The Mechanics of Documentary Storytelling

http://www.slideshare.net/acarvin/the-mechanics-of-documentary-storytelling

1. The Mechanics of Documentary Storytelling Andy Carvin www.andycarvin.com www.digitaldivide.net [email_address]
2. What We’re Gonna Talk About
* Story structure
* Video technique
* Scripting technique
* Editing technique
3. Story Structure: 3 Parts
* The Tease
* The Body
* The Conclusion
4. The Tease
* Allows viewer to focus on what the film is about
* Introduces one or more principal characters
* Establishes setting/location critical to the story
* Presents a conflict/set up a problem/asks a question
* Sets the tone for the film
* Sucks in the audience - hopefully
5. The Body
* The main plot; the meat of the story
* Get to know the characters, what they're doing and why they’re doing it
* See the action unfold
* The body usually makes up 80% of a documentary
6. The Conclusion
* Wrapping up, giving closure
* Recaps point of story
* Whatever you promised or asked in your tease needs to have been delivered
7. Example 1: The Soccer Match
* Tease: Meet Sarah, the team captain;
* Former county champs, going through a rough patch
* About to compete against current champions
* Body: Get to know the team; what are their strengths?
* What challenges do they face?
* Experience leadership of coach, individual members
* Climax: Match vs the champs. What happens? Who wins?
* Conclusion : Reactions of the captain and team mates
* How did the experience change them?
8. Example 2: The Boardwalk
* Tease: Establishing shot of boardwalk, montage of activity;
* ask what the boardwalk means to Atlantic City
* Body: History of the boardwalk; archival footage from
* library, old postcards; interviews with community members,
* parents, grandparents; today’s boardwalk
* Conclusion: Summarize its history; next generation of kids
* growing up here; continuity of boardwalk in the life of the
* city; end with grandfather and grandkid strolling into sunset
9. Video Technique
* Footage must always serve the story
* Establishing shot: wide view providing context
* (think sitcoms: Outdoor shot of Cheers, Seinfeld restaurant, Friends apartment in NYC)
* Interviews: typically head and shoulder shot - close, but not too close.
* Zooming in for intimacy, intensity
* Zoom forces viewer to focus on something
10. Video Technique, Continued
* Wider shots to see interview subject in context of a particular situation
* Odd angles add intensity ("God shot," MTV shot)
* Action style, keeping things moving: either characters move or the camera moves
* Lots of “talking heads” feels like TV journalism
* Shooting same thing from as many angles as possible - creates more editing options
11. Scripting Technique
* Script follows your story structure:
* Beginning, middle, end
* (Sounds obvious but not always easy)
* Uses at least one of two elements:
* Narrator voice and character voice
* Most documentaries use both
12. Script Narration and POV
* Narration always has a point of view
* Third-Person Narrator
* (narrator never seen, just heard; disinterested)
* Self-injected narrator (seen, but not in plot - 60 Minutes, TV journalism, Michael Moore)
* Character narrator (”I’m Priscilla Presley, and this is our family’s story...")
* No narration: characters speak for themselves
* Example: Riding the Rails
13. Scripts are heard, not read
* Narration isn't literature - it's oral, conversational
* "If a three-syllable word can be said in a one-syllable word, change it!"
* - Nat Geo scriptwriter John Goodman
* Tone of narration shouldn't vary during the documentary
* Multiple narrators don’t always work
* Use lots of action verbs - avoid overuse of descriptive adjectives and adverbs.
* Let the visuals be your adjectives
14. Editing Technique: Music
* Music can be a powerful element
* It’s often a character in its own right
* Example: Beach Clip
15. Editing Technique: Pacing
* Pacing of edits affects the tone
* Faster edits picks up the pace, but requires more footage!
* Slower edits means slower pace, but you get to milk your footage
* Example: Parade Clip
16. Editing Technique: A-Roll vs. B-Roll
* A-Roll: your primary footage (interview subjects in particular)
* B-Roll: secondary footage used to support interview or narration, also used to cover errors like “jump cuts”
* A-Roll is melody, B-Roll harmony
* When editing, you generally go back and forth
* A-Roll of soccer match - B-Roll of fans - A-Roll of soccer match
* Interview subject - B-Roll of what they're talking about - Interview subject
* Example: The Guitarist
17. Editing Technique: The Four Transitions
* Cut: simplest transition from one shot to the next, usually in same location and time frame
* Dissolve: graduate transition where shots overlap; often used to show change in location/time
* Wipe: special effect transition where one scene seems to "wipe away" the other scene
* Fade to Black: Scene literally goes black;
* end of chapter or story
* Example of transitions: India footage
18. Remember: Always Serve the Story!
* All of your tools should be used to contribute
* to telling your story:
o Video footage
o Characters
o Narration
o Music
o Edits
o It’s like composing a symphony:
o Each instrument contributes to the whole package!
19.
* Thank You!
* Andy Carvin
* [email_address]
* www.digitaldivide.net
* www.andycarvin.com