Blog #4
Why did Soda find it useful to make a set of commandments or rules to operate by? Soda mentioned that when he was a television producer he had to do a lot of extensive research and prep work when he took on new projects and that he felt that it made for an inauthentic product. The commandments he set for himself are personal goals that go against the grain and nearly every instinct of documentary filmmakers in the industry. For Soda to vow things like "no research" and "no meeting with subjects" it can seem counter-intuitive for a project that is centered around the lives of its subjects. It can also be shocking to read his commandment of "pay for the production yourself" as many documentary projects rely on some kind of outside funding or producing to be possible. But the results that Soda has gotten since abiding by his own commandments are what he feels to be the most authentic human interactions possible while shooting his subjects. By taking away th...