Jimin's Production Diary - Tumblr Posts
Jimin’s Production Diary Documentary
Things I learned or confirmed
When Jimin does new projects, I’m never quite sure what to expect because each of his products has been so diverse and creative. Based on every project so far, what I am sure of is that I’ll be delighted by whatever he creates and/or will learn something from it - usually both. I have enjoyed all of Jimin’s solo songs within the BTS catalog. I have also liked his solo creations outside of BTS. My appreciation and enjoyment were even more heightened with his impressive debut solo album, FACE. For me, it is a no skip album, which is rare for me. I already wrote my pre- and post-release thoughts about the album and its contents in other posts (See my FACE posts in my archive for more.), so I won’t go back into that information. This time I wanted to speak more about Jimin’s Production Diary documentary, which shows the making of the album.
I’m really glad they released the documentary for several reasons. For me, I learned a method of how songs can be made. I definitely didn’t know any process by which this was done, and I’ve always wanted BTS to show more of their development activities. However, with competition, I understand why they haven’t revealed details of these methods. In this documentary, I also got to know Jimin more and got to hear his laughter, which is always delightful for me. For others who may have doubts, the release of the documentary was to make sure there was recorded evidence that Jimin was involved in the process 100%. I feel that is one of the reasons that Jimin released photos of his handwritten, songwriting notes within the WeVerse version of his album. Another reason for the photos may have been that some of the lyrics he loved could not be used in the final recordings, but he wanted fans to know a fuller version of what his story and words were.
Jimin has previously said he is good at creating melodies, and this documentary verified that. In addition to this album, prior melodies have been attributed to Jimin both in his solo projects (i.e. Promise; Christmas Love) and in BTS content (i.e. Friends; Blood, Sweat, & Tears; Dis-ease). When they were recording Dis-ease, a producer heard Jimin humming something to a beat and asked him to work with that to write a bridge for the incomplete song. Jimin's bridge was included in the final recording. The same type of interaction could be seen in the documentary when Jimin was working with legendary producer PDogg as well as GhstLoop and Evan. Jimin was constantly pacing around and humming in the background. They’d overhear him, like what they heard, and record it right away into a phone or directly into the track then work from there. Many of the off-the-cuff creations were used in the final drafts.
Included in the BTS book Beyond The Story, Jimin recalled that during the (cringy) BTS reality show American Hustle Life, he was excited that a well known hiphop producer, with whom they were fortunate enough to be exposed at that time, had assigned Jimin to write a melody. He said it was the first time someone entrusted him to do that. It touched him so much that I have heard him repeat this story a few times, and he made sure to include it in the book. I wonder if that producer heard a pacing Jimin humming and thought what he heard was pretty good. Either way, at some point Jimin realized creating melodies was a strength of his. In fact, he called himself an “idea bank” while working with his team on the album (and videos). I’ve heard him previously joke about being the idea man while others would develop the ideas into action. These descriptions were confirmed in the documentary.
After all the hype about autotune being used on Jimin’s voice, the documentary should have proven to people that much of what was thought to be autotune was actually just Jimin’s voice. It’s not to say they didn’t use any at all for creative enhancements (as they do in 99% of songs these days), but in spite of even Jimin’s protestations sometimes, Jimin is a good vocalist. He just has that versatile of a voice that he is able to use more pitches, textures, and articulations (fry, squeak, creak) than most vocalists or more than most people would expect from singers. Despite the documentary showing them recording gibberish as words to capture the tune of the melody they wanted (not yet focusing on the final lyrics or singing effort), you could hear what ended up being the final sound of the songs taking shape.
I mention Jimin’s protestations about his voice because lately, Jimin has been asking fans to wait for him because he will become a good singer. I’m astonished by those comments because I actually think he is a great singer already. He is able to sound uniquely different, express emotion, and add flavor more than most singers I have heard. Can everyone add to and improve skills they are already good at? Of course. But it sounds as though he is implying that he is not a good singer yet - which could be a mistranslation of what he means. A listener can say they do not prefer his voice, but to say he is in any way a bad singer is just spitefully inaccurate.
