Discuss what comments are offered by Clips 1 and 2 regarding the nature of discovery through Frank Hurley’s journey. You must include at least one visual and one aural technique in your discussion.
In the documentary The Man Who Made History (2004) we see Frank Hurley’s journey through World War 1 in capturing photographs to mirror the war. Responders see his several discoveries through an array of techniques, including visual and aural, which end up depicting Hurley’s discovery in a positive or negative light.
At times, there is a rose tinted view on Hurley’s discovery. We see his discovery as revolutionary. This is seen in clip 2, where Hurley is able to produce coloured photos, which were only developed in the late 19th century. It is seen as a great achievement to be able to produce coloured photos while being mobile during a war. The responders sense this achievement through the uplifting non-diegetic music over the montage of photographs. We see again, through the narrator’s introduction, in clip 1, f the documentary, that Hurley’s journey results in a pioneering discovery. She describes his journey as the following; “In his alien place, Hurley struggled with his heavy camera.” Through the word choice, such as alien, struggle and heavy, which depict Hurley’s journey as turmoil, the responders are impacted and forced to believe that due to having such a rough journey to this discovery the discovery must have been exceptional. This is also seen in the beginning through the blizzard that Hurley travels through as well as the background noise of the ‘gale’ that is present as the narrator talks.
In contrast, it is also shown that