TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface to the Sixth Edition

Contents of Companion Website

BOOK I: OBSERVING

PART 1: YOU AND YOUR IDEAS

1 YOU AND FILM AUTHORSHIP

The Director’s Temperament

Unfinished Business: How Your Life Has Usefully Marked You

Project 1-1: The Self-Inventory (Marks and Themes)

Project 1-2: What Is the Family Drama?

The Work of the Director

Witnessing with the Future Box

Working for Social Change

A Rewarding Way of Life

Learning from What you Shoot

Filmmaking Democratized

The Ordinary Can be Extraordinary

Documentaries that Cross Boundaries and Buck Trends

Importance of Creativity

Documentary as a Prelude to Directing Fiction

Getting an Education

Teaching Yourself

Planning Your Future

Internships as a Student

Hands-On Learning

2 THE NATURE OF DOCUMENTARY

Grierson’s Definition

Documentary as Art

An Oral Tale with a Purpose

Art Finds Order

Characters with Goals

Philosophies of Approach

Observational Mode

Participatory Mode

Making Incursions

Giving, Not Just Taking

A Workhorse Genre

Testing for Documentary Values

Learning From Your Work

The Artistic Process

When You Lose Your Way

Privacy and Competition Issues

Hostile Environments

Hands-On Learning

PART 2: DOCUMENTARIES AND FILM LANGUAGE

3 DOCUMENTARY HISTORY

Technology and Screen Language

Birth of the Cinema

The Documentary Arrives on the Scene

Documentary Paradoxes

The Cinematic Eye

Shooting Goes Mobile

Direct Cinema and Cinéma Vérité

Observational Documentary

Participatory Documentary

Waiting for Privileged Moments

Objectivity and Subjectivity

Which Approach is Best?

