Documentary

1
Documentary

• How to Write a Script

2

• In documentary we deal with the actual, and in
  one sense with the real. But the really real, if
  I may use that phrase, is something deeper than
  that. The only reality which counts in the end is
  the interpretation which is profound. --John
  Grierson

3
Thomas Edison said

• Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent
  perspiration.

4
Remember!

• Documentaries are factual and based on reality.

5
Remember!

• Your documentary is meant to persuade for change.

6
Remember!

• If you dont know your thesis, your audience
  wont, either.

7

• Persuasion can be defined as a process of
  attracting attention, providing the messages
  recipient with a series of rational and emotional
  appeals designed to move them to take a course of
  action.
• Mary T. Christel, Documentary Film as Propaganda

8
Script Elements

• Story
• Visuals
• Sound

9
Story Elements

• A script is not just a compilation of words.

10
Story Elements

• A script is a compilation of conceptual elements
  woven together with audiovisual elements to
  create a good film.

11
Story Elements
12
Story Elements

• Every film tells a story.

13
Story Elements - Plot

• Plot
• Literally a path to enter or exit a situation
• Force that holds story together
• Moves the story forward

14
Story Elements - Plot
15
Story Elements - Plot

• Plot
• Subplot - smaller plots that make up different,
  simultaneous, and often contradictory parts of
  the larger plot. Adds to and extends main plot.

16
Story Elements - Plot

• Plot
• Back-story - background story that occurred
  before the start of the film.
• Who Killed the Electric Car back story on
  history of electric cars

17
Story - 3 Elements

• 3 broad structural elements
• A beginning
• A middle
• An end

18
Story Elements - Beginning

• A good beginning does these things
• Creates an audiovisual hook

19
Story Elements - Beginning

• A good beginning does these things
• Establishes the core assertion of the film.
• The core assertion is the thesis or argument that
  the film is presenting.

20
Story Elements - Beginning

• A good beginning does these things
• Creates curiosity among the audience.

21
Story Elements - Beginning

• A good beginning does these things
• Shows change or the promise of change.

22
Story Elements - Beginning

• A good beginning does these things
• Creates the element of consequence - cause and
  effect directs the audience and increases
  understanding

23
Story Elements - Inciting Incident

• The beginning Inciting incident
• Common feature
• Radically upsets balance of forces within story

24
Story Elements - Inciting Incident

• The beginning Inciting incident
• Dynamic and fully developed event - never vague
• Swings reality in a positive or negative way

25
Story Elements The Beginning

• The beginning
• Lets watch the beginning of Sicko

26
Story Elements - POV

• Plot Point of View
• Who is telling the story to the audience?
• The POV determines the narration.

27
Story Elements - POV

• Plot Point of View
• First person POV is most common. Characters talk
  in terms of I, film records their experiences
  through their eyes.
• Not used very often for documentaries
• Limits what can be seen
• Only includes what the person knows or was part
  of
• Cannot include things behind the scenes

28
Story Elements - POV

• Plot Point of View
• Second person POV - narration directly addresses
  audience as you- often used in television video
  magazines and news stories

29
Story Elements - POV

• Plot Point of View
• Third person POV - more common in classical
  documentaries. Told from perspective of someone
  unknown by audience, a god-like omnipresent
  person.

30
Story Elements Character(s)

• Character
• Not necessarily people
• Characters are significant beings in film (EV1
  in Who Killed the Electric Car)

31
Story Elements Character(s)

• Character
• Anything that has the ability to take action or
  suffer consequences can be a character
  locations, humans, animal, objects (EV1 in Who
  Killed the Electric Car)
• We, as humans, unconsciously try to attribute
  human qualities to all characters in film.

32
Story Elements Character(s)

• Character
• We, as humans, unconsciously try to attribute
  human qualities to all characters in film.

33
Story Elements Character(s)

• Character
• 2 types
• Central character/s - directly related to the
  subject
• Secondary character/s - larger part of the story

34
Story Elements - Middle

• Some elements of The middle
• Concept, idea, thought - each sequence is related
  through common issues

35
Story Elements - Middle

• Some elements of The middle
• Action - relate sequences through kinds of events
  and actions portrayed

36
Story Elements - Middle

• Some elements of The middle
• Setting - use common locations or different
  locations within a common, larger setting

37
Story Elements - Middle

• Some elements of The middle
• Character - use shared characters
• IE Devils Playground follows same characters
  throughout the movie.
• Bowling for Columbine follows characters
  introduced in beginning of film.

38
Story Elements - Middle

• Some elements of The middle
• Mood - can make sequences relate to each other -
  comparison OR contrast

39
Story Elements - The Middle Pacing

• Story metaphor for life, needs to have tempo of
  life
• Tempo is level of activity within the sequence

40
Story Elements - The Middle Pacing

• Most setting sequences are 2 - 3 minutes in
  length

41
Story Elements - The Middle Pacing

• Progression of sequences accelerates pace
• Shorten scenes as script heads toward a dramatic
  point
• Dramatic sequences can be longer for effect

42
Story Elements - The Middle Pacing

• Linear vs. non-linear time
• Can be sequential - linear is more traditional
• Non linear more flexible, interesting
• Scriptwriter must know audience well in order to
  use non-linear
• Flash backs are examples of non-linear

43
Story Elements - The Middle Pacing

• Transitions
• Story musts move seamlessly
• Link the tail of each sequence to the next
  sequence

44
Story Elements - The Middle Pacing

• Transitions
• Character trait or situation
• An action
• An object
• A word
• A quality of light - IE opposite moods
• A sound
• An idea

45
Story Elements - The Middle

• A good scriptwriter doesnt just focus on
  dramatic beginning and end
• The middle
• Presents a chain of logic to prove core assertion

46
Story Elements - The Middle

• The middle
• Keeps film moving forward

47
Story Elements - The Middle

• The middle
• Divided into parts that come together as a whole
  at the end

48
Story Elements - The Middle

• The middle
• Consists of good sequences that have their own
  beginning, middles, and ends

49
Story Elements - The Middle

• The middle
• Each sequence can have its own message and impact

50
Story Elements The End

• The End Must be inevitable and unexpected.
• Two types of ending
• Closed end
• Open end

51
Story Elements The End

• The End Must be inevitable and unexpected.
• Closed end - all questions and emotions raised in
  story are satisfied. No doubt or question is
  left.

52
Story Elements The End

• The End Must be inevitable and unexpected.
• Open end - leaves one or more questions
  unanswered, some emotions unfulfilled. Does NOT
  leave audience hanging, but offers alternatives
  and choice.