Early on, as Jimin was learning his craft and using his untrained voice, there were vocal strains and occasional inconsistencies that likely made him concerned about the stability of his voice. (See my “Chameleon Park Jimin Series” in my archives for more.) Jimin was not trained properly (or at all) to be a singer and especially to be a stage singer (which is different in some ways) and with his higher pitch, lighter tone, and all the dancing and movement they do, he did an excellent job with stability but would have benefitted from instruction about how to use and preserve his voice most effectively and reliably. With as unique a voice as Jimin has, I do wonder if the company had anyone on hand that understood just how to train a voice such as his. Jimin, in large part, is a self-trained singer, which may have allowed him to tap into all these different sounds and skills that other vocalists don’t always do. (I am not excusing or rewarding the lack of training because he also could have damaged his vocal chords, thus destroying his rare vocal gift.) Anyway, he says he is working on strengthening and (re)learning some skills from the ground up, which could only help to enhance an already stellar ability.
Along with debunking the autotune nonsense, the documentary also confirmed a few other things that I already knew. One is that Jimin thrives from interactions with people. He really enjoyed that process of collaboration with his production team. I hope he continues to surround himself with skilled and supportive people, such as what he seemed to have in the “Smeraldo Garden Marching Band”, which is what the team of 4 named themselves. I don’t recall the reason for the name, but it demonstrates the fun and camaraderie the group had while working together. Jimin was also shown reaching out to RM for advice about lyrics and to JK to sing background vocals on a special song. He has mentioned having conversations with JHope that sounded like encouragement throughout the process. Jimin is a people person, and he is getting better at reaching out for help and support, something he has said in the past he has had trouble doing. I hope he is able to continue to identify good, reliable, trustworthy people with whom he can work comfortably and create more enjoyable work.
Another confirmation was that Jimin was celebrated for the Hot100 #1 chart achievement with not one, but two cakes! (See my “As Information Unfolds” post in my archives for more.) I’m glad that he and the team were recognized at least within the company for the accomplishment. In spite of the fact that I feel someone dropped the ball on not revealing the acknowledgement earlier, I wasn’t one who was hugely disturbed by the lack of cake, especially knowing that Jimin doesn’t really love sweets and cakes and that he unfortunately still has weight/dieting issues and worked to lose too much weight before the promotional performances. The documentary showed him go from what looked like a healthy weight while working on the album to an extremely thin weight by the time the Hot100 news came out, when he was in the midst of promotional activities. I looked up the healthy weight for someone of his height, and the goal he was trying to maintain during promotions is far below what is listed. (He mentioned weight, dieting, & food several times this year from Vibe to FACE, but this comment was specifically in a behind the scenes video for Set Me Free, Part 2.)
Finally, the documentary confirms that Jimin is growing and developing in a lot of areas, while remaining sweetly and comfortably the same Jimin we came to love and enjoy. I really was pleased to see him being encouraged by the acceptance and use of his contributions. The team helped Jimin pull together his thoughts, story, and concepts, and they were all pleased with the results. (Prior to the release of FACE, PDogg posted a photo of a statement they hung on the wall that said that Jimin was going to end KPop with the release of this album. That is quite a statement from an experienced producer such as PDogg, even if it was only meant as a statement of encouragement and confidence in the artist.) Even Jimin, who can be rather hard on himself, seemed happy with what he created. I feel this experience was something he has needed in order to shine with the confidence he should always carry. He needed that type of environment and support to help him to feel free to express and expose all the creativity I have always felt he had, and I believe there is far more than we’ve seen so far. I feel Jimin has been reminded of that passion he has known within himself, and he seems excited to share more of his efforts.
While Jimin was very disappointed about the pandemic and all that resulted from the quarantine time, I hope he is able to look back and appreciate events that happened in the midst of that time, which might not have come to pass without that situation. That moment may have helped him get to a road he needed to be on that he had only imagined up to that point. I’m glad he got to experience the production of and success of his album before he has to pause to complete his military service. I hope he can carry the memories and energy generated from this experience to motivate him throughout the time he is serving. I also hope he learned from the quarantine experience that good things can sometimes come from events that seem off track. FACE was an excellent start to Jimin’s solo career, and I look forward to seeing what else he will produce in the future.
Note: I have not yet seen the accompanying full Live or Commentary videos, which may add to my thoughts and fill in more gaps. (UPDATE: To PDogg's claim, Jimin became the first Korean soloist to have album to make the Billboard 200 end of year list [#193]).
Exhibit A: Park Jimin's pretty fingers
He's a world class puppeteer. Those precious fingers constantly pull at my heartstrings.
Also I cannot wait for this to be released! Chapter 2 has so many lovely gifts for us.
Emotional labour.
There isn't enough acknowledgement of the difficult, exhausing work he did to bring us this album. All that emotion being drawn up out of Jimin’s well of experiences is what makes it so amazing. So much time and energy, and without sounding too dramatic, pain, went into the creation of these songs.