The Ascendency of Editing

The Three-Act Structure in Documentary

Video and Digital Technology

Eclectic Filmmaking

Longitudinal Study

Brechtian Protest

Documentary Noir

Ambush and Advocacy

Archive-Based Filmmaking

3D Documentaries

The Interactive Documentary

Hands-On Learning

4 CONSTRUCTING REALITY

The “Contract” and Exposition

Actuality and Evidence

Types of Actuality

Objectivity, Balanced Reporting, and Propaganda

Evidence Then and Now

Documentary is Not Reality, But a Construct

Authored Constructs

Character-Driven or Plot-Driven Stories

Dramatic Tension

Hands-On Learning

5 STORY ELEMENTS AND FILM GRAMMAR

Perception and Making Stories

How Screen Language Mimics Consciousness

Documentary Ingredients and Human Consciousness

A Guiding Theory

Shots are Like the Human Gaze

Camera Movement

Motivated Camera Movements and Cuts

Denotation and Connotation

The Camera in Relation to Action

Preparing to Shoot with Feeling

The Actor and the Acted-Upon

Observing a Conversation

Hunting Subtexts

Hidden Agendas and Subtexts

Attention and Focus

Eye Contact and Eyelines

Looking At, and Looking Through

Scene Geography and Axes

Panning and Cutting

Screen Direction

Changing Screen Direction

Shot Duration, Rhythm, and Demand on the Audience

Generating Options

Rhythms Help Us Concentrate

Sequences as Building Blocks

Transitions and Transitional Devices

Picture Transitions

Sound Transitions

Your Dual Roles: Observer and Storyteller

Conflicts Between the Two

Resolving Tensions

Hands-On Learning

PART 3: PREPRODUCTION

6 DEVELOPING STORY IDEAS

Beginning the Writing Process

Making an Idea Database

Keeping a Journal

Newspapers and Magazines

Childhood Stories

Social Science and Social History

Selecting a Subject

Testing a Subject

Don’t Bite Off More Than You Can Chew

Narrow the Frame

Choosing a Central Character

Character is Destiny

Locating and Raising the Stakes

Manipulation Dangers

Using the Medium to Stir Feelings

Primary Evidence

Testing for Cinematic Qualities

Local Can be Large

Subject-Driven, Character-Driven, and Plot-Driven Films

Subject-Driven Films

Displace and Transform

Hands-On Learning

Developing a Proposal

A Note on Film Writing

Research Overview

Make a Working Hypothesis

Project 7-1: Developing a Brief Working Hypothesis

Narrowing the Frame

Research Methods are Subject-Driven

Finding the Paradigm

Shootable Evidence

Making an Inventory

Project 7-2: Dramatic Content Worksheet

How to Film It: Style and Content

Hands-On Learning

8 DEVELOPING AND PITCHING A SHORT DOCUMENTARY

Turning Dramatic Content into an Outline

Who/What/When/Where/Why

A Typical Pitch

Critiquing a Pitch

Expanding the Pitch to a Proposal

Signed Agreements

Location Agreement

Personal Release

Project 8-1: A Short Observational Documentary

Some Short Film Proposals and Their Films

Hands-On Learning

Developing Your Own Crew

Why Crewmembers’ Temperaments Matter

Small Crew Roles and Responsibilities

Director of Photography (DP), and/or Camera Operator

Sound Recordist

Put Commitments in Writing

PART 4: PRODUCTION

10 CAPTURING SOUND

Headphones to Monitor Your Work

Sound Design and Soundscapes

Acoustics and the Hand-Clap Test

Signal, Noise, and Signal-to-Noise Ratio

Resonance and Echo

Microphone Axis and Directionality

Sound Perspective

How Sound Behaves

Signal Decay over Distance

Defensive Measures

Sound Environments and Signal-to-Noise Ratio

Why Sound Consistency is So Important

Sound and the Camcorder

Balanced and Unbalanced Inputs

Automatic Sound Level

Manual Sound Level

Volume Unit (VU) Meters

Averaging and Peaking

The Microphone Input Box

Making Use of Stereo Inputs

Microphone Types and Pickup Patterns

Pickup Patterns

Body Mike Precautions

Spares and Accessories

Microphone Handling

Handling the Fishpole

Windscreens and Shock Mounts

When Sound and Picture Subjects Diverge

The Recordist and the Camera

Virtuoso Performances

Location Spotting and Ambient Noise

Sounds on the Set

Presence Track Recording

Sound with Editing in Mind

How the Editor Uses Presence Tracks

Ambience Inconsistencies

Soundscape Construction

Hands-On Learning

Lighting Instruments

Light Quality and Lighting Instruments

Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)

Color Temperature

Power Requirements Vary by Instrument

Calculating Consumption

Scouting Locations

Defining Shadows (Hard and Soft Light)

Why you May Need Lighting

Curing Contrast Problems

Avoiding the Overbright Background

Lighting Methodology

Key Light Direction

Two Basic Lighting Methods

Adding to a Base and Using a Key

Three-Point Lighting

Lighting Tests and Rehearsals

Hands-On Learning

Codecs and Workflow

Equipment Checkout

Golden Rule #1, Test It First

Golden Rule #2, Prepare for the Worst

Caveat Concerning DSLR Cameras and Timecode

Camera Controls

Professional Options

Color Balancing the Camera

White Balance Options

Shooting under Mixed Color Temperatures

Automatic Exposure

Manual Exposure

Backlight Control

Neutral Density

Interchangeable Lenses

Lenses and Perspective

Lens Protection

Focus and Depth of Field

Practicalities of Focus and Depth of Field

Camera Support Systems

Tripod and Accessories

Pan/Tilt Head Setup

Quick-Release Plate

Mobile Support Systems

Monitors and Viewfinders

Composing the Shot

Handheld Composing

Covering Two People Standing in Conversation

Camera Operating

Check and Recheck Composition

Camera Operator’s Interior Monologue

Operator’s Body Mechanics

Refocusing During a Shot

Walking a Handheld Camera

Checking your Handheld Tracking Skills

Tripod Preparation

Operating with Editing in Mind

Inserts and Cutaways

Camera Operator’s Checklist

Hands-On Learning

Directing Participants

A Documentary is a Record of Relationships

In Search of Naturalness

Giving Participants Work

Interviewing in Brief

Avoiding Voice Overlaps

Silence is Golden

Winding Up Gracefully

Filming in Institutions or Organizations

Directing the Crew

Who is Responsible for What

Working Atmosphere

Positioning Yourself

Communicating with the Camera Operator

Communicating with the Sound Recordist

Sensory Overload

Who Else can Call “Cut!”

Securing the Personal Release

“It’s a Wrap”

Assuring Quality

Reinforcing the Purpose of the Shoot

Hands-On Learning

PART 5: POSTPRODUCTION

14 CREATING THE FIRST ASSEMBLY

Editing Personnel, Process, and Procedures

Director-Editors

Using Transcripts

A Workaround Solution to Transcribing

Transcripts Can be Misleading

Postproduction Overview

Forestalling Workflow Problems

Low Resolution Editing

Synchronizing Sound

Logging and Categorizing the Material

Viewings Before You Begin the Assemby

Crew Dailies-Viewing Session

Editor and Director’s Viewing Session

Gut Feelings Matter

Beginning the Assembly

Seeking a Visually Driven Film

The Only Film is in the Dailies

Finding a Structure

Why Structure Matters

Time and Structural Alternatives

Finding an Action-Determined Structure

Using a Speech-Based Narrative Structure

Stories Need Dramatic Tension

Stories Need Development

Microcosm and Macrocosm

Facing the First Assembly

Return to Innocence

Recognizing your Film’s Ideal Length

Diagnostic Questioning

What Works and What Doesn’t

The Documentarian as Dramatist

Pleasing Your Audience

What Next, When the Dust Settles?

