Class lecture introducing basic Documentary Film concepts and setting up information to prepare students to write a simple treatment. Most information from Bill Nichols and Anthony Friedmann
1. Documentary & Non-Fiction Writing
Dr. Evan Kropp
University of Georgia
TELE 3110 – Fall 2014
Note: The primary textbook for this course is Writing for Visual Media by Anthony Friedmann
2. What is a Documentary?
“A narrative based on or re-creating an actual event, era, life
story, etc., that purports to be factually accurate and
contains no fictional elements: A documentary life of
Gandhi”
--dictionary.com
3. What is a Documentary?
Bill Nichols:
1. Documentaries are about reality; they’re about something that
actually happened
2. Documentaries are about real people
3. Documentaries tell stories about what happens in the real world
Often defined in contrast to fictional film… but where is the line?
Are docs reality, a reproduction of reality or a representation of
reality?
4. What is a Documentary?
“Documentary film speaks about situations and events
involving real people (social actors) who present
themselves to us as themselves in stories that convey a
plausible proposal about, or perspective on, the lives,
situations, and events portrayed. The distinct point of view
of the filmmaker shapes this story into a way of seeing the
historical world directly rather than into a fictional allegory”
- Bill Nichols
See media commons Article & Video
5. What is a Documentary?
Definition is…
Elaborate
Does not differentiate between types/styles
Changeable?
Change comes from…
1. Institutions that support production/reception
2. Filmmakers creative efforts
3. The lasting influence of a specific film
4. Expectations of audiences
6. Techniques
Reportage (e.g – film Hurricane Katrina)
Telling the story as you find it
Shoot first, develop perspective after
Catch natural behavior of people and situation
Observation (e.g – Nanook of the North)
Shooting events as they happen
People are aware of the cameras presence
Camera/crew presence can change situation/actions,
etc…
7. Techniques (cont’d)
Interviews
Find the most appropriate subject. Is this a technique?
Investigation
Find a problem and probe into it. Investigative news on
steroids.
Narrative
Best documentaries have elements of narrative, though
this style does not preclude others
8. Techniques (cont’d)
Dramatization
Reenactments of events
Expository Documentary
Simple explanation, like “how to”
Think educational-style films
Propaganda
Politically or socially targeted messages.
9. Techniques
I want you to keep these techniques in mind as you complete
your “at home” assignment next week and as you write your
Doc treatments.
Are these techniques autonomous? Independent from one
another?
Is there a right/wrong technique for a given topic or maybe just
a best technique or even standard technique?
Is there always agreement?
Are Michael Moore’s films investigative? Propaganda?
Do you agree w/ the way Friedmann has presented this
information?
10. Examples
The Thin Blue Line (1988 – Errol Morris)
Goal: To save an innocent man. Biased &
persuasive
Ethics: Participants were not paid – film was a
box office success
Filmmaker as actor (even if heard but not seen)
Staged events (reconstruction of events as told
by different people. But what do you do when
stories contradict one another?) What really
happened?
11. Conveying Perspective
How is the filmmaker’s point of view conveyed? P.O.V can
be explicit or implicit, even if not intentional.
Narration
Choice of interview subjects
Relative importance of speaker
Editing
How the images are put together/juxtaposed
12. Some general
guidelines
Images can say 1,000 words. Narration is not always
necessary. Let the images speak for themselves.
When using commentators, use more than one person
Don’t use clichés, they are predictable
and distract from quality
Think about how your project can be unique!
13. Appeal of
documentaries
Subject matter is limitless
People have desire to learn ‘truth’ in entertaining manner
Narrative nonfiction – tells a story
WHAT STORY DO YOU WANT TO TELL?
14. How to construct a
documentary?
Step 1: Develop an idea
Step 2: Decide a format. Talking head + b-roll? Other?
Step 3: RESEARCH!
Location research
Interviews
Picture research (need to make sure you have images to
go with your script)
Write your treatment
15. What is a Documentary
Treatment?
A treatment is the last pre-production phase
A detailed proposal for the film
Contains explanation of the topic (drawn from research)
Explains importance of topic and rationale for making the film
Provides purpose, context and point of view
Unscripted versus scripted: dictated by technique/style
Unscripted = wildlife and human centered documentaries (Earth)
Scripted = historical documentaries (Ken Burns)
16. What’s in a Treatment?
The “point” of the film
What’s so interesting about this topic?
What perspective is film coming from?
Point of view versus objective
POV = Michael Moore
Objective = PBS
17. What’s in a Treatment?
What’s the story you will tell and how will you tell that
story?
What techniques are used to convey the story?
(Reportage, Observation, Interviews, etc…we will discuss
these in a minute)
Who is the intended Audience
What is the target length/scope
18. The Treatment Style
Written in the present-tense. This documentary tells the story of
Evan’s life. NOT… This documentary will tell the story of Evan’s
life.
Language that convinces potential financial backers that the film
is worth producing
Entertaining and/or persuasive
Makes audience want more
Tells us what we will see, not what we might see.
Determine appropriate style/technique(s) for relaying your
perspective