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518

To Create a Documentary

  1. Question the communication situation.
    • Subject: What issue or situation do you want to discuss or report in your documentary?
    • Purpose: Why is the subject important? What do you want people to learn?
    • Audience: Who will be interested in this subject? How do you want your viewers to respond?
  2. Plan your video on a planning sheet. (See page 361.)
    • Tools: Decide what camera, computer, software, and lights you need.
    • Team: Decide who will do which tasks to make the documentary.
  3. Research your topic and the technical requirements.
    • Topic: Research your topic. Find experts and other people to interview. Look for existing footage you can use.
    • Equipment: Practice with the equipment so that you know how to use it.
  4. Create your video, following these tips.
    • Write a script including interview questions and a film location schedule.
    • Film scenes more than once. Try different takes and choose the best one when you edit.
    • Give directions. Use a confident, considerate voice to direct team members.
    • Edit. Use video-editing software to create a rough cut of your video, including transitions and background music. (See pages 524–526 for video-editing tips.)
  5. Improve your rough cut.
    • Evaluate your video against your goal and situation.

      Goal: Did you meet it? How could you improve your documentary?

      Situation: Does the documentary tell a compelling story? Will the audience learn something from it?

    • Revise your video as necessary.

      Cut parts that aren’t working. When in doubt, leave it out.

      Add B-roll (supplemental footage) to transition smoothly between scenes (see page 525).

      Reorder parts that are confusing or interrupt the flow of the narrative.

      Reshoot or digitally alter parts that have problems.

    • Perfect your video, polishing it to professional standards.
  6. Present your documentary on a file-sharing site or at a local film festival.
519

Documentary (Video)

This page provides a portion of the script from a documentary about concussions in football.

Concussions in Football

The beginning sets the scene and introduces the topic.

EXT: WILDCAT FOOTBALL FIELD--EARLY MORNING

The camera pans the vacant football field, cuts to B-roll footage of a collision of helmets and pads, and returns to vacant field for narration.

NARRATOR

If baseball is America’s pastime, football is America’s passion. The game’s popularity has reached new heights across all levels of competition—from professional down to high school and Pop Warner. But recently, concussions and brain trauma from football have drawn public scrutiny. What precautions are high schools taking to protect players from concussions?

B-roll footage shows the outside of Darlington South High School.

NARRATOR

The Darlington South football team won the district championship last season and has won three state championships in the last 10 years. In spite of their winning record, however, Darlington South’s football team is not immune to concussions.

CUT TO:

The middle tackles the issue at hand through interviews and expert testimony.

INT: LOCKERROOM--DAY

The camera is set up in front of the red lockers. Sitting down is GAVIN HOLMEN, a junior football player.

GAVIN

I didn’t see him coming. Then WHAM! He hit me right on the side of my head. When I got up, I felt woozy, like I was waking up from a nightmare. I wasn’t quite sure what was going on.

CUT TO:

The ending (not included) brings the story to a close and suggests where the issue is headed.

INT: COACH’S OFFICE--DAY

Sitting at his desk is STEVE WILDMAN, head football coach.

COACH WILDMAN

When I saw Gavin stumbling, I nodded to our trainer, and we jogged out to check on him. It was a big hit, and he was rattled. . . .

 
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