making documentaries

+A short documentary crash course.

Maria Leonidamaria@karposontheweb.orgwww.karposontheweb.org

+What is it?

Documentary can be a

multi-modal

strong

informative and

expressive

medium

+Think of ALL possible ingredients

still images (photographs)

moving image (video)

sounds, music, speech

titles, effects

and MAINLY story, characters, rhythm

+What makes a documentary creative?

YOUR point of view!

what is your personal opinion?

what story can you tell better than others?

what would you like the audience to think, learn and feel?

+Step 1. How to start?

Be able to answer “what, were, who and why”

+Research

What is your theme?

What story will you say?

Which are the locations?

Who are the characters?

Answer these questions as SPECIFIC and PERSONALY as possible for the area or issue you are studying.

1 sentence for each question!

Exercise 1

+Step 2. Do documentaries have a cast?

Watch and listen carefully to your subjects

+“Casting”

Are the subjects charming or interesting? Will you remember them when you go back home?

Did you learn something from them? What?

How are they connected to your story?

Make a logbook of your characters, answering the previous questions.

Exercise 2

+Step 3. Do locations matter?

Look at your locations: they “speak” too!

+“Scanning” sites for shooting

o Look carefully and find interesting points of view.

o Think of the time of the day that they look more interesting.

o Find details that reveal your theme, e.g.

Find 5 important details that “tell their own story” which CAN become a still image with your camera.

broken trunks of trees could mean

misuse, or building process or…

a footpath sign could mean

people are involved in this form of tourism/ recreation

Exercise 3

+Step 4. Does action matter?

What part of the action helps me understand better the issues I want to show?

+“Breaking down” activities

Think of the action happening in front of you (e.g., people walking, cars parking…)

What exactly are they doing?Why?

Is it important for you? E.g if you see:

Think HOW you can shoot the actions involved I your theme. (point of view, distance, combination of shots)

people walking in groups are they tourists, university students, is it normal or exceptional?

students listening then ask is it regular? who does it?

Exercise 4

+Step 5. The role of sound

Sound is a language by itself: it may communicate fear, joy, tension, anxiety and many other feelings.

+Close your eyes and think

What sounds do your locations have? Write them down

Which have a dramaturgical power?

Which can be juxtaposed to the images and actions you have observed?

+Step 6. How to structure our story?

What connections can we make among the elements we have?

+Develop in at least 3-4 scenes

Put all your facts, events and characters in an imaginary line.

Think of an introduction, a development and a subversion.

+There are many ways to build a documentary story…

find the one that suits your subject and style, but…

keep the connections among scenes

develop each scene enough to be self contained

+Technical tips

Use tripods or somewhere to keep the camera stable when you can

Use external mikes for better quality of sound

Use headphones to control the kind of sound recorded

Make tests both for image and sound

Unload your material at the end of a shooting day and keep a backup.

Name the digital folders according to location, scene and date

+So…go ahead and try!

CU soon

Maria