Making a documentary

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 5

Making a documentary

What is a documentary? 

A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education, or maintaining a historical record".

There are several types of documentaries

1 Poetic mode

Poetic Mode

A poetic documentary eschews linear continuity in favor of mood, tone, or the juxtaposition of imagery. Since poetic documentaries often have little or no narrative content, the director of photography is often asked to capture highly composed, visually striking images that can tell a story without additional verbal context. Leni Riefenstahl’s Olympia (1938) is an example of a poetic documentary that focuses on visuals and artistic style to help reveal an inner truth.

Expository Mode

Expository documentaries set up a specific point of view or argument about a subject and often feature “voice of God” style voice-over. For expository documentaries, the cinematographer is responsible for collecting footage that supports and strengthens the spoken argument of the film, including stock footage, archival footage, b-roll, or re-enactments of historical events. The Dust Bowl (2012) is filmmaker Ken Burns’ historical account of the disastrous drought that occurred during the Great Depression. Burns uses photos and facts to supplement the causes and impact of one of the worst droughts to plague North American farmland.

Participatory Mode

Defined by the interaction between the documentary filmmakers and their subject. Therefore, a cinematographer is equally responsible for capturing the interviewer as he is the interviewee. Participatory documentaries, also known as interactive documentaries, often present the filmmaker’s version of the truth as “the” truth, focusing on direct engagement with subjects and capturing real emotional responses and interactions. Many of the interactions that are captured support the filmmaker’s point of view or prove the film’s intent. Many of Michael Moore’s documentaries, like Bowling for Columbine (2001), are participatory but also blend elements of observational and performative modes.

Observational Mode

Observational mode: A style of documentary embraced by the cinema verité movement, observational documentaries attempt to discover the ultimate truth of their subject by acting as a fly-on-the-wall—in other words, observing the subject’s real-life without interrupting. Cinematographers on observational documentaries will often be asked to be as unobtrusive as possible in order to capture their subjects in a raw, unguarded state. An example of this direct cinema type of documentary is Primary (1960), a film chronicling the Wisconsin primary between John F. Kennedy and Hubert H. Humphrey.

Reflexive Mode

Reflexive documentaries focus on the relationship between the filmmaker and the audience. Since the subject matter is often the process of documentary filmmaking itself, a cinematographer will shoot behind-the-scenes style footage of the entire film production process, including editing, interviewing, and post-production. Dziga Vertov’s reflexive documentary Man With a Movie Camera (1929) made history with its actor-less presentation of urban Soviet life.

Performative Mode

Performative documentaries focus on the filmmaker’s involvement with their subject, using his or her personal experience or relationship with the subject as a jumping-off point for exploring larger, subjective truths about politics, history, or groups of people. A cinematographer is often asked to capture the documentary production process, as well as intimate footage that illustrates the direct and often personal relationship between filmmaker and subject. Supersize Me (2004) by filmmaker Morgan Spurlock documents his experience eating only McDonald’s fast food for 30 days, chronicling the body issues, health problems, and the ensuing doctor’s visits in an attempt to question the food sold at the famous fast-food chain.

How to prepare for your documentary

Before you start rolling the camera .....

read part 1 of the next page.

www.wikihow.com

01:46

1 Audio

Do not underestimate the importance of audio. Your project will also be judged on the basis of your English, which means that if the sound is not adequate, this will mean a worse grade than you might deserve. Mind you: wind in your microphone will spoil the whole effect.

03:01

Location

Always find a location that is quiet and easy to look at. Movement in the background may take away the focus on the person interviewed.

04:03

Make a transcription

After an interview make a transcription of it. This will make it easier to find the answers that you want to include in your interview.

05:12

Know your camera well

You should not have to experiment with your camera while shooting the documentary. This will spoil valuable material.

How to write a script

Read the next page and watch the clips. Documentary maker Ken Burns gives you tips about the process of writing a script.

www.masterclass.com

Look at the rubric

In Moodle you can find a rubric which will be used to judge your script. Look at it, so that you know how to improve it.

Watch documentaries

https://watchdocumentaries.com/

https://topdocumentaryfilms.com/

https://documentaryheaven.com/

The Documentary

If you do the documentary on your own, it should last between 5 - 7 minutes. If you do the documentary with more people, it must be longer: 10 - 14 minutes for two, etc.

Make clear who is responsible for which parts.