Guidelines for making a documentary
1.
Subject
Choice – Find a subject some one would have interest in. Always think of a TV viewer, with remote
control in hand, watching TV. The moment
the show is boring...click!...you've lost your audience. Try to think, “Who is my target
audience. Who would want to watch my
documentary?”
2.
Documentaries
are stories - All stories have a beginning, middle, and end. In the beginning we are introduced to the
subject, the characters, we are told what we are to see. We are given the reason to keep
watching. A question to be answered or
conflict to be solved is set up, as in “UFO's: do they exist?” In the middle, the subject is explored, the
question is answered, and the conflict is resolved. The end summarizes the conclusion, or leads
the viewer to further exploration. When
planning your documentary, keep this structure in mind.
3.
Research
– Know your subject BEFORE going out into the field to shoot. Talk to the subject, research online and in
the library. DO NOT discover all the
facts while you are shooting. If you do,
it always comes through in the doc that you didn't really know the subject, you
weren't an expert, and the viewer begins to want to change the channel. Viewers want to watch programs made by subject
experts, not amateurs. Not knowing your
subject, or discovering details while shooting is always obvious.
4.
Take
an angle (point of view) on the story – My example is the Humane Society. Approach the story from the perspective of a
little girl who wants a dog. What must
she prepare for? Can she qualify to be
a pet owner? Can she meet the
responsibility? What does she learn at
the Humane Society? What does the Humane
Society offer and how do they help? Does
she successfully obtain a dog? How does
it turn out? Or, approach it from the
perspective of an animal that ends up in the Humane Society. Where did it come
from? How was it found? What does it go through at the Humane
Society? What potential owners does it
meet? How does it interact with the people
and animals at the Humane Society? How
is it cared for? Does it get an
owner? What happens to pets that don't
find owners?
Researching your topic will give you
the answers BEFORE shooting. This allows
you to make sure you get certain shots, sound bites, and interviews that you
will need to successfully tell the story and make it interesting.
5.
Shoot
interviews first, if possible – You may learn new things your research didn't
reveal, or even discover a new story angle.
Have questions prepared that probe the subject of the documentary. Put yourself in the viewers' shoes. What do they want to know about the
topic? What will be interesting to
learn? Try to ask open-ended questions
and encourage your subjects to give expanded answers. Encourage them to “be the expert” on the
topic and to use this as an opportunity to tell viewers what they want them to
know. Most importantly, you can now generate
a list of B-roll shots that cover what the person interviewed spoke about.
Some Basics for
Production Aesthetics
- Don't
always shoot interview subjects in their office or home with their back
against a wall, window, or bookcase.
If possible, get them out and around, doing what they do, unless,
of course, all they do is work from their office. Remember, talking heads are boring
(click!). People doing things are
much more interesting. At a
minimum, plan extensive B-roll over any talking heads you shoot. If you must shoot them in a confined
space, try to get them far off the back wall to create depth in the shot,
and/or consider using a green or blue background that can later be keyed
out to provide and interesting background.
A blue or green screen can be easily created with an old sheet and
Rit dye available at Publix. Make
sure to iron and fold the dyed sheet for storage and travel. Chroma keys
don’t like wrinkles. Study techniques for properly lighting chroma
key: Here is one example:
http://www.signvideo.com/ltchromky.htm
- Get
good audio – use a lav or shotgun on a boom. Interview subjects with a hand held mic
in their hand is a dead giveaway to an amateur production. Minimize use of the camera mounted
shotgun. The camera mic is good for
“natural sound” during B-roll, and not much else. Be aware of potential background noise, cars,
and planes nearby. Don't be afraid
to shoot “take 2” or ask your subject to repeat something if the sound was
unusable. Don't forget to get at least 30 seconds of area tone (natural
sound of the room and/or environment) at every location you shoot. Trust me; it may be critical during
editing. ALWAYS USE HEADPHONES TO
MONITOR AUDIO WHEN RECORDING!
- Use a
tripod whenever possible – camera shake only worked on one project in the
history of production (Blair Witch) and none of those guys are still
making movies (true story).
