Courtney Smith "Exit Through the Gift Shop" is a documentary film about a man's journey through street art by Banksy in 2010. Like we talked about in class, a documentary film is one that documents events or facts, like a person, place or thing. In this case, "Exit Through the Gift Shop" is a documentary about a man named Theirry Guetta, and it follows his growing interest in street art that eventually led him to become a street artist himself.
I would definitely describe this particular documentary as a "direct cinema" because it resembles identical characteristics that a direct cinema entails. For one, direct cinema is known for being filmed by a small crew and using very light equipment. Thierry uses a camera that is light enough for him to carry every where he goes, to be able to film anything and everything. Also, direct cinema avoids staged scenes or scripts. "Exit Through the Gift Shop" is not scripted nor does it have staged scenes. It follows an individual and how his life develops into becoming a street artist.
Our book states that direct cinema is "candid cinema, uncontrolled cinema, observational cinema, and 'cinema truth'"(pg. 276). Since this specific documentary was sometimes candid, never scripted, observing of an individual's life, and truthful I would definitely call it direct cinema.
Idalia Vazquez "Exit Through The Gift Shop", is a documentary that chronicles the life of Thierry Guetta as his obsession with street art. Guetta follows street artists Shepard Fairey and Banksy, the films director. "Exit Through The Gift Shop" is an example of Direct Cinema. Guetta used a hand held camera to shoot the whole thing and there was no crew just Thierry. The film rejects traditional conceptions of script and structure as stated in the book because it's just Thierry pointing a camera and filming. He was trying to capture real life and real life is not scripted or staged. Direct Cinema also known as candid, uncontrolled, or observational cinema focused on the truth unscripted and staged. A perfect example of this are all the tag alongs that Thierry goes on. He films everything, all the confrontations with the cops and the danger that the street artists go through in the sense of where they decide to showcase their art.
“Exit Through the Gift Shop” tells the story of Theirry Guetta and his growing passion for street art. Guetta’s obsession with his video camera leads him into the world of graffiti art. One artist in particular had a large impact on Guetta, the Brit, Banksy. The two of them developed a sort of friendship between each other. After over 6 years of filming, the documentary project came to a dead end when it turned out Guetta wasn’t much of a filmmaker. It was then Guetta turned to his passion, street art; he became ‘Mr. Brainwash” a grafitti artist in Los Angeles.
This documentary has attributes such as narration by “the voice of God” and tells the real story of a precise topic. More specifically, “Exit Through the Gift Shop” resembles direct cinema; the free movement of the camera and unscripted interviews display this resemblance.
Certain portions of this film were very evident to me; the artists’ opinion of Guetta takes an apparent turn in the end. In the beginning they have more respect for his crazy obsession with filming street art. However, once he goes from Theirry to Mr. Brainwash, much of their respect goes out the window. It becomes almost a mocking of what Guetta has become. In the end it states Guetta’s cousin is now too ashamed to speak on the subject. One of Banksy’s last statements makes his opinion very clear: “I always used to encourage everyone I met to make art. I used to think everyone should do it. I don’t really do that so much anymore.” The change from respect to mockery in the documentary I believe is an important part of the film. The several artists who are interviewed convey they are proud of their art, but are not in it for the fame or money. However, Guetta doesn’t take the slow way in, he immediately goes for the big flashy show and sells his artwork for fortunes. He is not only proud, but is very prideful and almost arrogant in the end.
Sheena Wilson “Exit Through the Gift Shop” is a documentary that displayed street art in a form that I had never looked at it before. Thierry Guetta became fascinated with cinematography and eventually in street art. He wanted to capture everything including the police action, climbing on rooftops, and putting themselves in dangerous situations for this passion. He dedicated numerous hours in grasping what it was like to be a street artist and kept his film to eventually produce a documentary. It was interesting how it seemed as though he put his entire family life aside to pursue his passion. He traveled constantly from Europe, and got captivated with the work of Banksey.
Once Guetta finally sorted through the footage of video he had piled away in boxes, he was finally able to complete his documentary. However, this turned out to be an unsuccessful undertaking. He then began creating street art himself and successfully showcased his work.
What was intriguing to me was the extent he was willing to go to real unrehearsed footage of life as a street artist. From being questioned for hours at Disney Land, to arguing with the police Guetta was heavily engrossed in his project. He explained that his mother died when he was a child and it was rather unexpected. This led him to want to video everything because not matter what may happen in life you can always go back to those videos and see the reality of the past. This puts significance in his work and led him to go to the extremes he did to capture life in the act.
“Exit Through the Gift Shop” is a documentary that follows Thierry Guetta’s metamorphosis from amateur cinematographer, aka shopkeeper, into one of L.A.’s hottest “street” artist. The film showcases the world of urban assault art, a form which most commonly appears overnight on the side of some abandoned or unsuspecting building, and features several of its best-known talents. The camera follows as they scale walls, traverse rooftops, and skirt law-enforcement in order to exhibit their work.
