Was this boring? Were you moved? Were you engaged in the story?
The challenge for today's documentary film makers is to not only convey facts but to also engage their audience emotionally. If a viewer feels emotion towards what they are watching then they are engaged and the message is effectively delivered.
Let's identify what is needed to make a documentary film.
Cameras, people, a story or concept - anything else?
If we were going to make a documentary about this class... what would we need?
How many cameras?
Where would they be positioned?
When would we start filming?
When would we stop?
How will we know if we got it all? What if there was a camera in the wrong place? You never know what will happen in a classroom so how will you decided where to have your cameras and who will get camera time and who won't?
Based on our rough plan, how long is our documentary?
How many people would come to see it at this length? Do you think it would be engaging?
Let's play a game...
The structure of the game is similar to the techniques used by Documentary Film Makers. Without structure, it is impossible to emotionally engage viewers. Create rules, but leave room for surprise. When there is a prize or a stake in the "game" then there is engagement.
Let's have a look at how Fiction Film Makers do it! Since they sucessfully engaged viewers, documentary film makers began to borrow some of their concepts.
A successful fiction story is packaged in a 3 Act structure. When telling a fiction story you must take the viewer on a ride. There are specific things that must happen in order for the viewer to be willing to go along for the ride.
The Inciting Incedent is something that happens on camera at the end of the first act that upsets the balance that was established in the "Exposition".
An example would be...
Boy meets girl scenerio - girl is the stereotypical amazing perfect girl. Guy is new to the school but is good looking, charming, funny and girls always fall in love with him. Guy sees girl at school, has all the confidence in the world so he approaches her and asks her out. She has a boyfriend and tells him "no". He is rattled, girls never turn him down! Since the exposition was so well layed out, the viewer has connected with this guy so the viewer is rattled as well. "Inciting Incedent".
During Act II the guy does everything to win the girl, buys flowers, writes her poems, gives her candy, to no avail. She still won't go out with him. He reaches "A Point of Crisis" and decides to do something radical so he asks out her best friend since he knows she will go out with him.
Now in Act III there is a shift. The guy is no longer pursuing the girl, he likes the best friend, he is happy and has given up. Secretly the girl has been living in misery and she doesn't like her boyfriend anymore - the reversal!
Then we head to the climax which is a radical act all in it's own. In our example, the guy and the best friend are getting married - the original girl waits to the last second and stops the wedding!
The "Unknotting" at the end gives the audience time to absorb what just happened. The ending scene in the example is the guy and the original girl walking away from the church - the audience had the opportunity to predict the future.
If the information is arranged properly the viewer will be engaged emotionally.
Let's do an editing exercise...
Let's compare non fiction documentaries and fiction dramas.
First - Non Fiction Documentary
There is no conflict, but there are obstacles that must be overcome.
There is a chain of cause and effect - so events that lead to one another.
If there is intensity in the telling then there is in the story.
There may be an objective or a goal but there is no "quest"
Well structured events will bring a viewer to where you want them to go.
Now - Fiction Drama
Drama is defined by growth through conflict.
For conflict to exist the main character must constantly choose between 2 equal but apposing forces - cannot have both, there must be a choice and by choosing the character will in effect loose something. An example of this is two best friends are going to get hit by a car - you can save one, but only one! Fiction Drama always has a quest and it begins with the "Inciting Incident" and does not end until the Climax. The quest is always life changing!
Historically Documentaries were used as a tool for propaganda, and then they were used to document reality. The idea was to observe and deliver something that was as close to reality as possible. This is now realized as being impossible. Documentaries were more raw as apposed to dramas - lighting wasn't perfect, framing not always right and it wasn't very efficient so this is what led to a shift in the style and structuring techniques.
Types of Structuring Techniques are Essay and Inverted Pyramid.
Essay Technique
Inverted Pyramid
This Technique came out of Journalism. All of the information in this format is delivered right at the beginning. The who, what, where, when, why and how in the first few minutes. Most people won't watch an entire documentary done in this technique because there is no need... they already have all the information.
The shift in the structure and the organization was necessary. Documentaries are only effective if you already have an interest in the topic where as a drama appeal to a much broader group. Changes began in the 1970's and now pretty much any technique can be adopted and used in documentary film making. What defines the documentary film is the attempt to capture a reality and stay true to it all the way through.
Remember that you are limited for time so you can only either...
have an indepth look with extensive research on a very narrow topic
or you can have a shallow look on a variety of topics with lots of people providing information so you have a brief overview.
Ask Yourself:
- What is the purpose of this film?
- Who is my audience?
- What is the story telling potential?
- What type of access can I get?
Reflective questions based on additional reading above. These must be submitted for evaulation.
- Summarize the article "Why are documentaries worth watching?".
- What is the "Observational Style" of documentary film making?
- When dealing with the "story", there are fundamental differences between a documentary film and a fiction film. What are the differences and why do they exist?
- What is "bias" in documentary film making and why is it important to recognize it?
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