Documentary theorists: John Grierson, Producer of ‘Night Mail’ 1936

 

Dr. John Grierson CBE (1898-1972) studied Philosophy at Glasgow University, but was drawn into filmmaking through the post graduate study on the influence of mass media on public opinion. Grierson is most famous for his Groundbreaking work on the Scottish herring fleet, drifters, had its premiere in 1929 alongside other famous filmmakers like the first British showing of Eisenstein Battleship Potemkin. In 1936 he produced the famous documentary Night Mail, directed by Harry Watt with the script of W.H.Auden and score by Benjamin Britten. 

John Grierson  Established the National film Boards of Canada during World War II, and served as UNESCO’s first director of mass communications and public information in 1947. 

There has been much research into Grierson work, many stating that His influence on factual filmmaking was immense, and that it was underpinned by a strong social commitment. It has also been said that the basic force behind his documentary filmmaking technique was social and not aesthetic. 

Grierson Had a desire to make drama out of the ordinary, to set against the prevailing drama of the extraordinary. Critics state that he aimed to bring the citizens eye in from the ends of the Earth to the story, to create his own story of what is happening on the his nose.