Pre-Production: Inspired DoP- James Adolphus

James Adolphus is a Director/Cinematographer and has had some fantastic recognition for his works. For example, he has bee. credited the Peabody Award winner who "focuses on stories about social, cultural and political issues of global relevance to transform the way the world is seen, through cinema"(Vimeo, 2018). As far as aspirations go, he couldn't be any closer to what I am striving for with our documentary. As DoP/Editor, I really want this documentary to be able to tell a story and help with social change. If nothing is done and nobody says anything, there will be no change. What is currently happening with evidence and disc closure in Britains judicial system is impacting so many people and could affect any one of us.  James is currently directing and shooting a new series for Netflix in New York’s Brooklyn called KALEIDOSCOPE.

Current Projects:

This year Adolphus had two documentary series premiere on Netflix. 'Rapture' is a new project which looks into the world of hip-hop through a collection of high-profile interviews and cinéma vérité seldom seen in ethnographic documentaries about the culture. 

The Platform:

As a well established DoP and Director, James has a lot of credentials under his belt, and with such high-end content shooting for films and documentaries on various platforms including Netflix, his style is something to take into careful consideration.
One of my favorite works of his that have inspired me greatly is his work as DoP on docu-series 'Time: The Kalief Browder Story'. This is a documentary that has educated a lot of people, myself included and the way it incorporates some beautiful cinematography with such a meaningful and sad story is something to be admired. For this series, he had executive producer Shawn Carter (a.k.a. Jay-Z) as this story was one very close to Shawn himself. The series has its first World Premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. It has reached so many audiences and remains one of my favorite documentaries. Furthermore, its topic is something closely related to ours, it looks into the juridical system in America and its flaws with racism and prisons with a specific focus on Khalief's story.

Something very key to 'Time: The Kalief Browder Story' is access. Access to footage, archive, interviews and locations. This wouldn't have been an easy project to pull off but it is something I would want to strive for regardless of this as it is a story that needs to be told. It's that passion that I believe really makes James' work his own.

Analyzing his work:

Time: The Kalief Browder Story is a docu-series about 16-year-old Kalief Browder, who spent three years in Rikers Island jail awaiting trial after the criminal justice system tragically failed him and went through hellion solitary confinement. The case was never prosecuted and the charges were eventually dropped, but Browder sadly committed suicide after his release after suffering PTST (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). This documentary challenges Americans judicial system. It's a comprehensive review of the case, using first-person accounts, archival footage, and cinematic re-creations of key scenes from Browder's life. In this is also interviews with prominent people in authority and those who knew Kalief. 

Cut titles:

Something very stylistic in both cinematography and the edits is the cuts between different parts which will bring in a statistic or fact relating to the topic or issue being discussed. Whilst this may be more of an editing choice, it is important as DoP to sometimes shoot to edit and the stylistic still shots or time-lapses used for these segments accompanied by a darkening opacity with white text creates a new atmosphere and is something interesting compared to the usual black screen. Something I would love to adopt in my own style when shooting and editing.

The use of cinematic shots is also something that makes this documentary unique, again breaking conventional documentary styles. It helps that it is a real filmmaker DoP shooting this documentary.








Interviews:

Here the lead character in the documentary has an interview set-up in fairly casual surroundings and is sat comfortably in his comfortable environment. This feels a lot less formal and suits the individual who is being interviewed. Similarly, his mother is interviewed in a similar fashion which leads me to subconsciously believe these are normal people who were affected vs the more formal interview setups for professionals in law and formal people in the story have the setup below.

Something interesting about this interview is the way the camera is positioned. The subject is the smallest in the frame vs this large table and window. It feels very formal but also quite cold and lonely. Something that could be projected on the person. As a typical interview shot this works and breaks conventions. I would like a more shallow depth of field in my interviews but the ability to play with new styles is something to definitely consider.



Scene Recreations:

The way scenes are recreated in this documentary top accompany audio from interviews helps the audience visualize what is happening and also gives them a break from normal interviews.












References:

Grobar, M., Grobar, M., Grobar, M. and Grobar, M. (2018). ‘Time: The Kalief Browder Story’ Director Jenner Furst On Documentary’s Real-World Impact. [online] Deadline. Available at: https://deadline.com/2017/06/time-the-kalief-browder-story-jenner-furst-jay-z-spike-emmys-interview-news-1202112225/ [Accessed 2 Dec. 2018].

Vimeo. (2018). James Adolphus. [online] Available at: https://vimeo.com/jamesadolphus/about [Accessed 2 Dec. 2018].