Class #2 - Choosing the Subject for your documentary

1. Week 2
Finding your
Documentary Subject
SHANNON WALSH / SM2229/ FALL 2014
SCHOOL OF CREATIVE MEDIA, CITY UNIVERSITY HONG KONG

2. Documentary Tendencies
“The documentary film has, since its beginning, displayed four
fundamental, often overlapping tendencies or aesthetic functions..”
1. To record, reveal, or preserve
2. To persuade or promote
3. To express
4. To analyze or interrogate
From “The Subject of Documentary” Michael Renov

3. Tips for finding a subject
• Follow Your Passion
• Solve a Problem
• Make it Personal
• Ask a Question
• Say something about the world
• Go with your GUT!
• Find a compelling character

4. Solve a Problem & Ask Questions
• Why did this happen?
• Why does that person act a certain way?
• What went wrong?
• Who did it
• Look for STORIES not SUBJECTS
• Avoid topics that are too broad or overdone where you will
have little room to say anything yourself.
• Fiction structure of Problem, Crisis, Resolution

5. Make it Personal
• First-Person cinema, P.O.V.
• What can you bring through your own point-of-view?
• “5 Broken Cameras”
• “Stories We Tell”
• “Roger & Me”
• “Les plages d’Agnes”
• Mike Hoolboom
• “Little Dieter Wants to Fly”
• “Sona the Other Myself”;
• “Man with a Movie Camera”

6. Ideas for Documentary Films
• Secrets
• Music
• News
• Biography
• Right a Wrong
• Document an Event
• Trends
From https://www.udemy.com/blog/documentary-ideas/
“March of the Penguins”

7. Exploring your Access
• What do you have unique access to?
• Look for a story you could tell about your neighbourhood,
family or friends.
• Do you know someone who is an interesting character?
• Having access is the first KEY to making a documentary?
• Why are you particularly posed to tell this story? Why
now?

8. Developing your Story Ideas
• Collecting Raw Material
• Journals
• Newspapers and Magazines
• Internet
• History
• Myths & Legends
• Family Stories
• Childhood Stories
• Social Science & Social History
• Fiction

9. Testing a Subject
• Self Questioning
• In what area am I most knowledgeable and even
opinionated?
• Is there an aspect of it I could cover well?
• Do I feel a strong and emotional connection to
doing it?
• Can I do justice to the subject?
• Do I have passion to learn more about the subject?

10. Testing a Subject
• Narrowing & Intensifying
• What is this subject’s underlying significance to me?
• What do people know already, and what don’t they know?
• What would I – and most people – really like to discover?
• What is unusual and interesting about it?
• Where is its specialness really visible?
• How
narrowly (and therefore how deeply) can I focus my film’s
attention?
• What can I show (as opposed to narrate?)
Discovering personal connection of a subject, rather than trying to see
it from an imagined audience, usually takes you into new and exciting
areas.

11. Subjects to Avoid
• Worlds you haven’t experienced and cannot closely observe.
• Any ongoing, inhibiting problems in your own life (see a good
therapist, you wont’ find solutions while trying to direct a film!)
• Anything or anyone “typical”
• Preaching or moral instruction of any kind
• Problems for which you already have the answer (so does your
audience.)

12. Tips from the experts
• IFP: You have to go with your gut on this one! Whatever makes you happy, piques your
interest, inspires (or enrages!) and activates is probably going to appeal to someone else.
When you put passion into a project, others can see it. This makes them excited about the
work too!
• Reel Works: You don’t always have to look too hard for your story, sometimes it’s right
in front of you. When choosing a topic, make sure you choose something that you can
relate to and/or something that you’re passionate about. Keep these questions in mind:
What story do you want to tell? Why is it important? Who is your audience? What is your
essential question?
• BAYCAT: My favorite types of stories come from compelling people. It really helps the
viewer connect to a story when the person is vibrant, interesting and a great character. If
you want to make a film about a certain subject, get interesting people to share their
stories and experiences with your audience. At the base of many documentaries is human
connection.

13. Reel Works tips
• Don’t be afraid to take a risk. Take chances!
• Don’t let anyone ruin your vision. Follow your instincts.
• Don’t doubt the potential of your story and never doubt your ability to get it done.
• Don’t underestimate yourself.
• Don’t take “no” for an answer. Ever.
• Commit to the film. Don’t give up no matter how hard it gets along the way. It will get hard. But it will
be worth it.
• It’s scary to get personal. But the real stuff is always the best stuff.
• It’s okay if your story changes along the way; there’s a large chance that your final result won’t be
what you initially envisioned your film to be, and that’s okay.
• You can never have too much footage.