However Christopher Guest does not like his films being called mockumentaries. Though shot in documentary, his movies do not mock like an average mockumentary. According to him his films are character studies of "people who become so obsessed by their world that they lose sense and awareness of how they appear to other people". Guest's affection for his characters is a large part of the appeal to other people.
Whilst guest is parodying the characters, he nevere does it in a spiteful way. However Guest's characters are never very good at what they do and yet take themselves very seriously, which is the basis of the comedy in his mockumentaires. This mockumentary format is one in which Guest has proven himself very funny.
Common traits of Guest's mockumentaires:
- Movies are almost completely unscripted and improvised.
- He shoots ten minute scenes to let the improviation between actors to happen organically.
- He always uses a group of actors including: Eugene Levy, Parker Possy, Fred Willard etc..
- Mock interviews, handheld camera and footage of events are common features of his movies which give off a documentary feel.
- The documentary feel of the movies is never compromised because the actors stay completely in character.
This Is Spinal Tap:
This Is Spinal Tap is a mockumentary directed by Christopher Guest. The documentary shows the life of a fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap, touring and promoting themselves.Guest uses similar techniques in This Is Spinal Tap as he does in all of his documentaries to make the band seem real.
The film satirizes the wild personal behavior and musical pretensions of hard rock and heavy metal musical bands, as well as the tendencies of rock documentaries of the time.He captured the look and feel of the 'rockumentary' so well that many people who watched it thought they were a real band, but how did Christopher Guest achieve this?
He does this by using archive footage of the band at concertswhich implies to the audience that this is a real band who have been together for years.The setting of the concert is also very realistic to what a concert would have been like back in the time of when it was set (the 1980's), he gave the concert this realisitc feel by using real props such as guitars that were made in the 1980's and also the clothing of the band and fans which are just two of the things which make the documentary realistic.
The fact that Guests documentary's are unscripted and mostly improvised play a big role in portraying the band as real. This is most effective during their interviews because it portrays a sense of realism and you feel that the interviews havent been scripted and are made up on the spot.
Best in Show:
Best in Show is a mockumentary that was made in the year 2000. It follows five entrants in a prestigious dog show whilst focusing on the slightly surreal interactions among the various owners and handlers as they travel to the show and compete.
Throughout the documentary the footage jumps between each of the owners from preparation for the dog
show to their hotel, backstage and finally to the dog show itself. Guest uses
many techniques which effectively make the mockumentary look realistic such as
the use of handheld camera, almost placing the audience within the
scenes.
Christopher Guest is known for using the same actors as he likes his scripts to be spontaneous, he gives no set scripts, in Best In Show characters seem to overlap and interrupt each other giving the audience the impression that it is real. The exaggeration from each character makes this documentary somewhat humorous but portrays their passion for dogs so well.
Christopher Guest is known for using the same actors as he likes his scripts to be spontaneous, he gives no set scripts, in Best In Show characters seem to overlap and interrupt each other giving the audience the impression that it is real. The exaggeration from each character makes this documentary somewhat humorous but portrays their passion for dogs so well.
