Grierson on Documentary was written by John Grierson, as he reflects on how he tried to use documentary to comment on the social issues of the time. It was edited by Forsyth Hardy, who also wrote the introduction which explained how the word documentary came to be because of Grierson's work.
When Grierson first looked at cinema, he was interested in its capacity not to tell stories, but to reach wide audiences, and therefore, affect opinions. He disagreed with the fact education was based on filling people with facts, and wanted to study the dramatic and emotional techniques used by media to engage audiences, as education and religion had been unable to do so.
1926
Because of his studies, he became a guest critic for The NewYork Sun, just one of many newspapers who had invited him, where in one of his articles the word 'documentary' first appeared, defined as 'the creative treatment of actuality'.
1927
When Grierson returned to Britain from the U.S., he began working as the Film Officer to the government's Empire Marketing Board. There he wrote articles about foreign films, as well as planning showings of films, highlighting the achievements of what had, or was, happening abroad.
1929
A short film about North Sea herring fisheries, 'Drifters' was Grierson's first film, which was not only the earliest showing of working day Britain on screen, but also was one of the first British films to use dynamic editing, and other techniques employed by Russian directors such as Eisenstein, and Pudovkin.
1930-33
From the success of this film, Grierson set up the E.M.B. Film Unit, which helped build the documentary movement as this unit grew in members from two to thirty, producing over a hundred original films. This unit was founded as one where the members were trained by Grierson, who produced the films without enforcing a certain style, but instead letting this be determined by the subject covered.
This documentary movement was built on the foundation of the need of the audience to view more than only escapism, causing documentaries to prosper because of the wideness of this need.
Film reviews helped with producing more than trivial films, as they analysed the films, meaning they stimulated, and also sometimes guided Grierson to his next project.
1933
The E.M.B. Film Unit moved on to cover different institutions such as The Post Office, after The Empire Marketing Board it was set up under closed. However, even though the subject it was covering was not as wide as that of The Commonwealth, the unit were still able to widen the subject and tell a national and international communications story. It also partnered with the G.P.O. Film Unit.
As the G.P.O. gained new sound equipment, Grierson could therefore experiment with the fact he believed the sound-track could make its own contribution to the footage. This led to uses of sound in film that were more imaginative than what was considered to be the typical use, meaning British cinema began to be noticed much more around the world.
1933-1937
Before Grierson stepped down from the G.P.O. in 1937, sociological observation began to appear more and more in documentaries. This was largely led by Ruby Grierson (John Grierson's sister), who made documentaries have a new sense of warmth and personal attachment.
However, by 1937, more documentaries were created outside the Government, so Grierson set up The Film Centre, to supervise productions, and give advice to filmmakers.
1938
When films were chosen to be exhibited at the New York World's Fair, no British documentaries were selected, but instead films showcasing tradition were chosen. This led to 'the battle for authenticity' becoming aware to the public, as opposition was always met when filmmakers gave commentary on social issues. However, this was solved with support from the press both in the U.S. and the UK, therefore documentaries from Britain were exhibited in the American Science and Education pavilion at the fair.Second World War (1939-1945)
Because of the amount of filmmakers Grierson had trained, there were many of them who could make films to inspire and aid survival during the war.
1939
Due to the lack of content in film about Canada, Ross Mclean, private secretary to the Canadian high commissioner, contacted Grierson who conducted a survey. This led to The National Film Board being set up, of which Grierson was Film Commissioner. 'Canada Carries On', spotlighting Canadian achievements, and 'World in Action', detailing international affairs were then created. 'World in Action' was particularly important as it was shown not only in Canada, but also in the U.S. and UK.
1945
Grierson stepped down as commissioner in Canada, and moved to New York where he created International Film Associates. However, the opposition was so strong that he was forced to leave after only a year.
1947
Grierson then became the Director of Mass Communications and Public Information for U.N.E.S.C.O. which provided him with an international audience. Although, due to the consultation process with the added slow pace of filmmaking, and the fact there was money only for promotion but not production, plans were not simple to see through.
1948
Therefore, Grierson came back to Britain, instead working for U.N.E.S.C.O. as a volunteer. He became Controller of the film operations of the Central Office of Information, but the film industry in the country had become unstable, due to a resistance to experiments and changes.
1949
However, the labour government attempted to change this, by setting up The National Film Finance Corporation, which funded Group 3.
1951
This group was controlled by John Grierson and John Baxter, who trained directors to make low-budget films, shown in cinemas second to larger budget features, and therefore was Grierson's first experience producing fiction. Opportunities were open to winters and directors, and all even new actors, who started successful careers from the training and experience they received. However, the group had financing problems as the production costs were not remade, and therefore no profit was gained, before production at the group stopped in 1955.
1955
When The Films of Scotland Committee was reformed, Grierson joined and began making personal contributions to the films that were produced, often writing or outlining the scripts, or even providing the commentary. These films showed what life was like in Scotland, as well as highlighting achievements, even though the committee was a voluntary organisation.
1957
Grierson's first TV programme was 'This Wonderful World', allowing him to take his work to a new audience in a new medium. This meant he could cover tougher issues the cinema would not allow to be shown, as he gained trust with his audience, meaning they could be more easily persuaded by him to watch these issues, allowing Grierson to experiment with subject matter, and even aesthetics, once more.
1961
Due to his personal contributions and services to the establishment of documentaries, John Grierson was made a Commander of the British Empire.
References:
Hardy, F. (1966) 'Introduction' In: Grierson, J. Grierson on Documentary. London: Faber and Faber Ltd. pp. 13-39.
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