Tsung Cheng, the President of the Chih-Kan
Literature and History Workshop, and Chao-Ching Fu, Chairman of Tainan
Cultural Assets Preservation Association.

The production occurred on the locations of Tainan Kuan-Ti Temple and

Confucius Temple in the summer of 1997. Effective cinematography is

41

strictly required by the producer because good cinematography helps create a
series of strong moods and predispose viewers to enter the ﬁlm’s world
wholeheartedly. Frequently used movements consist of tilts, pans, and
zooms, each with different paces depending on the feeling the producer
wanted to create. Since lighting equipment was not allowed in these two
temples, the light source is usually what exists at the location, supplemented
by the camera’s internal gain device only when necessary. A major problem
the producer encountered was with the audio. Since these two temples are
located in the downtown besides busy streets, a lot of noise was
simultaneously recorded with the visuals.

Post-production comprises narrating, script writing, and editing.
Script and narration are based on the materials gathered from the libraries and
personal interviews with experts on historic sites. The complete voice-
overs/subtitles can be found in Appendix A. The producer was the narrator
based on experience with the earlier production phases, the producer knew
the best pace of the program and could have the maximum control of the
whole piece. The editing was completed at the Digital Media Lab of the
Michigan State University Telecommunication Department. Basic editing
transitions such as cuts, fades, and dissolves dominate the whole piece.
Each shot is motivated logically by the previous ones. Three idea-associate
montages also serve as a transition that shifts the viewer’s attention from the
general presentation to highlight an upbeat and exciting feeling. In addition

to selecting scenes and achieving continuity of the visuals, much effort was

42

made to deliberately design the sound composition and mixes. Music plays
a crucial role for its capacity of manipulating the tempo. Thirteen pieces of
music are adopted throughout the whole program to establish mood and to
increase the aesthetic energy of scenes. The narration serves only as a

supplement to offer necessary information.

43

CHAPTER VI

EVALUATION AND CONCLUSION

Group Evaluation

As mentioned in Chapter I and Chapter V, the purpose of this video
program is to evoke the viewer’s interest in historic sites through the
aesthetic appreciation of their beauty. It helps the viewer to form a new
conception toward historic sites, and the viewer is expected to be led to an
emotional feeling that he or she should pay. more attention to historic sites
and take action to preserve these valuable treasures. To test if the
objectives of The Story of Old Stones are achieved, there was a viewing
session held on January 9, 1998, with seventeen Taiwanese in attendance.
In order to maintain objectivity, people of the sample group were all drawn
from the Ann Arbor area through the internet; they did not know the producer
before they viewed the video. /Their aggranges from 18-56; ten-oﬂthem-a-re
stir/clcmsethree-arehousewivesaand four are WQTHQSJEQPIQ -Belonging to
the target audience the producer wants to reach, these people all come from
Taiwan and only have a rough ideas about Taiwan’s historic sites. The
evaluation consists of a questionnaire with “before viewing” and “after
viewing” sections and followed by a free-discussion. The ﬁrst two

questions are designed with the intention to learn about the participants’

perceptions of historic sites before viewing The Story of Old Stones; the rest
are questions for testing the effectiveness of the program. The following is
the summary of their evaluations from the questionnaire as well as the

discussion session:

1. Have you ever been to any historic sites when you were in Taiwan? If
the answer is “yes”, how many sites did you visit so far ? And, why

did you visit the historic site (5)? If the answer is “no”, why didn’t

1 Y y 'sit the historic site (5)?
46 ‘ o o o
., _.\U'\ “\ Sixteg people said that they have been to hlstorlc Sites before and all

\ v

(1 --’ .__
K / these people vrslted more than three srtes. Theariion/s’that they vrslted

a V
\ \-
V

these places are informative: ten of them said that they had no choice because
it was a ﬁeld trip of schools; four said that they wanted to take some pictures;
and some other said there is nowhere to go in a city, so they went to historic
sites for relaxing. Only one person has never been to historic sites because

of no interest.

2. Before viewing the program, what do you know about historic sites ?

Fourteen viewers admitted they did not know much about historic sites.
For them, historic sites are just old architecture. They knew only a little
about the story behind the historic sites even after visiting the places. One
wrote, “No interest! Why bother!” The other wrote, “I learned the history
for some historic sites from some books. But now, I almost forget....”

Three people in the group could brieﬂy tell segments of stories of the historic

45

sites they visited but none of them have a complete understanding toward the

sites.

3. What is your first impression, reaction, or feeling after viewing this
video?

They all agreed that the video is an impressive one, especially in revealing
the beauty of two selected sites. Fourteen viewers appreciated the
cinematography very much; ten viewers liked the program as a whole; six said
they like music selected; and four people pointed out that they especially like
the intercutting montages of the program. Most of them thought that this
video gave them a new experience of appreciating and understanding two
temples. One said , “I’ve been to the Tainan Confucius Temple three times,
but never noticed that it is so beautiful. The video offers me a chance to

look at them from a different perspective.”

4. Did thisﬂoggm make you feel interested (or bored) in any way?

i The 1nterest1ng parts the viewer wrote in the questionnaire are: scenes of
the music performance, scenes of the drums and bells, montages of the users,
candles, and the detailed decorations. When asking if the program is boring
in any part, three people left this part blank but the rest of people said they

are surprised that they did not feel as bored as they thought they would be in

the beginning of the program. After discussion, the viewer found the

strategy that the producer used in the editing is effective in keeping their

interest while watching the program.63

5. After viewing this program, are your attitudes the same or changed ?
If changed, in what aspect?

All of the viewer’s attitude towards historic sites changed. One said
that maybe this is the ﬁrst time he found that there are so much value in these
two historic sites. Five viewers thought that this video made them have the
desire to see more about other historic sites not introduced in the program.
Ten people said that they changed their previous attitude of taking historic

sites as some “dead buildings” and “boring places.”

6. After viewing the program, are you concerned about doing
something for historic sites?

Eleven viewers said that the video raised their interest in visiting two
ﬁlmed sites and other ones. Four viewers had no comment. Five people
said that ifthere is something they can do to bring alive the historic sites, they
are happy to do that. Three viewers wrote “Maybe”; two said, “I am not
sure ifI have time or not”; and one said “we paid taxes, the government
should take good care of historic sites for us.” One participant felt that

apart from the historical beauty, the only implication from the video is that

 

6’ To avoid boredom, the producer intercut the informative scenes with shots of activities and

montages. The adoption of a variety of music is also a strategy to avoid monotony.

47

“people need to cherish historic sites,” which seemed to be too abstract a

concept for him.

7. Please give any other comments and suggestion about this program.

When asked for additional comments in this question, four had no
further comment while twelve thought the program was well-done. Two
participants encouraged the producer to engage in producing more series for
other historic sites. Two viewers pointed out that the producer should
incorporate interviews with what existed in the video while the other two
viewers didn’t like the idea of interviews because they prefer the historic sites
telling their own stories. Four viewers suggested that the producer should

make her assertion of “cherishing historic sites” stronger.

Conclusion

From the result of the group evaluation, this documentary succeeded in
fulﬁlling its ﬁrst objective of evoking people’s interests in historic sites,
especially in uncovering the beauty of two historic temples and offering their
historic contexts. It creates for the viewer a new angle of looking at the
historic sites and helps the viewer have better understanding of two selected
sites. As for the objective “to stimulate people to be willing to concern
more about historic sites”, there is still a room for improvement. For some
viewers, the messages of “taking action” carried in the video is not as strong

as that of the beauty of the historic sites. Overall, The Story of Old Stones

48

successfully achieves its emotional appeal to its target audience through
aesthetic appreciation.

From the response of the seventeen viewers, we also ﬁnd that people's
interest can be provoked if there is an appropriate medium by which historic
sites are introduced. If this video or others like it can be shown to a real
audience in Taiwan, it will be a meaningful and helpful experience for them,
with the potential of changing attitudes and increasing interest. The more
people are exposed to this video, the more understanding of historic sites
they may have. As a result, this video will be dubbed and sent back to the
corresponding management of various historic sites in Taiwan. The
management then can then use this tape as an introductory material to guide
the visitors.

