THE SIX STEPS IN DOCUMENTARY
FILMMAKING
|
1- Research /Casting
Themes/Story
Question
A strong set of main
characters can make or break
your movie. I consider the
selection of your "cast" as
important as your Story
Question or Themes.
The folks you choose to
profile, the
families, the uncles, the
main people in your film
should be able to break-thru
to the viewer.
What do I mean by strong
characters?
Powerful personalities do
not have to be loud people....they
can be steely
calm...heartfelt and
sad...but they must
penetrate the clutter
of mundane, monotone life to
make your film work.
If you are doing a theme
based film, such as
Green Buildings...find an
architect that can inspire
your audience...don't
rely on book and school
credits alone.
Think about the
documentaries you love the
most,
9 out of ten times it is the
CHARACTERS that draw you to
the film over
and over again.
In the
Maysles Brothers 1968
documentary
SALESMAN,
the characters ARE the movie,
and in
BLUE VINYL It's the
filmmaker's parents who
steal the show.
|
|
2-
Shoot all 5 Elements of
Documentary
Don't complain...I could
have made it the 50
elements!
-
Interviews
-
Cutaways
-
Chill Footage (cinema
verite)
-
Process footage
-
Archive
Please click here for an
explanation for each of the
Five Elements of Documentary
Incorporating all five
elements in your production,
helps you avoid a movi e
of comprised of just talking
heads and b-roll.
These are also
helpful in placing a "grid"
over your film's reality..
to guide you in directing
and gathering elements for
your documentary.
|
3- Evaluate your Elements
Watch all your footage and
take notes
The great material rises
to the top.
On paper/computer, organize
interviews into themes.
Create a rough outline, or
write a script.
Click here for tips on
writing News, Scripted
Documentary or Marketing
video.
If you have not established
your
Story Question
before or during the
production,
now is the time to search
for that One Question you
will answer towards the end
of your film.
This is the key to getting
your audience to hang on
until the end...try to find
or create a question at the
begining of your film..then
answer it later on.
|
4- Decide Your Story Telling
Method
- Text
-
Narration
-
People in the film tell
the story
How are you going to tell
your story?
-
White Text on Black
Background
is an
elegant
way to provide
information,
-
Strong narration
can help the viewer
identify with someone as
your story unfolds.
-
Have the people in your
movie tell the story.
A common technique used
on many reality shows,
..the subjects tell the
story with their
interviews.
|
5- Edit
- Set
up Final Cut Pro
-
Capture Footage
- Edit
material
In Final Cut Pro you must
SET the "EASY SET-UP" before
you do ANYTHING.
This
determines the flavor and
standard (NTSC or PAL) of
video you will be editing
with (it should be set at
the sam e
format you shot in).
..Here
is a LINK to a
DVworkshops.com VIDEO
EXPLAINING HOW TO DO THIS.
As in any language,
filmmaking has it's own set
of rules, and techniques. Here
are
Four I feel are important.
Click on each title for more
related information
|
6- Distribution & Marketing
-
-Internet/website
-
-Youtube
- -NETFLIX
- -TV /
Cable
-
-Theatrical
As a documentary filmmaker,
we are blessed with a large
audience hungry on-line for
content.
Over
one million people
have viewed the
documentaries on
my Youtube Channel.
One film alone has had over
330,00 views.
HOW DID I ACHIEVE THIS?
Here are some tips
-
Use the
Google BLOG Search to
find Blogs about your
subject.
-
Sign up for a Google
alert (on the
bottom of the Blog
search page) you will
get an email anytime
someone posts about your
topic.
-
Respond by posting a
comment on these BLOGS
with a link to your
film..often times
this "pops" up in their
Blog as a Video Image in
a player.
Just use your Youtube
LINK, NOT THE EMBED
CODE...Most Blogs
prohibit that type of
code.
This will drive traffic to
your video, and create the
Viral Spiral.
-
Website- It's one
of your points of
sale...you know you need
one.
-
Viral-Posting
on Facebook is really
 effective,
friends can "Share" with
ease, and your
little Youtube icon
shows up...making it
easy for folks to click
and watch...plus
Niche groups spread info
among themselves....very
powerful.
|
Summary:
The
Six Steps in Documentary
Filmmaking
1-Research /
Casting
Themes/story question
development
2- Shoot all
5 Elements of Documentary
Interviews,
Cutaways, Chill Footage,
Process, Archive
3- Evaluate your Elements
Logging and
scripting
4- Decide Story Telling
Method
Text,
Narration, People tell the
story
5-Edit
Condense Interviews, Use
Split edits
6- Distribution & PR
Use Google
Blog Search to market your
film
|
|
| |
|
|
About Us