We don't deserve him.
UH... DID JK RANDOMLY TAKE A CHAIR FROM JIMIN'S SET ???
I mean there has to be more than those two chairs in the whole of the HYBE building right???
He could have got a chair from anywhere?!!
And JK said he was on his way home so then why does he need a chair at all?
Maybe Jimin was nervous about doing the livestream and watching the documentary for the first time ON AIR.
This album was a lot for him and reliving some of those moments would be difficult.
So i wonder if he asked JK to stop by for moral support.
(I'm thinking of the 2021 birthday welive)
Jimin was so awkward and shy.
This time he was poised and beautifully dressed and made up. He came prepared.
And when JK arrived to give him a helping hand he didnt need it after all... in fact he told JK "you can go now" like he was giving him permission to leave.
When he didnt go quickly enough, Jimin said "hurry up and go" and "take the chair and go".
And why did the staff hand him a microphone?
They must have had one already prepared for him to use.
Did they assume he was joining the live? Did jimin tell them he was coming? They must have thought at least that there was a chance he'd be sitting up there with Jimin.
And who do we think was hyping Jimin up at fhe end of the livestream?
We can guess, i think...
So I guess he needed the chair because he was staying until the end of the livestream.
Still no explanation for why he didn't just sit on a different chair. Was there really no other chair in the room? So many questions...
Jimin's Production Diary: a rambling review
A few notes before we get into this:
I have not seen either Hobi's or Suga's documentaries, yet.
My friends and family hate watching shows and movies with me as I'm very critical. I honestly gave up watching most fictional storytelling content about five years ago because it frustrates me how much I'm frustrated with it. (Unless I'm on a plane, it's the only time that tend to watch any movies/shows. In Sept, I watched The Pez Outlaw - fascinating traditional-style documentary!)
Despite what I'm about to detail, I did enjoy watching all of the content surrounding Jimin's Production Diary and am very happy we got what we did.
THE INTRO: Set the Stage.... or Don't...?
The first two minutes of the Jimin's Production Diary (hereafter referred to as JPD) are clips of the very film that we're about to see, mixed with some that we don't see at all...so basically a Trailer. Now I know I'm in the minority when it comes to opinions on if Previews and Trailers just spoil things but two minutes?? At the beginning of the film we've paid to see? That seem excessive! I'm sure this is a trend on streaming platforms to convince audiences to not click away but I gotta say, I hate it. Jimin himself was confused by it during his live watchthrough.
We switch to an extremely brief meeting between Jimin and the team (hereafter referred to as SGMB), clearly gathering together to talk about the past events. They lead in by bringing up the timeline...And that's all we really get as far as what lead to the start of the documentary. I mean, credit to the editors, it was a perfect line about how Jimin would mess around on the keyboard, cut to the scene where he comes up with a melody they try for the Face-Off intro. It establishes the flow of how the rest if the film will progress - we'll be going through the clips of Jimin's contributions to the album, broken up by song but unless I'm mistaken, we don't see any more footage from this meeting for the rest of the film. I believe we hear a few more lines of it as voiceover but it's not clear. I don't know, it just sets me on a weird tone with this film. We establish the typical interview footage scene with the entire SGMB, so it gives us the impression that what is about to unfold will cover a wider perspective than just Jimin's but we never see any more of it. We go straight to the timeline and old footage.
As we are accustomed to with our beloved JM, he doesn't like telling us the reason why he does most things. There could be many reasons for this, the one that I like the most is that it doesn't predispose the audience to any specific conclusion beyond what meaning we get from the content itself. In my opinion, this is great for art...less so when you're trying to recount history (...but that's a whole debate into politics that we won't go into today!). Either way, the audience of JPD either needs to already know the circumstances, output, and conclusions of the event surrounding this album or they just need to be fine with missing context. (If you're interested in some tiny tidbits regarding the initial direction and overall vision of FACE, be sure to watch the last few minutes of the JPD commentary.) Which brings me to:
CRITICAL POINT # 1 : HYBE does not produce content to inform, they produce content to entertain.
Audiences should set their expectations as such and remember that even though we may feel like we're 'getting the scoop', we are only being given just enough to entertain us. (Sidenote: this is one of the keypoints I evaluate in my Run BTS watchthroughs BECAUSE I got frustrated very early on with how poor of a job their content does when it needs to be informative).
Some points that could have been covered in JPD to give better context:
Jimin deciding to make an album at all.
