For my final documentary in this class, I decided to expand my Doc Mode 3 documentary which was a poetic documentary. This film was composed of different shots of the scenery while a car was driving, cut in with shots of various activities that people would drive to. The reason I chose poetic mode to convey this documentary was because of personal experience. My family loves road trips. As a child, I was supposed to entertain myself on these long car rides to and from vacations. I got used to a variety of activities from downloading movies, reading books, or just staring out the window thinking. This gave me lots of time to ponder about different things in life and I wanted to convey that emotion through my documentary. 

    My documentary is most similar to Man with a Movie Camera and The Gleaners and I. In Man with a Movie Camera, we see a man with a camera going around the city filming various parts of city life. The shots are edited together in a sequence that shows the editor working on the film. The juxtaposition of the different clips gives the shots new meaning such as when we see the editor cutting a strip of film and then it transforms into the bit of film that was cut. I wanted to use similar juxtaposition editing in my film to help show the clips in a different light. I start with a seemingly boring clip of the sky while driving which is then changed to a fun day at the aquarium. The shots of the activities gives a layer of excitement and intrigue to the shots of driving as it builds anticipation of where the car will take us next. It draws in the audience to feel as if they are traveling on this journey with us. 

    I used clips taken from places I have actually been and where I have driven with my family. This is similar to The Gleaners and I as Agnes Varda films herself visiting different people to see how they live the gleaning lifestyle. As she interacts with them, you get to see her personality as she catches cars on the freeway or jokes around with the friends she has made. You get to know her. I wanted to do something similar. MY documentary is different because I am not the main character or host who is guiding you to the various locations. I only appear in one of the clips for a short moment but I still give the audience a glimpse into my personality. The activities are all things I have gone to and experienced so you see parts of my interests, my hobbies, my friends, and my family. The audience gets to witness the different points in my life. 

    Another reason why I chose car drives as the focal point of my documentary was because of the idea of motion. I dislike feeling stuck. I do not want to sit still and wait for things to happen. I prefer to take initiative and keep my momentum as I move forward. A car symbolizes motion. It is how we in Provo, Utah, and across the United States move around. We need cars to reach our various errands, jobs, and homes. I wanted to invoke motion throughout the documentary. This film is a journey. It is a journey of me, my travels, my family, my hobbies, and ADSFDKSFJ. The poetic mode emphasizes that motion. By creating a non-linear narrative, the audience is free to impose their own travel memories onto the car trip I provided them while also feeling the motion and journey that I have been on. 

    Being able to see how different people live across different time periods helps us understand and connect to the people of the past. Man with a Movie Camera shows how the Russian people of 1929 lived in their day to day lives. They are getting married, getting divorced, going to the parks, walking down the streets, and even giving birth. This connects the audience to them as we get to see mirrors of ourselves living our day to day lives. The Gleaners and I showcase a specific lifestyle of people in 2000 who scavenge and forge for what they need to survive. This is a drastic difference to what we typically see today. Most people we know have a job that gives them money that they then use to purchase their various necessities at the stores. However, even though it may be different, it still connects us to them by showing us their humanity. While some gleaners forage just to survive, there are those who use gleaning as a way to foster a community. They gather the excess from the prosperous and then give to the poor to help people continue to fight another day. In my documentary, I wanted to relate to people of different time periods by showing them my humanity in my day to day life. I wanted them to get a glimpse into how I travel around to school and work everyday. They get to see the mundane motion that occurs whenever I drive. However, they also get to see the exciting bits. I show them the different treasured memories I have of vacations, friends, nature, and Christmas cheer. By putting daily life right next to spontaneous adventures, the audience gets to understand how poetic and joyful life can be when you just live. 

    In conclusion, I am immensely grateful for this opportunity to share my various experiences with people. I love to connect and make friends over shared interests. Using the poetic mode allows me to share those feelings I have with the audience while encouraging the audience to remember their own similar experiences. It reminds us to take this journey together as we continue to move forward but to live in the moment and enjoy the spontaneous experiences that make our day to day lives special. 

