Planning for your documentary

1. PLANNING FOR YOUR
DOCUMENTARY

2. ◼Your final deadline for your documentary and your reflective analysis is:
17th April
◼You will need to have a complete final cut of your documentary and a
completed final reflective analysis (1000 words) by this date.
DEADLINES!

3. ◼Your planning should be complete by:
▪ 2nd February
▪ This gives you 3 weeks (including PPE time) to organise a definitive concept for your
documentary and complete associated planning tasks (such as scripts, storyboards, etc)
◼Your filming should be complete by:
▪ 16th March
▪ This gives you 6 weeks to arrange and film your documentary
▪ This also gives you 2 weeks to edit your documentary
◼Your editing should be complete by:
▪ 29th March
▪ This will need to be complete by this date to allow you to write your reflective analysis.
◼You will write your analysis over the Easter break. This will be complete by:
▪ 17th April
▪ This is your final deadline when everything will be reviewed and marked
TARGETS TO HIT

4. ◼This week (during PPEs) you need to start arranging who, where and when
you are going to be filming. This may involve calling venues, people,
writing questions etc…
◼Over the next few weeks you will need to be independently arranging these
shoots and booking out equipment with us.
▪ We have 5 cameras to lend out and 5 sound recorders. You will need both pieces of kit
so make sure you know how to use both before you leave.
◼If you wish to use one of my Film Studies lessons to film in you may,
however you MUST let us know in advance and you MUST NOT miss any
other lessons during the day.
THINGS TO DO NOW

5. ◼You must make sure you have something to do each lesson, you only have
a limited amount of time to create this documentary.
◼If you show up to the lesson with nothing to do and no plan you will write a
timed essay for your documentary film exam.
BE ORGANISED!

6. Worth 60 Marks.
You will make either:
◼ A short 3-5 minute documentary film/film extract on a subject of your
choice
OR
◼ A Step-outline for a 30 minute documentary relating to your research
project (1800 words)
This is worth 45 marks.
You will also need to write a reflective analysis critically analysing your
creative decisions and how well your final product appeals to its intended
audience.
This is worth 15 marks.
Creative Project Outline

7. Production (45 marks)
You will be marked on:
A03: Demonstration of the ability to devise film projects creatively, applying
appropriate planning and production skills effectively.
Level 4
Product
◼ Product fulfils its aims highly creatively and effectively
◼ An excellent understanding of the form and conventions of the chosen
medium
◼ An excellent, highly creative and confident use of the relevant medium
with a strong sense of reaching its intended audience.
Quality of written communication (where relevant)
◼ Excellently structured and accurate use of appropriate language to
communicate clearly.
Mark Scheme

8. Reflective Analysis (15 marks)
You will be marked on:
A02: Apply knowledge and understanding, including some of the common
critical approaches that characterise the subject, when exploring and
analysing films and when evaluating their own creative projects, to show
how meanings and responses are generated.
Level 4
Reflective Analysis
◼ A detailed and perceptive account of the creative process and production
◼ Excellent, perceptive consideration of the relative success of the product
in relation to its aims, audience and context
◼ An excellent sense of how far it has been possible to work creatively
within the conventions of the chosen product’s medium
Quality of (written) communication
◼ Excellently structured and accurate use of appropriate language to
communicate clearly.
Mark Scheme

9. Research Documentaries
You need to research different documentaries to give you inspiration for
your own piece.
This could be in terms of content, or in terms of visual style. No only will this
help you with the making of your film, but you will need to reference this
research in your Reflective Analysis at the end of the unit.
A variety of short documentaries are available online on
shortoftheweek.com or Youtube.
Documentary Prep

10. You should write a brief outline of your documentary before you start the actual project
(product and reflective analysis).
This is outline is a requirement that MUST be completed.
This should include:
◼ Genre of the film
Documentary subgenre of the intended production
◼ Whether it’s a short film or extract (and if so, whether it’s an opening, climatic
sequence, etc)
◼ The target audience
◼ Outline of story/plot
If you are doing an interview based documentary how will your questions build to keep
your audience’s interest?
◼ A rough outline of visual style and key stylistic elements of your production
What setting will your interviews be in?
If you are not interviewing, how will your message be communicated?
◼ Any film issues, concepts and theories addressed in the product
Are you exploring any theoretical ideas or adapting any techniques used by renown
directors of the genre in your production?
Documentary ‘Treatment’ of Aims and Context

11. 1. The topic and style of the documentary is completely up to you, however you MUST be
able to discuss existing films that have inspired your use of conventions in your
reflective analysis.
2. Please share your ideas for your documentary product with others (including your
teachers) to make sure the project is feasible and appropriate before starting.
3. You will need to plan your documentary, creating scripts, storyboards, shot lists and
so on to make sure your filming works and meets deadlines.
4. Your reflective analysis can be a continuous piece of writing (essay) with or without
illustrative material OR in a digital form such as a suitably edited blog or another web-
based format OR as a focussed DVD commentary.
5. It has been decided that this task should be completed individually and that you
are explicitly responsible for your own unique product - this does not preclude you
from working with others to develop similar products and ideas. If you are determined
to work in a group for assessment purposes you MUST provide a detailed WRITTEN
outline (of at least 500 words answering in detail the ‘aims and contexts’) AND a pitch
(that must be presented formally) of your proposed production that in addition also
explains the proposed equitable breakdown of workload and how this will be
managed by the members of your group before approval to work as group is given.
Documentary Prep - Important Notes

12. Now you have decided on your documentary topic and your visual style you
will need to work out what needs to be done to complete your
documentary.
For each of you this will be different, however each of you will have a
considerable amount of work to complete between now and April in order
to complete your documentary. Use your PPE time to make a ‘To Do; list.
This may include:
◼ Contacting potential interviewees
◼ Writing interview questions
◼ Finding/writing a voice-over
◼ Finding archive footage
◼ Finding an appropriate soundtrack
◼ Scouting locations for cut-aways or interviews
◼ Planning a plot/narrative
◼ Planning times to film your participants
◼ Editing your documentary
◼ Writing your Reflective Analysis
Personal Planning