Jimin deciding to use the specific timeline and subjects in his album. We know it covers what he went through during the pandemic according to interviews he gave during promotions. Clips of those interviews would have been easy footage to insert.
Were these decisions made before he started talking to the team?
The little bit of behind the the scenes for the BE album showed BTS having a themes and keyword discussion extremely early in the project where they were outlining some rough ideas for the album regarding song quantity, general feeling and potential units. Did a similar process occur with FACE?
At what point where the other guys in the team brought in? Jimin only mentions PDOGG at the beginning.
How far did they progress before they decided to start filming for the documentary? From what we can see, most of the footage was self-captured and they even joked about the team being camera-minders during the Quiz Show so it was definitely by design that we got as much footage as we did; that doesn't just happen by accident.
(More on helpful context later)
What's the problem with this? Not much actually, provided the viewer isn't under the impression that they are being educated. We've come a long way from the general public only associating documentaries with National Geographic films about lions stalking prey but there is still the perception of factual evidence being revealed when watching one. And while I wouldn't classify anything in JPD as a lie, there's absolutely a bias at play here more than just selecting a favorite band member. I actually love that the title is Diary rather than Documentary, it's far more accurate. This film is a log of Jimin's highlights during this portion of the album process. The problem comes when people conclude that because that's all we see, that's all that happened. We see very little of the work that the rest of the SGMB did unless it's hyping up one of Jimin's contributions. In fact, we're never really introduced the the team and what their contributions and responsibilities are.
During the Live watchthrough, Jimin referred to himself several times as the 'Idea Bank'. And yes, we absolutely have seen that in him over the years. I love that about him! He is very willing to contribute ideas (which honestly is a skill in its own and shouldn't be downplayed) but the other important parts of any creative process are implementation and editing (something I obviously didn't do here, this post is looong). Once an idea occurs, there may need to be some discussion on how to implement it and also edit out the items that don't serve the whole purpose. The rest of the SGMB demonstrated over and over the ability to take in Jimin's ideas, translate them into a workable format and edit it down. Jimin said it himself during the commentary, 'your discernment is amazing'.
Which brings me to one of the main wars I've seen waged in the JPD discussions: Namjoon's involvement. We see one tiny portion of a conversation with no context before or after. Jimin gave us a little more context during his watchthrough. This specific conversation happened after the team thought they were ready to finalize the lyrics but Namjoon sent them back to the drawing board. (I have vivid memories of English teachers giving me similar advice - usually in poetry units. 'Yes, you rhymed but it doesn't actually mean anything'). There is absolutely more to RMs contribution to be listed in the credits than this one conversation. What we saw here was him giving the team instruction to focus more on the overall direction and intent first to give better support to the labor of lyrics. The irony here is I see the same issue with the structure of JPD.
CRITICAL POINT # 2 : Jimin's Production Diary has little to no direction.
Not every documentary film will flow like a three act play with a classic 'hero's journey' type of storyline but it's very clear that this film was put together by an editing team aftrr the fact and not a director. There was no real narrative structure, journey, or storyline. It was just a portion of the process a very engaging individual went through with a handful of guys to create the music for an album. Something that could have helped would have been having an outsider interview the team, someone with training in putting together a narrative for film to help lead the stories and memories to a conclusion.
Again I go back to questioning the intent and goals discussed when it was decided to capture footage. This must have been a beast for the team to edit, not just due to quantity of footage like Jimin joked about during his Live watchthrough but with sheer lack of direction.
The main emotional journey I experienced as a viewer was when we'd start to hear the melodies and lyrics that would make it into the final version. But that requires the audience to come into this film not only knowing the output but being familiar with it to recognize it amongst other sounds being presented. That's a big ask for any subject matter, let alone in a process we don't regularly see or experience.
WANT TO HAVE A DRINK: The lost song. I don't expect to pick up everything in any film on first watchthrough, especially if it's not in my native language. But it was only after Jimin's Live watchthrough did I realize there was a whole section for this scrapped song. This would have been a great point to highlight jn the developmental arc but it's basically disregarded.
One final tangent before I wrap this up:
SIDE POINT: Original development lyrics are not some hidden treasure trove of true meaning.
It's interesting to see where the thought processes wandered through until the conclusion that is the released version but those lyrics should not be used as weapons against others to determine the one-true-meaning. The artist changed them for a reason. And different versions will absolutely carry different weight amongst individuals but please remember that the development process is lengthy and artists are usually just trying whatever they can think of to get to the point they'd like their work to be, with many steps along the way.