In addition to showing this video to the visitors of historic sites, some
other means can be used to attract people to come to visit historic sites or
help people have a comprehensive understanding about historic sites. TV is
a powerful medium which can be used to reach more audience throughout
Taiwan. If a series of videos of this kind can be broadcast on TV, people's
indifferent attitude may change. The management can make more
introductory brochures and pamphlets and make them available in public
locations like movie theaters and schools. In modern society, historic sites
can be revitalized if they provide economic value. Thus, historic sites.
May be brought alive by holding money making activities, such as cultural

festivals, traditional fork arts exhibitions, and traditional art performances.

49

Other devices, such as explanatory tablets and audio and multimedia guidance
system, can be set up on location at the sites to help people have a better
understanding about what they are seeing. Besides conventional printed and
visual media, a web site about Taiwan's historic sites can be created for
people who have interests but live in remote areas. It may be possible,
through these and other communication programs and technologies, to build
a new and higher level of interest in Taiwan's historic sites when people begin
to understand and care about these valuable sites, they may be more willing to

visit and support them.

50

APPENDICES

51

APPENDIX A

52

APPENDIX A

SUBTITLES OF THE PROGRAM

THE OPENING

When you are shuttling in busy streets

whether you enjoy the city’s prosperity

or hate its hullabaloo --

do you ever take notice of the valuable assets
our ancestors left us -- the historic sites

These sites are not only piles of old stones

and old buildings

but relics of humanity

which witness the history and architectural skills
and standards of beauty in earlier periods of time
Therefore

to understand historic sites may be the best way

to know about Taiwan and our ancestors’ lives

53

THE FRONT HALLS OF TAINAN KUAN-TI TEMPLE

Here is the ancient Kuan-Ti Temple
which has a 337-year history

Kuan-Ti Temple is one of the shrines
most worshipped by the Chinese people
The Tainan Kuan-Ti Temple

is the only one used for a site for ofﬁcial sacriﬁces

The Tainan Kuan-Ti Temple features
a long and narrow architectural form
Its well-known vast wall is

5.5 meters high on average

and about 66 meters in length

From south to north are the Front Hall’s
“Three-River Swallowtail Ridge”

the First Hall of Worship’s

“Firm Mountain Horse Back Ridge”
the Second Hall of Worship’s
“Roll-up Shed Gable and Hip Ridge”
the Main Hall’s

“Hanging Mountain Double Eaved Ridge”

54

and Posterior Hall’s

“Firm Mountain Swallowtail Ridge”
These dips and curves

form a spectacular wave-like skyline
which gives the wall

the most grandeur of its kind

Standing in front of the Three-River Gate

we see the embroidery on the lintel is gorgeous
Many exquisite sculptures

such as a sparrow base

and an elephant base

Between the roof and the pillar

these decorations provide visual interest

After entering the Front Hall

we can see plaques suspended above

which praise Kuan-Ti’s mightiness

On the left side is a big drum

on the right is a big bell

They both are struck in every lunar month’s ﬁrst

and ﬁfteenth day and other important days

55

Two days a week, enthusiasts of
traditional music -- Pei-Kuan

get together practicing and competing with each other .

Looking up from the patio

we can see two brick representatives of
the cloth used as currency in ancient China
The incense in the bronze burners

and candles lighted by pilgrims

create a beautiful scene

(Montage One: Gorgeous Atmosphere Built by Candles and Incense)

When entering the Main Hall

we sense a solemn and peaceful atmosphere
Kuan-Ti -- the god in the niche

is the most-worshipped deity in the temple

This general in the Period of Three Kingdoms

is adored by pilgrims across four religious ﬁelds
He is deiﬁed as a god of business

brotherhood

bravery

56

and exorcism.

