How to make a Documentary
1) What is TV? What is a Documentary?...
TV..sits in the corner of a room and produces pictures and sounds. But it's interesting that it can make you laugh, cry, etc. What on TV isn' t a Documentary? Sport? Adverts? Oxfam appeal? The News?
Inserts;..they are stories-in their own way. Little Documentaries. Big Brother; is it a Documentary?
Documentaries are not CCTV because...
A Documentary has a narrative. It is crafted. In CCTV footage, things either happen or they don't.
2) How many words does it take to describe a life?
A Documentary tells a story. A guide to success is finding a good story and telling it well. You are picking out little pieces from the story. 'MOCKUMENTARIES' play around with the boundaries around that. 'BIOGRAPHIES' are a form of Documentary. Whoever's written them has picked out the real good bits.
3) We as human beings are good at filling in the gaps.
'Lonely Hearts'; it's a NARRATIVE. It gets you hooked in. They' ve been selective. They' ve kept it interesting. Used the most juicy bits of information to hook you in.
Nowadays, for a Documentary they record 150 hours of film for about 1 hour of footage. It's about how much information you can fit into the time you' ve got. It's about being SELECTIVE. We as humans are really equipped to fill in the gaps in information with our imaginations.
4) Once upon a time...
You are creating a world that people can exist in.
FORESHORTENING; A technique you can use. eg, using a very close-up lens to exaggerate a fisherman's wrinkles. LONG LENS AND ZOOM IN; flattens image out and makes a really flattering effect on a woman's face.
DAVID LYNCH. Rules of how long it takes for a person to take things in.Editing uses tricks and associations such as this to enhance a story.
Choice of music. Choice of words and images. You are creating a little world people can exist in. TELLING A STORY.
COMMISSIONER; pays for you to work on a film. High level film making costs about £150,000/hour!
CUT-AWAYS and GVs
About a third of a Documentary film maker's time is spent taking what people have said and cutting bits out. Cut about 3/4 minutes of dialog down to about 30 or 40 seconds in order to hold people's attention. That's where CUT-AWAYS are really useful-to join the edited bits together.
How can I create a world?
Look at the situation. What are the interesting bits here? How can I use filming
techniques to enhance the action? What music could illustrate this or make it more interesting?
example; Slyvania Waters film done in Australia. Duped the audience. Played with TRUTH and ENTERTAINMENT balance. Using cutaways of mother shopping with her daughter giving birth even though it was on different days.
Another example; Film about Playwright Nick Dark dying. 'The art of catching lobsters.' Used footage shot on home cameras and music drawing you in. The music and the way it's filmed really draws you into their lives. You get a sense that it's about love aswell as catcching lobsters. It's about an everyday existence. It opens up the world of the characters like a fairytale that you can step into.
Overall issue...
You have to get the balance between TRUTH and ENTERTAINMENT.
Fab activity: How to make a Documentary..on a milk carton! (Thanks Alex!)
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