The document provides an analysis of the documentary film "The Act of Killing" directed by Joshua Oppenheimer. It summarizes the film's background on the Indonesian killings of 1965-1966. The documentary interviews Anwar Congo and other men who helped the army kill over one million alleged communists. They reenact their killing techniques. The analysis covers the film's participatory documentary style, narrative structure through Anwar's perspective, production focusing on his point of view, and camera work including close-ups, shots, and tracking shots. It concludes the film provides a powerful message that people can change and bring awareness to genocide.

1. Media Industry Awarness – Assignment 1
Joseph Lane
Headings of Assignment 1
 Introduction
 Aim of Assignment
 Objectives & Methodology
 Storyline/Background/Themes within the Documentary
 Type/Modes of Documentary
 The Narrative Structure
 Production Style
 The Camera Work
 Editing of the Documentary
 Conclusion
 Bibliography
Introduction: The Documentary I will be using for my analysis will be The Act of
Killing.
Aim of Assignment:
The aim of this assignment is to watch one of the two Documentary’s provided
on the brief and type up an analysis of the chosen pieace with the provided
headings.
Objectives & Methodology:
 In order to display an effective analysis certain objectives must be met.
Objectives include the following: Using Secondary research (Internet) –
(Links on VLE) and info on slide to learn and understand internally how and
why certain methods work.
 To learn and evaluate the concept of the Documentary and themes involved.
Methodology:
During the filming of The Act of Killing a method was used where a location was
opened for the actors to reonact their artistic killings and tourcher tecniques re
imagining the vivid events of graphic nature on camera. The evens were
documented as it transformed exploring the thin line between imaginatoin and
extreme violence giving the audience a vived look into the minds of these
criminals.

2. Media Industry Awareness – Assignment 1 – Joseph Lane
Storyline/Background/Themes within the Documentary:
Background:
The Act of Killing is a 2012 Documentary film directed by (Joshua Oppenheimer)
and co – directed by (Christine Cynn). The Act of Killing oriantates around
individuals who participated in the Indonesian killings of (1965-1966.) The Act of
Killing is a Danish-British-Norwegian Co-Production, presented by Final Cut for Real
in Denmark. It was produced by (Signe Byrge Sorensen) and executive producers
(Werner Herzog) and (Errol Morris.) The Act of Killing also won best
documentary at the 67th
(BAFTA) awards.
Story:
When the government of Indonesia was overthrown by the military in 1965
Anwar and his friends were promoted from small time gangsters who sold movie
theatre tickets on the black market to death squad leaders. They helped the army
Kill more than one million alleged communists, ethnic Chinese and intellectuals
in less than a year. Anwar being the executioner for the most notorious death
squad in his city killed hundreds of people with his own hands.
The Act of Killing is about the killers who won in the society they created. Anwar
and his friends have never been forced by history to admit their sinister actions
against humanity, instead they have now become role models for many young
Paramilitaries.
Themes within the Documentary:
Whats so interesting about the Act of Killing is the unique surcomstances in which it
was maid. The theme concept in my opion is Crime/Genocide/Corruption. The fact
the Anwar himself and his acomplises where mass murders who carried out crimes of
mass Genocide and curroption in the black Market creating their disturbing sociaty
makes Act of Killing a very different Documentary because of the fact these
murderers got a chance to engage their story in this documentary making them
famous/infamous for the really visual performative reflection demonstrating their
bloodthirsty art for tourcher and murder.

3. Media Industry Awarness – Assignment 1
Joseph Lane
Type /Modes of Documentary:
Act of killing is a participatery and performative documentary. Anwar and his friends
were Mass Murders and agreed to participate in The Act of Killing for Joshua’s vision
to further understand the mind of the crimanal letting them express their actoins
through a fictional performace to act and reflect their story.
Its performative because they demonstrate their actions using special effects and
props, how they killed and tourcherd the people of Maden Indonisha. Sometimes their
friends would act as victoms.
The Narritive Structure:
The Narrative Structure lies within the Act of Killing when we get a good insight to
Anwar and his mental state of mind from the horrific acts he and his comrades
dramatizes organically. Through an observation interview point of view he tells us
how he copes with what he did through drinking away the problems and enjoying
himself. The Narrative displays a serious of per formative acts reconnected by Anwar
and his friends as the Documentary progress to speak to the audience visually how
they carried out their techniques of torcher and murder using special effects and props
within the movie.
We get a personal view of their side of the story during the demonstrations in a direct
natural and visual per formative approach. The story itself speaks louder than words.
It speaks to us with actions. It also shows that Anwar is slightly changing when he is
dancing on the roof doing the ch cha cha dance showing a lighter side maybe even
more positive side into the mind of what is considered the face of evil in the Act of
Killing which could be perceived as an evolution to Anwar’s personality and maybe
small hope for a positive future.
Production Style
The Production style is an American POV reflexive and per formative showing how
Anwar and his friends killed hundreds and hundreds of innocent civilians. We see
their (POV) in the Act of Killing. Observation was the key in the Act of Killing
directly and personally on camera. Cinema Virtue is adapted in the Act of Killing.
The technique concerns notion and truth in reality films so there by getting to the
route of Anwar and how he has changed turning his evil actions into something
creative.

4. Media Industry Awareness – Assignment 1 – Joseph Lane
Conclusion:
To conclude there is a vividly indescribable powerful message that people can
change. The Act of Killing explores and reflects the tempo into the minds of the
Criminals and shows us that we are capable of both great and terrible things but
become more self aware each time and more insightful in ourselves after these
mistakes. To me if feels like it’s not just a performance it’s more that Anwar and his
friends are expressing themselves with all they know. Anwar demonstrates awareness
in the story of the terrible things he did and it leaves you thinking at the end is there
hope for these men to become better people then what they were our will they always
be left with the mental scares of the people they killed in the past. The Act of Killing
is a once in a life time Documentary that will live on, educate and hopefully make
people aware of Genocide and other horrendous acts of crime..
Camera work :
The act of killing displays a range of creative and innovating camera angles. Below
are some of the following shots taken in The Act of Killing.
Close ups shots where used: They’re very important shots building block in
cinematic storytelling.
Medium shots where used: This shot t utilizes the most common framing in
movies, shows less than a long shot, more than a close-up.
Long shots where used: This type of shot depicts an entire character or object
from head to foot. Not as long as an establishing shot. Aka a wide shot.
Tracking Shots where used: This shot follows a subject be it from behind or
alongside or in front of the subject. Not as clumsy or random as a panning shot,
an elegant shot for a more civilized age.
Bibliography:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLQxVy7R9qo
 http://www.motherjones.com/mixed-media/2014/01/act-killing-
joshua-oppenheimer-anonymous-indonesian-director-interview-
genocide
 http://www.pbs.org/pov/theactofkilling/interview/
 http://theactofkilling.com/