Hands-On Learning

15 EDITING FOR REFINEMENT

Compressing and Juxtaposing

Cutting Between Sequences

Cutting Within a Sequence

Action-Match Cutting

Using Fast or Slow Motion

Parallel Cutting

Cutting to a Rhythm

Unifying Material into a Flow

The Audience as Active Participants

The Overlap Cut

Mono- and Bi-directional Attention

Dialogue Sequences

Overlap Cut Theory

Transitions Between Sequences

Anticipatory and Holdover Sound

Editing Pitfalls

Regaining Some Distance

Make a Diagnostic Flow Chart

A Trial Showing

Surviving Your Critics and Using What They Say

Participant Viewings

The Uses of Procrastination

Hands-On Learning

16 EDITING FROM FINE CUT TO FESTIVAL

Aiming for a Fine Cut

Check All Source Material

Looking Ahead to the Sound Mix

The Sound Design Discussion

Recreating Sound Effects (SFX)

Sound Libraries

Equalization (EQ) and What the Sound Mix Can Do

Sound Mix Preparation

Narration or Voice-Over

Dialogue Tracks and Problems of Inconsistency

Laying Music Tracks

Spot Sound Effects

Using Atmospheres

Sound Mix Strategy

Be Cautious with Comparative Levels

Rehearse, Then Record

Music and Effects (M & E) Tracks

Font, Layout, and Size

Overladen Titles

Title Durations

Transcript and Subtitling

Acknowledgments

Legal Omissions

Website and Press Kit

BOOK II: STORYTELLING

PART 6: DOCUMENTARY AESTHETICS

Enter the Storyteller

Give Yourself a Storytelling Role to Play

17 POINT OF VIEW AND STORYTELLING

Monological Versus Dialogical Films

Film, Literature, and Graphic Art

Will and Empathy

Using your Emotional Self

POV in Screen Drama

Observational or Participatory Approach

Overview of Generating POVs

Range of POV on the Screen

Single POV (Character in the Film)

Multiple Characters’ POVs Within the Film

Reflexivity and Representation

Self-Reflexivity

Film Language and the Authorial Voice

Finding Fresh Language

Storyteller and POV Question Checklist

Hands-On Learning

18 DRAMATIC DEVELOPMENT, TIME, AND STORY STRUCTURE

Plots and their Central Characters

Plot and the Rules of the Universe

Active and Passive

Heroes and Heroines

“Character is Fate”

Whether the Hero Develops

Drama and the Three-Act Structure

The Dramatic Arc

Defining the Crisis

Scenes are Dramas in Microcosm

The Director Intercedes

Beats and Dramatic Units

Misidentifying Conflicts

A Scene May Have One Dramatic Unit or Several

Inhalation and Exhalation

The Director as Dramatist

Time and Structure

Preparing for the Predictable

Stories Need Development

Chronological Time

The Event-Centered Film

The Process Film

The Journey Film

The Historical Film

The Biographical Film

Non-Chronological Time

The Journey of Inquiry

The Walled-City Film

The Thesis Film

Time as Non-Relevant

The Catalogue Film

When No Time Structure Predominates

Structure Questionnaire

Hands-On Learning

19 FORM, CONTROL, AND STYLE

Content Influences Form

Style You Can’t Choose

Style You Can Choose

Hands-On Learning

20 RE-ENACTMENT, RECONSTRUCTION, AND DOCUDRAMA

Truthful Labeling

Wholesale Reconstruction

Subjective Reconstruction

Fake Documentaries or Mockumentaries

Hands-On Learning

21 VALUES, ETHICS, AND CHOICES

Art and Temperament

Form Follows Function

Moral Responsibilities

Evidence and Ethics

Behalfers: Speaking for Others

Embedded Values

Ethical Conflicts in the Field

Film is Collaborative, So is Responsibility

Art as Displaced Autobiography

Giving, Not Just Taking

Hands-On Learning

PART 7: ADVANCED PRODUCTION ISSUES

PART 7A: ADVANCED PREPRODUCTION

22 ADVANCED RESEARCH

Researching for Information

Archival Material

Fair Use and Best Practices

In Relation to Participants

Observation and Access

Observing Character

Open Questions and Leading Questions

The Case for Subterfuge

Compromising Yourself

Hands-On Learning

23 ADVANCED STORY DEVELOPMENT AND PROPOSAL

Using the Working Hypothesis to the Full

Evidence, Exposition, and Dramatic Tension

The Problem and Dramatic Conflict

Challenging the Audience to Make Judgments

Credibility of Evidence, Witnesses, and Testimony

Credibility of Documentary Sources

Making a Database and Marshaling Evidence

Deciding Central Characters

Defer Choosing Participants

When in Doubt, Make a Recording

Story Development

List Your Action Material

Develop Each Scene’s Dramatic Content

Alternative Structures from a Card Game

Try Your Materials Against the Dramatic Curve

Developing a Proposal

Be Specific to the Fund

Writing Quality

Categorized Information

Model Application

Hands-On Learning

24 ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY AND BUDGETING

Workflow and Equipment

Choosing Film or Digital Acquisition

Broadcast HD, Formats, and Scanning

Frame Rates and Scanning

Picture and Audio Compression

High-End Digital Shooting—Uncompressed and RAW

Consumer Cameras

Double System Sync

Above and Below the Line

Budgeting and Scheduling Software

Drawing Up an Equipment List

Over-Elaborate Equipment

Scheduling the Shoot

Locations and Shooting Order

Shooting in Chronological Order

Scheduling for Key Scenes

Emotional Demand Order

Weather and Other Contingency Coverage

Allocation of Shooting Time Per Scene

Under- or Over-Scheduling

Hands-On Learning

25 PREPARATIONS BEFORE DIRECTING

The Directing Plan

Reminders for Each Sequence

Test Your Assumptions

Obtaining Permissions

Scouting Locations

Logistics and Scheduling

Longitudinal Development

Location Permits

Tripod or Other Camera Support Systems

Guerillas in the Mist

The Personal Release Form

Crowd Scene Releases

Paying Participants

Public Servants

People in Dire Need

Hands-On Learning

PART 7B: ADVANCED PRODUCTION

Space and Perception

Camera Eye and Human Eye

Lens Characteristics

How We Use Perspective

Varying Apparent Separation

Manipulating Perspective

Perspective Changes When Camera-to-Subject Distance Changes

Lenses and Image Texture

Zooming Versus Dollying

Getting a Film Look

Static Composition

Aspects of Visual Design

Visual Rhythm and Images in Succession

Dynamic Composition

Internal and External Composition

27 ADVANCED CAMERAS AND EQUIPMENT

Archiving Issues

Hiring Equipment

Shooting Abroad

Tripod and Pan/Tilt Head

Settings and Options

High-End Cameras Compared

Camera Accessories

Matte Box and Filters

Camera Aesthetics

Adapting to Location Exigencies

Revealing Subtexts

Compromises for the Camera

Care of People and Equipment

Travel in Wild or Hazardous Areas

28 ADVANCED LOCATION SOUND

Shooting Single or Double System

Using the Camera to Record Sound

Sound Recorders

Location Recorders

EQ and Roll-Off

Volume Unit (VU) Meters

When the Mixer Feeds into the Camera

Multiple Mike Inputs

Recording Stereo

Sound Monitoring

Microphone Types

Microphone Placement

Using the Fishpole

What to Rent and What to Own

29 ORGANIZATION, CREW, AND PROCEDURES FOR THE LARGER PRODUCTION

Production Department

Unit Production Manager (UPM)

Sound and Camera Assistance

Sound Assistants

Camera Assistant

Sync Using a Clapperboard

Shot Identification

Alternative Numbering Systems

Syncing Up Dailies

The Countdown to Shooting

Starting Without a Clapper

Hands-On Learning

30 ADVANCED DIRECTING

What Makes Us Feel Normal

The Mind–Body Connection

Doing What Comes Naturally

Self-Image and Self-Consciousness

Habits of Being

Keys to Directing People

Social and Formal Issues

Advantages of the Small Crew

Having or Losing Authority

Using Social Times and Breaks

Sharing in All Things

Camera Issues and Point of View

Compromises for the Camera

Camera as Passport

Point of View and Motivating the Camera’s Movements

Explaining Multiple Angles on the Same Action

Abstraction and Symbolism

Subjectivity Versus Objectivity

Special Meaning Through Framing

Scene Breakdown and Crib Notes

Eyeline Shifts Motivate Cuts

Reaction Shots and Eyeline Changes

Cover Alternative Versions of Important Issues

Production Stills

31 CONDUCTING AND SHOOTING INTERVIEWS

Initial Research

Deciding About Location

One Camera or More?

When Others are Present

Interviewing Groups

Vox Pops (vox populi, Latin for “voice of the people”)

Preparation and Basic Skills

Politely Setting Limits

Metaphoric Thinking

Human Constants

Just Before the Interview

Free Yourself to Listen

Prepare the Camera Operator for Touch-Directions

When Two Matching Shots Must Cut Together

Agree on Image Size-Changes

Vary Zoom Speeds

Preparing the Interviewee

Say What You Need

Establish Your Right to Interrupt

Camera and Editing Considerations

Interviewer and Camera Placement

When the Interviewer Should be On-Camera

Preparing to Edit Out the Interviewer

Including the Question in the Answer

Vox Populi Interviews

Solving the Need for Ellipsis

Parallel Storytelling

Varying Shot Sizes

The Interview Begins

Interviewing and Directing

Lead by Example

Leading Questions and Open Questions

Focusing Questions

The Right Order for Your Questions

Maintain Eye Contact and Give Behavioral Feedback

Aim to Elicit Feelings

Going Where Angels Fear to Tread

Temptations When Interviewing

The Interviewer’s Nightmare

Interviewing in Depth

Crossing Thresholds

Silence is Your Most Powerful Instrument

Don’t Catch Them When They Fall

Privileged Moments and Beats

Being Adversarial Without Giving Offense

The Devil’s Advocate Approach

Starting from Generalized Comment

Seeking Briefer Versions

Triggering Unfinished Business

Concluding the Interview

Invitation to Add Anything Not Covered

Interviewing Self-Assessment

Going Further: “Inward Journey” Monologues

Hands-On Learning

PART 7C: ADVANCED POSTPRODUCTION

32 FROM TRANSCRIPT TO ASSEMBLY

What You Need for Transcripts

Accurate Transcriptions

Using a Database

Selecting and Assembling Transcript Materials

From Paper Edit to First Assembly

Literal and Non-Literal Comments

Treating Your Audience as Equals

Give Action Preference over Words

33 CREATING NARRATION

Narration Pros and Cons

Problems Narration Can Solve

Comparing Ways to Create Narration

Method A—Reading from a Script

Method B—Improvisation

Method A: Creating the Scripted Narration

Timing and Syntax

Accommodating Sound Features

Complement, Don’t Duplicate

Trying it Out: The Scratch Recording

Narration: Auditioning and Recording

A Script for the Narrator

Conversing and Reading Aloud are Different

Voice Auditions

Recording and Directing the Narrator

Acoustic Setting

Method B: Creating the Improvised Narration

Simple Interview

Improvising from a Rough Script

Improvising from an Assumed Identity

Recording Presence Track

Secrets of Fitting Narration

Using the First Word’s Power on a New Image

Operative Words

34 USING MUSIC AND WORKING WITH A COMPOSER

Where to Use Music

Using Music to Reveal Hidden Dimensions

Helping to Indicate Narrative Structure

Helping to Indicate Emotional Depths

Music as Storyteller Voice

Starting and Stopping Music

Spotting Session

Libraries and Copyright

Working with a Composer

Choosing a Composer

When the Composer Comes on Board

When there is a Temp Track

Discussing a Music Cue List

Compiling Music Cues

Unifying Through Time

Keys in Diegetic and Non-Diegetic Music

Conflicts and Composing to Sync Points

Conductor Needs

Live Music Session

Music in Postproduction

35 EDITING REFINEMENTS AND STRUCTURAL SOLUTIONS

Editing Rhythms: An Analogy in Music

Using your Instincts While Editing

Using Trial Audiences

Subtexts and Making the Visible Significant

When Instincts Aren’t Enough

Using the Diagnostics Again

Turning your Film into Playing Cards

Dealing with Multiple Endings

More Trial Audiences

Fear of Failure

PART 8: WORK

36 DEVELOPING A CAREER

Will I Find Work to Pay My Bills?

Your Demo Reel for Getting Work

You, on the Web

Making a Job for Yourself

The Search for Subjects

Study the Competition

Practice your Pitch

The Demo Reel for a Particular Proposal

Documentary Proposals

Using Festivals

The Importance of Short Films

Seeking Job Information

Informational Interviews

On Getting a Work Interview

37 STARTING UP ON YOUR OWN

Starting a Business

For-Profit or Nonprofit?

Fiscal Sponsorship

Current Information

Funds and Foundations

Survey Organizations

Tod Lending on Proposals

Funding Organizations

Broadcast Organizations

Government Agencies

Marketing and Distribution

A Personal Message