“Inside Story” Page: 28
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Morris may interview his subjects for hours. His method is to let people talk. The reason
is that eventually the real character, with all their flaws and eccentricities, will become
apparent. With perhaps the exception of Stephen Hawking, hardly anyone comes out of an
Errol Morris documentary unscathed.
Conversely, Inside Story is presented in a very straightforward manner. The interviewees
are placed in surroundings in which they are at ease. Captions identify who they are. The
graphics and additional footage are used to highlight and support rather than counterpoint the
interview subjects. The locations, backgrounds and lighting are intended to enhance the
expertise and integrity of the subjects. So, the audience is urged to trust the subjects and
believe what they say.
The subjects were never interviewed for more than two hours so they would be fresh
and not appear weary or frustrated. There were specific things I wanted them to say. The
questions guided their responses. The interview process was intended to make the characters
comfortable and enthusiastic about their subjects. Editing decisions were made to amplify their
expertise rather than reveal any incongruity.
Instead of emulating my favorite documentarian, I contradicted his method. But still,
there is something in his work I would like to imitate. Perhaps it is because in most of Morris's
films there seems to be a philosophical message hidden below the surface. His characters
synergistically increase each other's effectiveness. The whole of each film is greater than the
sum of its parts. One of my goals in editing was to connect each subject to the others; to create
a flow that allows each character to illuminate and amplify the assertions of the others.
Morris claims to have a pessimistic outlook on the world. He says, " I am a secular anti-
humanist. There is a simple reason. Religion is nasty and so is mankind" (Morris, The Grump).
He is a pessimist, a skeptic. Therefore his method for understanding the world and finding truth
utilizes finding what is wrong. He exposes the misconceptions, fallacies, and lies we tell each
other and ourselves. Morris believes we all want to be connected to the world by
understanding what is true, but we deny the truth to avoid the underlying meaninglessness and
chaos. Like Morris, I believe we all want to be connected; we all want to find truth and meaning28
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Crawford, Jim D. “Inside Story”, thesis, May 2014; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc500092/m1/33/?rotate=90: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .