Do Documentaries have to have speaking through it?

Ewan L

Ewan L

Active member
Never tried one before, but they sound interesting to make.

I might try a very short one, just to try it out. How well do documentaries get on if nobodies narrating it?

Is there some tricks to direct the attention off of this fact like calm music or something?

Thanks.
 
The problem with a documentary is that a documentary containing only images must be very specific if it is to inform. Try and watch a few on youtube/BBC with the sound down - it's very difficult to understand what is going on. Visuals could do it, with a good subject and clever planning, but usually visuals tell one part of the story while the narration provides the fix. Those How it's made programmes are a good example. They even change the accent to suit the audience - so an american for the states, French for Canada and France. here in the UK, we get what we call a Northern accent because it fits. This kind of documentary needs clear explanation, while you could watch some wildlife docs and have a pretty good idea what is going on?
 
Ok, thanks.

I also take it that just implementing subtitles would just ruin the visuals because of the audience having to look at that all the time.
 
I'd never heard of that documentary before!

I don't think I would have enough money to invest in a macro lens that captures that much detail. I would be documenting something averaged size and clearly visible to the human eye. It would need to be something unique. What they done though sounds interesting with the time lapse etc...
 
I love docs that don't have somebody blathering throughout the whole thing. Just let stuff happen and let the frame and nat sound tell the story. The "trick" is getting very convincing, inviting compositions and audio in the field, and it's not easy.

It might not play that well on Discovery, but oh well.

Some examples I've loved recently include The Story of the Weeping Camel and Sweetgrass, as well as the previously mentioned Microcosmos
 
There are a lot of documentaries that do not have narration. The classics of this type of documentaries were made in the 1960's in a style, and manner of production, that has been labeled "Direct Cinema" and "Cinéma vérité". I highly suggested that you watch some of them. My favorites are:

"Primary", 1960. Directed by Robert Drew.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_%28film%29

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054205/

The full movie is available for viewing on YouTube. I also request seeing the film off of DVD. Pay particular attention to the shot that starts at about 1:27. It is amazing and has been used as a classic example of the power of Direct Cinema.


"Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment", Produced by Robert Drew, with the participation of some of the greats of Direct Cinema, Richard Leacock, James Lipscomb and D.A. Pennebaker.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisis:_Behind_a_Presidential_Commitment

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0263238/

It is available on DVD and, I think, on Netflix streaming. It is also famous for having another Direct Cinema first. The filmmakers, shooting in Washington D.C. and in Alabama and without coordination, were able to film both sides of a phone conversation between United States Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach. The scene makes the film very personal in that one of Robert Kennedy's children is with him and participates in the conversation with Katzenbach. This is one of the first Direct Cinema films I every saw a


"Salesman" 1969. The film was produced by two of the greats of Direct Cinema, Albert and David Maysles, with Charlotte Zwerin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salesman_%28film%29

It also is available on DVD, from the Criterion Collection, and is available for streaming on Hulu Plus. It is a film about Bible salesmen, and it is great.

"Harlan County, USA", 1976. Directed by Barbara Kopple. It won the Oscar for Best Documentary, and is, IMHO, is one of the greatest American films ever made.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlan_County,_USA

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074605/


One of my heroes, John Sayles discussing "Harlan County, USA".


The film is available on DVD, from the Criterion Collection and is available for streaming on Hulu Plus. It also appears to be available on Amazon Instant.

I think that documentary like those above should be emulated by low budget filmmakers. With modern video cameras and sound recording, the ability to work in such a manner, and make equally great films, has been democratized and become available to many, many more people. If you want to make some shorts along these lines, I suggest finding a local event, or issue, and make a movie around it.
 
Documentaries can get on fine w/o anyone narrating them. It can take more effort during editing to put the story together, IMO, because you don't have anything scripted to fall back on. Some people have a preference for docs w/o narration but I feel like if it's good it's good. *shameless plug* I cut a doc that's coming out soon called "Looking for Lenny" and it was done w/o narration.


-Andrew
 
David, really good examples.
{I am not sure if the original poster meant 'no narration' or 'no spoken dialog' though.}

Documentaries can get on fine w/o anyone narrating them.
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+1
I think the greatest documentaries, or the ones that I consider great are this kind. Let us know when 'Looking for Lenny' is out.
 
Thanks people for the replies, and interesting videos David.

I know people have mixed views on documentaries without narration, I certainly sometimes find it hard to follow along. I might do a few tests to see how it goes. But for my upcoming documentary on Glasgow, it will need narration as there needs to be a lot of facts presented.
 
I think some of my favourite documentaries have been without narration. It's purist and when done well, can be really powerful. Good examples posted earlier.
One of my favourites from recent(ish) years is Buena Vista Social Club. Obviously the music serves as the narration, but it is great story telling. Worth checking out if you haven't seen it.
 
AdrianF said:
I think some of my favourite documentaries have been without narration. It's purist and when done well, can be really powerful. Good examples posted earlier.
One of my favourites from recent(ish) years is Buena Vista Social Club. Obviously the music serves as the narration, but it is great story telling. Worth checking out if you haven't seen it.
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For me, I've never really seen a documentary without narration. I've seen most on TV but you rarely see documentaries on the discovery channel with no narration. When you do see them though, like you said they have to have music that explains it in a way.
 
I've hardly seen any documentaries with narration outside of the BBC Earth series.

Unless by "narration" you also mean interview audio underneath visuals.
 
Gary Huff said:
I've hardly seen any documentaries with narration outside of the BBC Earth series.

Unless by "narration" you also mean interview audio underneath visuals.
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Do you mean the one done by David Attenborough? That has narration. I would find it hard to follow if it didn't. The breathtaking visuals sometimes distract you from the information at times. [h=3][/h]
 
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