Documentary filmmaking is a type of non-fiction film production that uses interviews, archival footage, reenactments, expert opinions, observational filming, and voice over narration to raise awareness and educate audiences by recreating biographical, social, wildlife, and historical stories and events.

What is the process of documentary filmmaking?

The documentary filming process involves all the essential elements of a qualitative investigation namely: 1)site selection – where to film, how to position the camera and microphone; 2) participant selection- who to film and obtaining consent using a consent form or media release form; 3) data collection - recording ...

What qualifies a film as 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.

How is documentary film structure?

Understanding the Three-Act Documentary Structure

Each Act contains two essential plot points: Act One includes the Opening and the Inciting Incident. Act Two comprises the First Act Break and the Midpoint. Act Three involves the Second Act Break and the Resolution/Climax.

Do documentaries use real footage?

Actuality is the term for raw film footage of real life events, places and people as opposed to fictional films which use actors, scripted stories and artificial sets. Documentaries are not pure actuality films - rather they combine actuality with explanation, commentary, and perhaps even dramatization...

Making a Documentary From Start to Finish - Beginner Tips

How do documentary filmmakers capture real events?

Unlike other forms of filmmaking, documentaries focus on real people, places, and events, and the stories that emerge from them. Documentary filmmakers aim to capture the essence of a story by using a range of filmmaking techniques, such as interviews, voiceovers, archival footage, and reenactments.

What are fake documentaries called?

A mockumentary (a portmanteau of mock and documentary) is one type of film or television show depicting fictional events, but presented as a documentary which in itself is a subset of a faux-documentary style of film-making.

What does a documentary script look like?

Documentary scripts are usually written in a dual-column template. You can write the script in one column and the time codes of the corresponding video sequences in the other. This format allows you to include the direction notes and other necessary descriptions.

Do documentaries have storylines?

Just like the script for a fiction film, narrative, structure, character and plot are the essential components of your documentary film. Your storyline will usually follow a three-act structure, too: setup, conflict and climax.

How to make a successful documentary?

Do you need permission to film a documentary?

Filmmakers working on documentaries or biographies should have each of their subjects sign a Life Rights Consent Agreement. Typically, a Life Rights Consent Agreement grants to the filmmaker the following rights: The right to portray a particular person's life in whole or in part.

Can a documentary win an Oscar?

The Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film is an award for documentary films. In 1941, the first awards for feature-length documentaries were bestowed as Special Awards to Kukan and Target for Tonight. They have since been bestowed competitively each year, with the exception of 1946.

How do documentaries usually start?

If you watch feature-length documentaries, you've probably noticed a few similarities. First, the film or trailer usually starts right in the middle of the story or the action and then jumps back to explain to viewers how they got there. (Sort of like how I started this article—right in the middle of the action.)

How to make a low budget documentary?

What is a documentary film example?

Box office analysts have noted that the documentary film genre has become increasingly successful in theatrical release with films such as Fahrenheit 9/11, Super Size Me, Food, Inc., Earth, March of the Penguins, and An Inconvenient Truth among the most prominent examples.

How to structure a documentary film?

The Three-act Structure is a classic storytelling model that divides your documentary into three parts: Act 1 (Setup), Act 2 (Development), and Act 3 (Climax & Resolution). Each part has its own set of goals, which will help you map out the structure of your documentary.

What makes a film a documentary?

documentary film, motion picture that shapes and interprets factual material for purposes of education or entertainment. Documentaries have been made in one form or another in nearly every country and have contributed significantly to the development of realism in films.

Does a documentary need a storyboard?

When it comes to documentary filmmaking, filmmakers and cinematographers have a secret weapon: the storyboard. It's a vital tool in the pre-production flow that helps them get crystal clear on the story before they start crafting the documentary script.

Are documentaries scripted?

Unlike their fictional film counterpart, documentaries need to be flexible as they do not have the same stringent guidelines. This is because they are shot in the real world, which can never be scripted or controlled. Overall, this is what makes documentary-making exciting as well as challenging.

Do documentaries have screenwriters?

Documentary filmmakers create non-fiction films (both short films and feature films) that present a truthful storyline in cinematic form. Much like a narrative film, any type of documentary you make will require its own documentary film script.

How long is a 10 minute documentary script?

○ You have 10 minutes total, which means your script will be about five to seven double-spaced pages. ○ Make sure to proofread your script several times. It can be helpful to have someone else look over your writing.

How authentic are documentaries?

The essential claim that traditional documentary films make is that there's unmediated truth here because this was not scripted - because the materials are "found in nature" - thus, the text built out of them is truthful as well. That truth claim is still at the center of most documentary work.

What is staging in a documentary?

What we call direct staging encompasses actions and expressions sparked by the presence of the camera, but which have as their essence openness to indeterminacy and improvisation.

What do you call a person who makes documentaries?

doc·​u·​men·​tar·​i·​an ˌdä-kyə-mən-ˈter-ē-ən. -ˌmen-, -kyü- : one who makes a documentary.