Whitney Linton

TMA 293

10 December 2025 

Final Documentary

    For my final documentary in this class, I decided to expand my Doc Mode 3 documentary which was a poetic documentary. This film was composed of different shots of the scenery while a car was driving, cut in with shots of various activities that people would drive to. The reason I chose poetic mode to convey this documentary was because of personal experience. My family loves road trips. As a child, I was supposed to entertain myself on these long car rides to and from vacations. I got used to a variety of activities from downloading movies, reading books, or just staring out the window thinking. This gave me lots of time to ponder about different things in life and I wanted to convey that emotion through my documentary. 

    My documentary is most similar to Man with a Movie Camera and The Gleaners and I. In Man with a Movie Camera, we see a man with a camera going around the city filming various parts of city life. The shots are edited together in a sequence that shows the editor working on the film. The juxtaposition of the different clips gives the shots new meaning such as when we see the editor cutting a strip of film and then it transforms into the bit of film that was cut. I wanted to use similar juxtaposition editing in my film to help show the clips in a different light. I start with a seemingly boring clip of the sky while driving which is then changed to a fun day at the aquarium. The shots of the activities gives a layer of excitement and intrigue to the shots of driving as it builds anticipation of where the car will take us next. It draws in the audience to feel as if they are traveling on this journey with us. 

    I used clips taken from places I have actually been and where I have driven with my family. This is similar to The Gleaners and I as Agnes Varda films herself visiting different people to see how they live the gleaning lifestyle. As she interacts with them, you get to see her personality as she catches cars on the freeway or jokes around with the friends she has made. You get to know her. I wanted to do something similar. MY documentary is different because I am not the main character or host who is guiding you to the various locations. I only appear in one of the clips for a short moment but I still give the audience a glimpse into my personality. The activities are all things I have gone to and experienced so you see parts of my interests, my hobbies, my friends, and my family. The audience gets to witness the different points in my life. 

    Another reason why I chose car drives as the focal point of my documentary was because of the idea of motion. I dislike feeling stuck. I do not want to sit still and wait for things to happen. I prefer to take initiative and keep my momentum as I move forward. A car symbolizes motion. It is how we in Provo, Utah, and across the United States move around. We need cars to reach our various errands, jobs, and homes. I wanted to invoke motion throughout the documentary. This film is a journey. It is a journey of me, my travels, my family, my hobbies, and ADSFDKSFJ. The poetic mode emphasizes that motion. By creating a non-linear narrative, the audience is free to impose their own travel memories onto the car trip I provided them while also feeling the motion and journey that I have been on. 

    Being able to see how different people live across different time periods helps us understand and connect to the people of the past. Man with a Movie Camera shows how the Russian people of 1929 lived in their day to day lives. They are getting married, getting divorced, going to the parks, walking down the streets, and even giving birth. This connects the audience to them as we get to see mirrors of ourselves living our day to day lives. The Gleaners and I showcase a specific lifestyle of people in 2000 who scavenge and forge for what they need to survive. This is a drastic difference to what we typically see today. Most people we know have a job that gives them money that they then use to purchase their various necessities at the stores. However, even though it may be different, it still connects us to them by showing us their humanity. While some gleaners forage just to survive, there are those who use gleaning as a way to foster a community. They gather the excess from the prosperous and then give to the poor to help people continue to fight another day. In my documentary, I wanted to relate to people of different time periods by showing them my humanity in my day to day life. I wanted them to get a glimpse into how I travel around to school and work everyday. They get to see the mundane motion that occurs whenever I drive. However, they also get to see the exciting bits. I show them the different treasured memories I have of vacations, friends, nature, and Christmas cheer. By putting daily life right next to spontaneous adventures, the audience gets to understand how poetic and joyful life can be when you just live. 

    In conclusion, I am immensely grateful for this opportunity to share my various experiences with people. I love to connect and make friends over shared interests. Using the poetic mode allows me to share those feelings I have with the audience while encouraging the audience to remember their own similar experiences. It reminds us to take this journey together as we continue to move forward but to live in the moment and enjoy the spontaneous experiences that make our day to day lives special.