We can see the pilgrims follow the rites to worship
Their piety shows clearly

in their utterance and manner

Two guards standing besides Kuan-Ti

are Kuan-Ping and Chou-Tsang

who represent the civic and the military respectively
They are antiques of Kang-Hsi period

Hanging above the niche

is the largest plaque in the temple

“A paragon for all generation”

is under the handwriting of the emperor Hsien-Feng
Scrolls on the pillars around

are subscribed with narration poems

which glorify Kuan-Ti’s great virtue

THE BACK HALLS OF TAINAN KUAN-TI TEMPLE

Let’s move to the back of the complex
The atmosphere here is totally different
from that of the front hall

The atmosphere here is calmer and more relaxing

S7

And the buildings in this area are simpler

in their construction and their embellishment
The Three-generation Hall is the shrine

for offering sacriﬁces to Kuan-Ti’s ancestors
three generations ahead of him

The tablets on both sides are for those ofﬁcers
who contributed to building the temple and for
other diligent ofﬁcers who served at that time
The details of the roof

and the calabash-like decoration

show us the craftsman’s ingenuity

The Kuan-Yin Hall is located at the west wing
It is very common in Taiwan to see

many deities worshipped in a temple

The benign Kuan-Yin is the goddess of Mercy
She is always listening to people’s suffering
The goddess of Birth is in the right niche

and the gods of Land in the left niche

They all have close relationships with people
The exorcists “18 Arhans”

whose facial expressions are so life-like that

58

people sometimes feel terriﬁed

The column plinths shaped

as wax apples and octagons

The octagonal plinth with highly detailed
relief decorations on each face is rarely seen
When we look outside from the hall

The red bamboo palisades create a gorgeous scene

Right beside the Kuan-Yin Hall is the West Society
In the Ching dynasty, it was the gathering place
where scholars and intellectuals met each other
Today it is used as the shrine

for worshipping the Five Wen-Chang gods.

In folk beliefs

these ﬁve gods take charge of civil service exams
and can bless the examinees with good luck

In summer time when various entrance exams are held
we can see many red pray sheets

on which the examinees write down their names

to let the gods know who they are

and thus the gods know whom to bless

In the back yard

there is a little pond

59

where captured turtles are released by pilgrims
People believe that by such charitable deeds

the turtles’ life-savers’ luck can be accumulated

The Liu-Ho Hall is the shrine

where the Fire god is worshipped

The members of Chen-Sheng Association
usually get together in front of this hall

to practice the traditional opera -- Nan-Kuan

Beautiful music spreads through the whole temple

THE OUTER COURTYARD OF TAINAN CONFUCIUS TEMPLE

The Tainan Confucius Temple used to be

the only school of Confucianism in Taiwan

In 1665, the General Chen Yung- Hwa held that
education insure the prosperity of the nation
He thus suggested that the governor

Cheng Ching construct a Confucius Temple

In front of the Arch of the Palace of Higher Learning

is the main entrance to the temple complex --

the Eastern Gate of the Sage

On its “hanging-mountain” roof

are six swallowtail eaves elegantly uptilted

Lines and colors are proportionately beautiful

The so-called “Tablet of Dismounting” is erected

at the right of the Eastern Gate of the Sage

It directs visitors to proceed from this point on foot

to show great respect to Confucius

Across the gate

we see green trees and shade

The Western Gate of the Sage which has.

the same structure with the eastern gate

is seldom opened today

Facing the western gate

and looking toward the right is the Gate of Propriety
This gate and its corresponding Way of Righteousness
are now symbolic buildings which represent that
“Following Confucianism

is following propriety and righteousness”

The beautifully constructed lattice windows

with black frames are fascinating

61

On the ridge is the mythical dragon-ﬁsh of old legends

protecting the building from ﬁre

Located in the downtown
the Confucius Temple serves as a shelter
where people may get away from the hullabaloo

We run into many types of visitors

(Montage Two: Visitors of Confucius Temple)

The Door of Great Achievement

is the main entrance to the inner courtyard

It has three sets of double doors

Each set of double doors

is decorated with 108 nails

Usually only the doors on the right are open daily
The middle set of doors is opened twice a year
when there are sacriﬁcial ceremonies