The title of the movie is indicative of the fine line between the renegade, adrenaline rush-producing art form and the lure of commercial success for the most recognized artist. Are they sell-outs? Are they?
In response to Sara White's comment: This documentary is interesting in that it starts out about street artists such as Banksy and Shepard Fairey, but transforms into a documentary about Theirry Guetta’s transition from documentary filmmaking into street art (where Banksy turns into the filmmaker and Guetta the artist). This is also a good example of Direct Cinema in that it uses Theirry’s footage with his light, hand-held camera and his attempt to capture reality (which is questionable due to the criticism that this film is just another one of Banksy’s social commentary pieces, but if so, he tries to make it appear as if it were reality). I found Sara’s comment interesting because I agree with the message this documentary was giving off. This film transitions from the respect given to many street artists by Theirry into a criticism of his intentions as a “street artist”. He cannot really be classified as a street artist in that, it’s where he got his start and his ideas, but he just put printmaking pieces up in a gallery that look like they could be street art, and he doesn’t really attach a meaning or understand exactly what he’s doing. This is the message that Banksy is trying to get across with this film, and the audience slowly comes to understand this through the transformation of Theirry’s character.
Xueyun I thought the film "Exit Through the Gift Shop" itself is very interesting; however, I found some people in the film are very hard to follow. Such as Theirry, I don't know whether is man is really talent or his luck is very good. I don't understand why people would spend that much money to buy a piece of "art" which reused the idea of many other artists. This film is a documentary film about the street artists. I think Documentary should be something that is real, something catch by accident. In this film, lots of the street artist know there is a camera facing them when they were giving a interview. Such as Theirry, when he gave an interview after his first show; I can see he was giving a big show and big speech about how talent he is. I think human tend to act when they facing the camera. Some people get stiff in front of camera and some people tend to express themselves more, but that is not how they act behind the camera (in their daily life).
I really agree with the comment Xueyun made about how the street artists know they are being filmed I really don't think this documentary does the greatest job of defining itself as a documentary which is real life caught on tape. I also personally didn't like this documentary at all, I'm a fan of art but defacing public and privet property is no art. I think this film is far from being a documentary it has been modified so much and twisted in a new direction then what the director's initial and somewhat pure direction was.
Courtney Smith
ReplyDelete"Exit Through the Gift Shop" is a documentary film about a man's journey through street art by Banksy in 2010. Like we talked about in class, a documentary film is one that documents events or facts, like a person, place or thing. In this case, "Exit Through the Gift Shop" is a documentary about a man named Theirry Guetta, and it follows his growing interest in street art that eventually led him to become a street artist himself.
I would definitely describe this particular documentary as a "direct cinema" because it resembles identical characteristics that a direct cinema entails. For one, direct cinema is known for being filmed by a small crew and using very light equipment. Thierry uses a camera that is light enough for him to carry every where he goes, to be able to film anything and everything. Also, direct cinema avoids staged scenes or scripts. "Exit Through the Gift Shop" is not scripted nor does it have staged scenes. It follows an individual and how his life develops into becoming a street artist.
Our book states that direct cinema is "candid cinema, uncontrolled cinema, observational cinema, and 'cinema truth'"(pg. 276). Since this specific documentary was sometimes candid, never scripted, observing of an individual's life, and truthful I would definitely call it direct cinema.
Idalia Vazquez
ReplyDelete"Exit Through The Gift Shop", is a documentary that chronicles the life of Thierry Guetta as his obsession with street art. Guetta follows street artists Shepard Fairey and Banksy, the films director. "Exit Through The Gift Shop" is an example of Direct Cinema. Guetta used a hand held camera to shoot the whole thing and there was no crew just Thierry.
The film rejects traditional conceptions of script and structure as stated in the book because it's just Thierry pointing a camera and filming. He was trying to capture real life and real life is not scripted or staged. Direct Cinema also known as candid, uncontrolled, or observational cinema focused on the truth unscripted and staged. A perfect example of this are all the tag alongs that Thierry goes on. He films everything, all the confrontations with the cops and the danger that the street artists go through in the sense of where they decide to showcase their art.
Sara White
ReplyDelete“Exit Through the Gift Shop” tells the story of Theirry Guetta and his growing passion for street art. Guetta’s obsession with his video camera leads him into the world of graffiti art. One artist in particular had a large impact on Guetta, the Brit, Banksy. The two of them developed a sort of friendship between each other. After over 6 years of filming, the documentary project came to a dead end when it turned out Guetta wasn’t much of a filmmaker. It was then Guetta turned to his passion, street art; he became ‘Mr. Brainwash” a grafitti artist in Los Angeles.
This documentary has attributes such as narration by “the voice of God” and tells the real story of a precise topic. More specifically, “Exit Through the Gift Shop” resembles direct cinema; the free movement of the camera and unscripted interviews display this resemblance.