- Pan,
tilt, and zoom slowly and smoothly (see above) – give your viewers a
chance to see what's on screen.
Remember, not every one has a big screen TV. Let the camera roll a few seconds prior
to making a zoom pan or tilt, and after the move, let the camera settle at
the end of a move and roll a few seconds more. This also helps tremendously during the
edit.
- Lighting
– don't be afraid to put up a light or bounce card to make your scene look
better. Poorly lit video is another
dead giveaway to an amateur production.
IF POSSIBLE, ALWAYS SHOOT A WHITE CARD UNDER THE SAME LIGHTING
CONDITIONS AS YOUR SUBJECT AT EVERY LOCATION. RECORD THIS ON TAPE. The cameras you are using have both auto
and manual white balance. I'm not
telling you to turn off the auto white balance, but having a true white
source on tape for reference will help you if you need to color correct
later.
- Use
the rule of thirds (look it up:
http://photoinf.com/General/KODAK/guidelines_for_better_photographic_composition_rule_of_thirds.html)
when framing your shots and be aware of the background – if everything is
always in the center of your composed shot, it begins to look boring
(click!). If your background is
distracting, your viewer may lose interest in your production (click!). Watch out for shadows (especially those
caused by your own lighting). They
are EXTREMELY distracting.
- Use
depth of field (Understand how to create it. Look it up:
http://smad.jmu.edu/dof/) – Look at films.
Often the subject is in focus and the background is slightly out of
focus. This “focuses” the viewers’
attention on the subject and in general gives your production a more
professional look. I suggest researching
depth of field (DOF), but in general, move the camera farther away from
subjects and zoom in (use a tripod).
Long focal length (zoomed in) lenses have less depth of field (less
DOF is what you want). Use low
f-stops, lower lighting. Use the
camera's ND filter. It's like
sunglasses for your camera and will allow you to open the f-stop on the
lens. Lower f-stops create less
depth of field. Explore using
diffusion and other picture enhancing filters in front of the lens while
shooting. As you can see, this is
somewhat technical. Read up on it.
Learn it, know it, live it.
- Use a
video monitor in the field if possible.
You always want to see what you're shooting is going to look
like. Consider investing in one of
your own. Learn how to calibrate it
so you are seeing the actual picture you are shooting. Here is a how to
calibrate link, but you can Google others:
http://pdf2html.pootwerdie.com/pdf2html.php?url=http://www.synthetic-ap.com/tips/calibrate.pdf
- Use
music to set the tone of your production – music is a strong motivator and
can increase emotional response to your production when properly
used. Try to make creative choices
with music and don’t feel forced to use it in every instance, or even in
every scene of your production. Use
it when and where it will make a positive difference. Don’t violate copyright! Try:
http://www.copyright.org.au/information/specialinterest/film.htm
- Sound
tells the story - When editing, put your story together using audio
first. Here’s how: After researching and shooting your
material, make an outline structure of your doc. Write notes regarding sound bites and
interesting footage you’d like to include in your production (note tape
names and timecodes from interviews and footage shot in the field). Write the voice over narration script
that will explain and tie together the elements of your documentary story. Don’t feel compelled to use every word
an interviewee says. Summarize much
of the information from interviews into your voice over and only use
important or poignant sound bites to emphasize, or give color and
personality to your project. Be a
strict content editor. If it’s not
pertinent to the story or doesn’t move the story forward, cut it out! Record
your scripted voice over segments, using your own voice as a scratch track
and do a rough edit to the timeline of your voice (audio only) and your
various subjects voices (with audio and video) to form the story. When you play this back, you should be
able to close your eyes and listen to it as if it were a radio documentary
on NPR.org. This is called a “radio
edit.” Then, go back and add in your B-roll video shots to highlight what
is being talked about and to make the story flow, covering up any jump
cuts and unwanted talking head video along the way. Add music, natural
sound (from B-roll), and sound effects (if necessary). Not every video shot needs a voice
over. Some shots can have natural
sound, or nat sound and music, or just music. If you like, you can have a more
professional voice over talent re-record your voice over narration script
and edit that over your voice scratch track. You’re ready for PBS, Discovery Channel,
and the Sundance Film Festival!
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