CONCLUSION (I thought this post would last forever)
JPD contains very insightful footage of Jimin's journey in stepping into parts of the music development process that he may not have been so involved in prior. I'm very intrigued to see if it's something he's interested in further developing, both as part of BTS and in any future solo efforts. Like I said at the beginning, I'm very grateful to have seen it but I am not encouraged by any future 'documentaries' the company will be releasing.
Finally! it's done. I feel in a much better place to wrap up the analysis post I started in April comparing Like Crazy to the movie but it's been so long, I need to watch it again. We'll see how long that takes me!
If anyone actually read any portion of this, let alone the whole thing, you are amazing and deserve all the blessings of blonde-Jimin in your life! 💜
jimin's production diary was not a documentary, it was as labeled: a diary. he doesn't have the financial backing from the company that jungkook does because he didn't sign away his rights in his contract like jungkook seems to have done for bh to have more control.
Hi anon,
I'm assuming this was prompted by a comment I left earlier today on another blog's post.
Please allow me to point you at my review post of Jimin's Production Diary, (where I did mention that it was aptly titled as a Diary instead of a Documentary), if you're interested in a looooong review of JPD as a film.
I don't agree with blanket statements on the member's financial backing and rights. That is not information we are privy to and using it in arguments on any side is not going to lead to anything other inflammatory hot takes with little basis in logic.
But you do you I guess. I don't get any joy in those kind of discussions. Been there, done that. There is so much content in the kpop world to occupy our time, I'd rather spend it on things I find interesting.
you said the production diary was assembled poorly, and yet you don't want to get into financial backing by the company? the company can keep jungkook's music playlisted for months, but chooses to let jimin's songs drop off playlists because they don't want to pay for it. the writing's on the wall and it shows who decided to allow bh to have more control over their work and it's jungkook. you really think jungkook, who, until seven, said he was sitting on his couch and had no intention on making music, had a documentary crew waiting for him to accept the song and film everything from that moment to his album release? the company planned it and you know that. it's ridiculous to not discuss that when you're a shipper.
Oh anon, your timing is impeccable. I was just discussing the other day how I don't get these types of asks. I'm answering this one because you briefly touched on a subject I do have some thoughts to share but the majority of this ask is steeped in bad faith statements. I won't be entertaining any further that don't provide for further discourse. Like I said before, the fanwars just are not interesting to me, so any of you that are looking to battle on that front will have to go play elsewhere.
Now, back to the parts of your 'ask' that are interesting:
Yes, I dont think too highly of how Jimin's Production Diary was assembled. But I feel that way about most of BTS's content. I've reviewed over 80 episodes so far of Run BTS and 66% of my rankings are mid to poor. (Sidenote to any that are following along with these, I know I'm so far behind on my postings. The next Episode has proven to be a challenge making the silly gif so I end up using the time to watch more instead of post. I'll get back to it eventually.)
Anyway, like I said at the start of my JPD post, I'm a very critical consumer when it comes to film so I always find something to critique. That doesn't mean i don't enjoy it or find value in the content. Quite the contrary actually; if I didn't enjoy it, i wouldn't spend the time evaulating. The part where you and I seem to be misaligning is, you seem to think any critique can be used as evidence in whatever battle you've decided to wage. Alas, that's a lesson you'll have to learn for yourself. Here's something I CAN help you learn though:
There's a spectrum in the planning and execution pipeline of knowing how the content will be released. Not every piece of content we receive is released as it was planned. Sometimes, it will be captured without having any definite plan for release at all. Let's go through some examples:
On one end of the spectrum is BTS's music videos. As a key component of the main product, these have the utmost level of planning. It is clearly outlined how this content will be released. The edit is highly controlled and scrutinized. The scope is defined, everyone involved knows what the goal is and what the deliverable requirements are for their participation. Another example of this level of planning would be their brand deals, commercials, ambassadorships, etc.
Below that, I'd actually list current Run BTS. This show has evolved over the years but the last chunk of episodes as very formulaic. They clearly have some dedicated resources that ensure the quality aligns with the approved standards. This is why brands have been able to sponsor specific episodes. They are able to make assurances about exactly how their brand will be featured, they content surrounding it, and an expected level of engagement.
But Run BTS wasn't always this way. In the early stages, it's very clear that they didn't have everything nailed down and some episodes were expanded into multi-parters when they likely weren't planned that way. There is a lot more to say about some supposition I have regarding the development of Run as a show but I'd like to get through reviewing all of the episodes first.
