The Mechanics of Documentary Storytelling

The Mechanics of Documentary Storytelling Andy Carvin www.andycarvin.com www.digitaldivide.net [email_address]

What We’re Gonna Talk About
Story structure
Video technique
Scripting technique
Editing technique

Story Structure: 3 Parts
The Tease
The Body
The Conclusion

The Tease
Allows viewer to focus on what the film is about
Introduces one or more principal characters
Establishes setting/location critical to the story
Presents a conflict/set up a problem/asks a question
Sets the tone for the film
Sucks in the audience - hopefully

The Body
The main plot; the meat of the story
Get to know the characters, what they're doing and why they’re doing it
See the action unfold
The body usually makes up 80% of a documentary

The Conclusion
Wrapping up, giving closure
Recaps point of story
Whatever you promised or asked in your tease needs to have been delivered

Example 1: The Soccer Match
Tease: Meet Sarah, the team captain;
Former county champs, going through a rough patch
About to compete against current champions
Body: Get to know the team; what are their strengths?
What challenges do they face?
Experience leadership of coach, individual members
Climax: Match vs the champs. What happens? Who wins?
Conclusion : Reactions of the captain and team mates
How did the experience change them?

Example 2: The Boardwalk
Tease: Establishing shot of boardwalk, montage of activity;
ask what the boardwalk means to Atlantic City
Body: History of the boardwalk; archival footage from
library, old postcards; interviews with community members,
parents, grandparents; today’s boardwalk
Conclusion: Summarize its history; next generation of kids
growing up here; continuity of boardwalk in the life of the
city; end with grandfather and grandkid strolling into sunset

Video Technique
Footage must always serve the story
Establishing shot: wide view providing context
(think sitcoms: Outdoor shot of Cheers, Seinfeld restaurant, Friends apartment in NYC)
Interviews: typically head and shoulder shot - close, but not too close.
Zooming in for intimacy, intensity
Zoom forces viewer to focus on something

Video Technique, Continued
Wider shots to see interview subject in context of a particular situation
Odd angles add intensity ("God shot," MTV shot)
Action style, keeping things moving: either characters move or the camera moves
Lots of “talking heads” feels like TV journalism
Shooting same thing from as many angles as possible - creates more editing options

Scripting Technique
Script follows your story structure:
Beginning, middle, end
(Sounds obvious but not always easy)
Uses at least one of two elements:
Narrator voice and character voice
Most documentaries use both

Script Narration and POV
Narration always has a point of view
Third-Person Narrator
(narrator never seen, just heard; disinterested)
Self-injected narrator (seen, but not in plot - 60 Minutes, TV journalism, Michael Moore)
Character narrator (”I’m Priscilla Presley, and this is our family’s story...")
No narration: characters speak for themselves
Example: Riding the Rails

Scripts are heard, not read
Narration isn't literature - it's oral, conversational
"If a three-syllable word can be said in a one-syllable word, change it!"
- Nat Geo scriptwriter John Goodman
Tone of narration shouldn't vary during the documentary
Multiple narrators don’t always work
Use lots of action verbs - avoid overuse of descriptive adjectives and adverbs.
Let the visuals be your adjectives

Editing Technique: Music
Music can be a powerful element
It’s often a character in its own right
Example: Beach Clip

Editing Technique: Pacing
Pacing of edits affects the tone
Faster edits picks up the pace, but requires more footage!
Slower edits means slower pace, but you get to milk your footage
Example: Parade Clip

Editing Technique: A-Roll vs. B-Roll
A-Roll: your primary footage (interview subjects in particular)
B-Roll: secondary footage used to support interview or narration, also used to cover errors like “jump cuts”
A-Roll is melody, B-Roll harmony
When editing, you generally go back and forth
A-Roll of soccer match - B-Roll of fans - A-Roll of soccer match
Interview subject - B-Roll of what they're talking about - Interview subject
Example: The Guitarist

Editing Technique: The Four Transitions
Cut: simplest transition from one shot to the next, usually in same location and time frame
Dissolve: graduate transition where shots overlap; often used to show change in location/time
Wipe: special effect transition where one scene seems to "wipe away" the other scene
Fade to Black: Scene literally goes black;
end of chapter or story
Example of transitions: India footage

Remember: Always Serve the Story!
All of your tools should be used to contribute
to telling your story:
Video footage
Characters
Narration
Music
Edits
It’s like composing a symphony:
Each instrument contributes to the whole package!

Thank You!
Andy Carvin
[email_address]
www.digitaldivide.net
www.andycarvin.com

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The Mechanics of Documentary Storytelling

by Andy Carvin on Mar 30, 2007

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