Cynematik • Cyndi Greening

What do documentaries and reality television have in common? In my opinion, the element of surprise. Sitcom television and theatrical films have become so predictable that, even with mind-blowing special effects, sitting through them is an exercise in drudgery. Today, the staid and venerable CBS Sunday Morning did a story on the rising popularity of documentaries! From last year’s Winged Migration, Spellbound, and Capturing the Friedmans to this year’s SuperSize Me, Control Room, and Fahrenheit 9/11 (MichaelMoore.Com), documentaries have proven a major box office draw, surprising filmmakers and movie studio bosses alike. Fahrenheit 9/11 is the first documentary to cross the $100 million mark.

The NY Times had an article on Mitchell Hurwitz entitled “Can This Man Save the Sitcom?. The lengthy discussion centered on Arrested Development, a series that has virtually no viewers but is consistently recognized for its innovative story and production. The reason for the arresting visual style and lengthy shoots (see below) is that Arrested Development is shot “documentary style” with a Panasonic AJ-HDC27 Varicam HD Cinema Camera. The entire set is lit to facilitate dozens of setups each day.

Actress Portia de Rossi (Lindsay Bluth Funke) says, “We shoot in five days, comfortably, including all the flashbacks and a million costume changes. The editors: that’s where the work is. We’re shooting 20 hours of footage for a 22-minute show!”

While many report on how much less expensive it is to shoot documentaries and reality television, that savings is NOT what makes the show popular with viewers. In my opinion, it is the rebirth of the element of surprise. Documentaries and reality television feature characters who do unexpected, unbelievable, shocking, sometimes self-destructive things. Remember Susan on the first Survivor? Who could predict or forget the “cross the road to spit to save your life” speech? Yet, it was completely in character. That’s what is missing from theatrical film and network TV. They’re just so dang dull.