Paradise Lost: The Child Murders At Robin Hood Hills

In May of 1993, West Memphis, Arkansas was hit with a horrific tragedy: a triple homicide. The three victims were Chris Byers, Michael Moore, and Stevie Branch. All three boys were just eight years-old. People in the community were distraught, and some even referred to West Memphis as "Hell". After about a month, investigators soon came to the conclusion that three teens, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr., were the killers. In 1996, HBO released a documentary, Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, following the case. It was directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky. The documentary featured interviews from parents, lawyers, and even the suspect themselves. It also had footage from the crime scene, courtrooms, and inside the jail where the suspects were kept. The documentarians purpose was not only to show the facts surrounding the case, but they also were there to show how a few cameras could affect a murder trial and the viewers watching. They achieved their purpose through the strategic use of the camera and how they edited the film.
When interviewing people, they didn't just stick to one type of shot. The documentarians choose to use a mixture of long shots, medium shots, and close- ups. Each shot helped show the emotion of the person being interviewed. Toward the end of the film, the filmmakers started to include extreme close ups of the people being interviewed. These scenes were very uncomfortable to watch since they were so close to the person's face. However, this type of shot allowed the viewer to see more emotion than ever before. Also, when they were filming the crime scene, they would use a lot of tracking shots. This allowed the viewers to get the feeling that they were really there and involved with the case. It put this unimaginable crime into