Next, I'd like to talk about Are You Sure?!. I'd wager this show was initially pretty small scope-wise. Yes, it was always going to be a travel show and when I say small, I don't mean impact/anticipation. I mean the scope of production: the idea to create a travel show with only a partial roster of members. There was absolutely some likelihood that brands wouldn't be as interested in this kind of show which would impact the kind of content they'd be able to create.
Again, I feel the need to remind us all that there was HUGE speculation regarding BTS's transition to the 'hiatus'. Would it be just one giant pause? Would ARMY stick around? Would there still be enough of a draw for brands to want to continue investing. Shows like Bon Voyage, In The Soop and Are You Sure would typically not be paid for by album sales. There is absolutely sponsorships and a partnership with wherever it is being released.
That's what's so interesting about AYS. I'm hoping by the end, we'll have some more clues but right now there's absolutely a possibility that this show started filming without knowing that it would be released on Disney. They could have shot the bits in the US as proof of concept to shop it around. They knew they'd be able to direct release on WeVerse even if it didn't get bought. So the risk is relatively low but still none of us are privy to the details of their partnership with Disney as a distributor so any statements made in that arena are purely speculative.
Like I said in my AYS ep.1&2 post, Jimin was leery enough of the content they captured to state that it might not get released. JK also makes a statement in ep.3 that he's not sure if this content will be classified as a new season. Which leads me to a point that I was expecting to talk about at some point in the airing of AYS:
Don't forget that certain elements known to us when we consume content, are not known to the members when they are filming it. In regards to AYS, we know exactly how many episodes there will be and the locations of these episodes. We know roughly how long the members were in each location. We know exactly was other content has been released as of the time AYS is airing. Even if they already had the deal with Disney in place, and if the release dates were already blocked in, there's no guarantee of the surrounding content. We've seen that they do shift around and delay their album releases. We know it, they know it, I just see many people forget that there are certain variables that surround any content released by BTS.
Getting back to JPD, the content left me wondering about the scope. I still haven't been able to properly watch any of the other BTS documentaries released on Disney so I can't yet form any thoughts if there's any discernable differences in content that was released there vs weverse. It's absolutely something I'll be on the lookout for when I am able to watch.
I'm not really sure how to wrap up this post since you didn't actually ask me any questions other than listing statements I didn't make for verification. Hopefully you're at least open to discourse rather than declarations but in either case, there is always more we can learn about the content we consume.
okay then my question is what is your aversion to talking about the discrepancies of financial backing between jimin and jungkook from the company? why do you not want to discuss how jimin is the one who primarily filmed his production diary? he said from his mouth that evan is the one who would be in charge of the camera and set things up. it's tedious to comment on jimin's production output (from a shipper no less) and to not comment on the lack of company support in comparison to jungkook's output that has full company support. it'd be interesting to hear your thoughts on jungkook's documentary knowing full well how much money the company has put into his solo career.
Hello again anon,
Thank you for asking a question this time. As to why I have nothing further to discuss on this topic, it's simple. There's literally no way for us to accurately conclude what the root cause of the supposed differences in quality between the 'documentary' projects. It should be obvious but comparisons between JPD and JKs documentary are literally impossible right now. It hasn't even been released. But mostly because much of the evidence required for such an investigation will never be available to us as the audience and not participants in the production.
Allow me to further elaborate:
The widely-accepted process for such a question is to complete what's called a Root Cause Analysis (RCA). There are dozens of ways for approaching this, and one of the points of the RCA is to denote why any particular method was applied. It's not rare that multiple methods will be utilized for the same investigation either in cases where the Risk/Impact is high enough.
Here some diagrams of common methods:
In this instance, I'd likely start with the fishbone diagram and the 6Ms because of the scale of touchpoints. But like I said in my original response to these, there is no way for us to know the details regarding the materials, methods, manpower, etc.
Theorizing is one thing if it's an enjoyable activity but I personally find no joy in fanwars, let alone in investigations that will be inconclusive by design.
So there's your reason why I have nothing to say on the topic now. Maybe I'll have some thoughts to share if I do see JKs documentary and once I'm able to watch all of the others that have already been released but who knows when that will be.
(As a sidenote, calling ppl shippers is not the insult you seem to think it is. I have an odd viewpoint when it comes to shipping spaces due to my ace/aro-ness but I'd recommend you drop that tactic as it doesn't seem to have the impact you're looking for.)