Directing a Documentary

[Kim]

I was just thinking about some new topics for our directing forums and thought about the way a documentary is made and how they can be a completely different project for a director. Any thoughts on the subject?

[Maura]

This sounds like a good topic!

[Colton]

In the past, most documentaries were pretty much the same: interviews with experts, a few shots from a museum, or maybe with an open book or old pictures. They were all shown as the experts were talking.

Today, the industry has evolved and documentaries are really fun to watch. They are very similar with movies. Aside from experts who are sharing their valuable knowledge, documentaries have paid actors, realistic animation and a lot of VFX and SFX. I think it can be more difficult to make a documentary than a movie because the bar is set really high these days.

[Harry]

Unlike movies, documentaries are based on real facts, stories that already happened and people seem to have the expectation to see those stories in a way that it is not making them sleep. The young generation can learn a lot from these documentaries. The question is how do you direct them to be a pleasant experience for the viewer?
I think the right answer is: you do it by including music, stop-motion and unique visuals. You should also write down everything that you need to film from start to finish. Don’t leave anything to chance. Be organized.

[Shells]

Currently I’m in production on a K-pop documentary. For me it’s not holding onto a script to go off on but thoughts abd reactions of people that maybe different from one to another.

[Author]

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