This document discusses documentary filmmaking and provides guidance on creating documentaries. It explains that documentaries rely on non-fiction forms and the director's vision shapes the approach. Common documentary styles are reviewed like expository, observational, and personal documentaries. Advice is provided on finding a subject, conducting interviews, shooting b-roll, scripting, and completing a group documentary project. The overall message is that documentaries tell true stories and understanding different approaches helps find an effective style.

1. Non-fiction Production

2. Why Documentary?
 Whether we like it or not, we will most
likely need to be engaged in some sort
of non-fiction production in our careers
 What are some program formats that rely on
documentary forms?
 Just like fiction filmmaking the vision of
these is determined by the director, for
good or for bad
 Retro Training Video
 The Archive

3. Documentary Approaches
 What are the primary approaches of each
of these modes?
 News: Leprechaun in Alabama
 Expository Documentary: Ken Burns, History
Channel, BTAD Marketing
 Observational: High School
 Interactive/Cinema Verite: Grey
Gardens, Chapter 10
 Personal: Super Size Me, Chapter 16
 Propaganda: Triumph of the Will, Why We Fight

4. Corporate Documentary
Exercise
 Pair up with 1-2 people
 Find a documentary style video from one of
these companies
 Vmgstudio520.com
 Trifilm.com
 Pyramideproductions.com
 4thavemedia.com
 Answer the questions that are on the
handout
 Share your video with the rest of the class

5. Taking your own approach
 Ultimately, it’s about finding your own
style and telling the stories that you want
to tell
 Jacob Hinmon

6. Where do we start?
Know your audience. Know your purpose.
Photo by Thomas Hawk, licensed under CC

7. How should we shoot a
documentary?
 Figure out how you want to
tell the story
 Expositional documentary
forms are good for trying to give
viewers an overall approach to
a certain subject
 More personal documentaries
allow the viewer to extrapolate.
Viewers learn about a topic
through their experience with
the subject

8. Typical Documentary Workflow
 Decide your purpose/focus
 Have your subject sign a release form
 Interview your subject
 Sit down interview vs. working interview
 Be sure to remember good interviewing techniques
 Shoot B-Roll
 Think about what kind of b-roll you can get before
you shoot the interview
 You want to make a logical connection between an
image and the words of the interview
 Gather any additional graphics that you might
want to use in the edit

9. B-Roll Exercise
 Think of a person that you know.
Imagine that you were going to do a
documentary on their daily job
 What would be your focus?
 What questions would you ask them?
 Write a list of 5 shots that you would gather
for B-Roll
 What are the best ways to phrase
questions so we get good responses?

10. Documentary Scripting
 On longer documentaries, you will want
to use some kind of scripting technique
 Usually an assistant will go through the
footage and transcribe the interview
 The director can then go through the
transcription and decide which portion of the
interview they want to include in the final edit
 Sometimes the documentary will be written
out in a two-column script format

11. Group Project 2: Documentary
 For this project you will be working with
your group to create a 2-3 minute
documentary
 All of the shots should be properly
lit, exposed, and focused