Saturday, 6 December 2014

Text: Documentary Storytelling for Film and Videomakers (Sheila Curran Bernard)

In this book Bernard provides a number of useful tips and pieces of advice for documentary filmmakers, with a particular focus on how to approach the writer's role and the importance of storytelling in the form. In her introduction she gives her opinions on the state of documentary filmmaking today and outlines the essential elements which make for a compelling film, often paralleling those required in fiction. Below I have summarised her main points:
  • Storytelling lies at the heart of most good documentaries - strong characters, compelling tension and a credible resolution. Its a draw for financiers and programmers but a necessity for audiences.
  • Documentary film-makers cannot invent 'plot points', but must find them in the raw material of real life. 
  • Stories depend on 'creative arrangement' of facts and actuality to create drama, but must not sacrifice journalistic integrity in pursuit of this.
  • 'Factuality alone does not define documentary films: its what the filmmaker does with those factual elements, weaving them into an overall narrative that strives to be as compelling as it is truthful and, at its best results in a film that is greater than the sum of its parts'
  • Documentary involves choice-making, and is therefore inherently and unavoidably subjective no matter how balanced or neutral the presentation.
  • 'Audiences trust documentaries' and that trust is key to the film's resonance, power and relevance. You cannot betray them by bending facts in service of a more dramatic story. 'Your argument, or your neutrality, needs to be grounded in accuracy'
Documentaries Today
  • 21st century is a promising time for documentary filmmakers. 'Lower-cost production technology opens new opportunities for more diverse stories and storytellers'.
  • The documentary form has been confused by reality programming, 'that is anything but', and documentary stories of 'predators and prey, autopsies, deadly weather and celebrities'.
  • 'Like junk food, it may be temporarily satisfying but offers little in the way of actual nourishment. Documentaries should do more than help viewers pass the time; they should demand their active engagement, challenging them to think about what they know, how they know it and what more they might want to find out. Documentaries expand our horizons and inform civic dialogue, they are a critical part of our democracy.'
  • Exposition is the information that 'grounds you in the story' - who, what, where, when and why. 'It gives the audience the tools they need to follow the story thats unfolding... it allows them inside the story' It doesn't have to be heavy-handed or front-loaded in the film. Can be achieved through visuals, title cards, animation etc. 'Too many details too soon and the film will seem didactic or preachy'
  • The best documentaries explore themes that resonate 'beyond the particulars of the event being told'
  • Story arcs are hard to come by in documentary film as we can't presume what someone is thinking. Only present an arc if there's enough factual evidence to support it.
Finding story during production
  • It is very common in documentary film to find the story during production or in the editing room.
  • 'A movie has to have dramatic sequences and structure... so yes, I am looking for drama though I'm not necessarily looking for people beating each other up, shooting each other. There's a lot of drama in ordinary experiences' - Frederick Wiseman
  • There are a number of necessities for documentary: audience, relevance (do we care about it), timeliness (film expands from existing topics), visualisation (will it work on screen), hook (how people will become interested) and existing films to inform them and be distinguished from.
  • Always tell an active story - especially if it is about events that have already happened. 'Keep the storytelling in the moment - leave the outcome uncertain'.
Structure and Pitching
  • Documentaries still operate in terms of shots, scenes, sequences and acts.
  • When condensing interviews, find the 'essence of the speech', but don't overcut. 
  • Cutting into hard consonants (b, t, v) is easier than soft sounds.
  • Many different ways of cutting in interviews: cutaways, jumpcuts, dissolves, cutting to other interviews, voice over etc. 
  • Conduct interview with compressed answers in mind. 
  • Having someone from the shoot working with the editor can be both positive and negative. A director or producer who was present can avoid the use of a soundbite out of context which the editor has misinterpreted to mean something else. However, the editor is also in the position of the viewer, independent from the shots' context, and so they have a more objective view of what works for the story.
  • The best pitches introduce both the topic and the story, not just the topic.
  • If the story happened in the past, you must describe how it is told in the present context.
  • Tailor the pitch to suit the listener - do plenty of research and emphasise different elements of the story which might interest them more. 

No comments:

Post a Comment