Documentary advise needed

N

Nasser

Well-known member
Hello Folks ;
We have annual dates auction event where farmers display all types of dates for the public and interested buyers .
Although this event been covered by local news as brief reports yet I didn't saw any documentary film type for this event .
I have Sony EX-1 , Canon XHA1 and 5D Mark II with Rode NTG-2 mic boom kit and Sennheiser Wireless EW 100ENG G2 Lavalier Microphone .
and some good lighting gears .
I need advise on where to start , do I need a written script or storyboard
looking for documentary shooter advise plesae :smile:
 
Nasser said:
Hello Folks ;
We have annual dates auction event where farmers display all types of dates for the public and interested buyers .
Although this event been covered by local news as brief reports yet I didn't saw any documentary film type for this event .
I have Sony EX-1 , Canon XHA1 and 5D Mark II with Rode NTG-2 mic boom kit and Sennheiser Wireless EW 100ENG G2 Lavalier Microphone .
and some good lighting gears .
I need advise on where to start , do I need a written script or storyboard
looking for documentary shooter advise plesae :smile:
Click to expand...

Nasser, I'm sure some of the more experienced people will jump in.

It has always been my understanding that true Doc's are not scripted. You have to have a starting point and that's a pretty general area. Then you let the Doc run where it will as long as it stays on the subject. One interview will lead to others if you follow it.

I think it's called factual entertainment if you try to script the event and take it to a specific conclusion.

When I do one, I start with the overview which directs me to specific areas to document, then gradually narrow it to final remarks. In other words, I just follow the leads.
 
Peternap said:
Nasser, I'm sure some of the more experienced people will jump in.

It has always been my understanding that true Doc's are not scripted. You have to have a starting point and that's a pretty general area. Then you let the Doc run where it will as long as it stays on the subject. One interview will lead to others if you follow it.

I think it's called factual entertainment if you try to script the event and take it to a specific conclusion.

When I do one, I start with the overview which directs me to specific areas to document, then gradually narrow it to final remarks. In other words, I just follow the leads.
Click to expand...


I think Peternap summed it up very well... Unless you have a specific agenda and slant a script isn't necessary, But, a prepared overview containing your content goals/subject matter is probably necessary. A list of questions for interviews could help as well. Just let the people talk and see where it goes. Sometimes you may have to steer them back on topic.. but you never know what gem they might come up with otherwise...

When we shot our doc Politics, Sex and Vodka in Russia last year, we only had 1 person lined ahead of time to build a story around. No scripting, just a list of potential subjects/topics that we wanted to cover, and from this one person we networked onto other people, and it was a domino effect. We had to pound the pavements for 3 weeks and work the phones every day, and approach complete strangers. We tried to keep to a daily shooting schedule and line up our shoots/interviews a day in advance. We had to do a lot of traveling, so this took up a lot of time as well. Driving and Flying.

We got most of everything that we hoped for, but some things didn't materialize for one reason or another. Time and budget only allows for so much... Oh, and did we mention the KGB (now called FSB) putting a stop to us a couple of times?
 
Depending on the angle you want to take, do as much research as possible beforehand. If it's just about this local event read some history or talk to people; see if you can figure out how far it goes back, who started it, etc. This is stuff you may want to ask in interviews that will end up in the doc anyway, but it's best to know as much as possible going in.

The other thing is to look for an interesting story, unless you're just making a promotional film or something. For this, the story might just be about the trouble people go through to set up and host the event, whether a particular farmer succeeds or fails, etc. But get in touch with people and try to have this figured out way ahead of time. As a one man crew, you're stuck in one place, so you have to make sure it's the right place.
 
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