Skillful paintings signify auspiciousness and noblity
Plain “stone drums” at the entrance
counterbalance the weight of the doors

which also symbolically show respect to Confucius

62

Lavish wooden carvings adorn the underside of

the roof system and thus enrich the interior

(Montage Three: The Details of the Decorations of the Door of Achievement)

The Pool of Higher Learning
is located on the southern side of the complex

Water represents success in academic pursuits

THE INNER COURTYARD OF CONFUCIUS TEMPLE

The center of the inner courtyard

and the main hall for offering sacriﬁces

is the Hall of Great Achievement

Its color system is simply uniﬁed in vermilion
The front of the balustrades

are decorated by 8 granite lion-cubs

These lion-cubs are vividly carved

and different in their gestures

The roof style of the Hall

is the “ Hanging Mountain Double Eaved”

63

There are many sumptuous sculptures on the ridge
The Tung-Tien Tung symbolizes scholarship

The bronze bells on either side of the ridges
represent the notion that teachers serve as

the bells to wake up the world

At each corner of the balustrades

we see a common feature in Chinese architecture
which is the drainpipe in the shape of

the head of a sea dragon

When the rain comes, it will appear as

a sea dragon spewing water from its mouth

When entering the hall,

the ﬁrst sight that

catches our eyes is the altar that

holds the spirit tablet of Confucius

Around the altar are tablets that list 16 sages
such as Zenzi, Mencius,

and some of Confucius’ understanding students
Looking upward, we see many valuable plaques
showing reverence to Confucius presented by

successive emperors and four presidents over 300 years

The Tainan Confucius Temple possesses the most
plaques which extol the virtues of

Confucius in all of Taiwan

The inner courtyard is ﬂanked

by the Eastern and Western Corridors

These two long buildings are the houses

where we can ﬁnd the 159 spirit tablets of
famous sages and scholars of the past 2.500 years
These sages’ names are engraved in gold letters
on the bright red wooden tablets

and honored through the generations to come
The corridors’ gallery-like space reﬂects

the plain architectural style in the early era of Ching

THE EASTERN COMPLEX OF CONFUCIUS TEMPLE

Let’s go to the other side

The eastern side of the complex used to be a school
Shaded under the green foliage is the Gate of Virtue
Once the disciples entered this gate,

they had to respect their teachers

65

and follow their words during their lifetime

The former classroom “Min-Lun Hall”

has the Hsuan-Tin in front

and the Moon Gates on both sides

There is a huge screen with the inscription which
is the imitation of Men-Yin Chao’s calligraphy
Under the palace lantern,

the interior of this hall is extraordinarily magniﬁcent
Nine doors separate the space and admit the light
When the light penetrates into the hall

the space thus created within and without the hall

is uniﬁed in a highly dynamic rhythm

THE ENDING

While we are desperately pursuing
economic prosperity and modernization,
do not forget these valuable historic sites
These old stones and pillars

contain the stories of our ancestors

They are priceless treasures

which we must cherish and understand

When a city’s past is forgotten,

it loses its soul

67

APPENDIX B

68

APPENDIX B “\x

GROUP EVALUATION QUESTIONNAIRE

Dear Participants,

Thank you very much for participating evaluation process of this video
documentary, The Story of Old Stones. Please answer the following questions
from your own perspectives. Please feel free to ask questions if there is any.

Your time is very appreciated.

Wave you ever been to any historic sites when you were in Taiwan? If the
answer is “yes”, how many sites did you visit so far ? And, why did you
visit the historic site (5)? If the answer is “no”, why didn’t you visit the

historic site (5)?

\j/ Before viewing the program, what do you know about historic sites ?

a What is your ﬁrst impression, reaction, or feeling after viewing this

video?

69

\Aid this program make you feel interested (or bored) in any way?

5. After viewing this program, are your attitudes the same or changed ? If

changed, in what aspect ?

6. After viewing the program, are you concerned about doing something for

historic sites?

V Please give any other comments and suggestion about this program.

 

Sex: Female Male
Age:
Occupation:

 

70

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71

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