Certain portions of this film were very evident to me; the artists’ opinion of Guetta takes an apparent turn in the end. In the beginning they have more respect for his crazy obsession with filming street art. However, once he goes from Theirry to Mr. Brainwash, much of their respect goes out the window. It becomes almost a mocking of what Guetta has become. In the end it states Guetta’s cousin is now too ashamed to speak on the subject. One of Banksy’s last statements makes his opinion very clear: “I always used to encourage everyone I met to make art. I used to think everyone should do it. I don’t really do that so much anymore.” The change from respect to mockery in the documentary I believe is an important part of the film. The several artists who are interviewed convey they are proud of their art, but are not in it for the fame or money. However, Guetta doesn’t take the slow way in, he immediately goes for the big flashy show and sells his artwork for fortunes. He is not only proud, but is very prideful and almost arrogant in the end.
Sheena Wilson
ReplyDelete“Exit Through the Gift Shop” is a documentary that displayed street art in a form that I had never looked at it before. Thierry Guetta became fascinated with cinematography and eventually in street art. He wanted to capture everything including the police action, climbing on rooftops, and putting themselves in dangerous situations for this passion. He dedicated numerous hours in grasping what it was like to be a street artist and kept his film to eventually produce a documentary. It was interesting how it seemed as though he put his entire family life aside to pursue his passion. He traveled constantly from Europe, and got captivated with the work of Banksey.
Once Guetta finally sorted through the footage of video he had piled away in boxes, he was finally able to complete his documentary. However, this turned out to be an unsuccessful undertaking. He then began creating street art himself and successfully showcased his work.
What was intriguing to me was the extent he was willing to go to real unrehearsed footage of life as a street artist. From being questioned for hours at Disney Land, to arguing with the police Guetta was heavily engrossed in his project. He explained that his mother died when he was a child and it was rather unexpected. This led him to want to video everything because not matter what may happen in life you can always go back to those videos and see the reality of the past. This puts significance in his work and led him to go to the extremes he did to capture life in the act.
F. Locke
ReplyDelete“Exit Through the Gift Shop” is a documentary that follows Thierry Guetta’s metamorphosis from amateur cinematographer, aka shopkeeper, into one of L.A.’s hottest “street” artist. The film showcases the world of urban assault art, a form which most commonly appears overnight on the side of some abandoned or unsuspecting building, and features several of its best-known talents. The camera follows as they scale walls, traverse rooftops, and skirt law-enforcement in order to exhibit their work.
The title of the movie is indicative of the fine line between the renegade, adrenaline rush-producing art form and the lure of commercial success for the most recognized artist. Are they sell-outs? Are they?
In response to Sara White's comment:
ReplyDeleteThis documentary is interesting in that it starts out about street artists such as Banksy and Shepard Fairey, but transforms into a documentary about Theirry Guetta’s transition from documentary filmmaking into street art (where Banksy turns into the filmmaker and Guetta the artist). This is also a good example of Direct Cinema in that it uses Theirry’s footage with his light, hand-held camera and his attempt to capture reality (which is questionable due to the criticism that this film is just another one of Banksy’s social commentary pieces, but if so, he tries to make it appear as if it were reality). I found Sara’s comment interesting because I agree with the message this documentary was giving off. This film transitions from the respect given to many street artists by Theirry into a criticism of his intentions as a “street artist”. He cannot really be classified as a street artist in that, it’s where he got his start and his ideas, but he just put printmaking pieces up in a gallery that look like they could be street art, and he doesn’t really attach a meaning or understand exactly what he’s doing. This is the message that Banksy is trying to get across with this film, and the audience slowly comes to understand this through the transformation of Theirry’s character.
Xueyun
ReplyDeleteI thought the film "Exit Through the Gift Shop" itself is very interesting; however, I found some people in the film are very hard to follow. Such as Theirry, I don't know whether is man is really talent or his luck is very good. I don't understand why people would spend that much money to buy a piece of "art" which reused the idea of many other artists. This film is a documentary film about the street artists. I think Documentary should be something that is real, something catch by accident. In this film, lots of the street artist know there is a camera facing them when they were giving a interview. Such as Theirry, when he gave an interview after his first show; I can see he was giving a big show and big speech about how talent he is. I think human tend to act when they facing the camera. Some people get stiff in front of camera and some people tend to express themselves more, but that is not how they act behind the camera (in their daily life).
I really agree with the comment Xueyun made about how the street artists know they are being filmed I really don't think this documentary does the greatest job of defining itself as a documentary which is real life caught on tape. I also personally didn't like this documentary at all, I'm a fan of art but defacing public and privet property is no art. I think this film is far from being a documentary it has been modified so much and twisted in a new direction then what the director's initial and somewhat pure direction was.
ReplyDelete