Sunday, July 1, 2012

How To Make Great Documentaries

By Laura Gallagher


When you're wondering what qualities make great documentaries, then you need to focus on four things. These are a strong subject as your theme, objectivity when you're approaching the story you're about to tell, good editing and more footage and interviews rather than words and declarations. Keep your mind in these four qualities and you'll be able to make a solid, reliable and convincing documentary.

When watching a documentary, the last thing you want is to be left unimpressed by the topic that it's dealing with. This is exactly why if you're making a film, you need to focus on the life of an amazing person, someone with a great story to tell. This will automatically make your film something worth watching.

Besides this, you should look into staying as out of your subject's story as possible. Make sure you approach everything from an objective side, don't make too clear who you're supporting and why. If your opinions are strong, still try to keep an open mind and explore the other sides of the coin.

Also, for a documentary to convince and satisfy its audience, it needs to remain objective. The filmmaker needs to preach doubt rather than state he knows the truth. As the truth is subjective and sometimes there is even more than one, the documentary should strike the perfect balance between providing information and keeping an open mind.

Sometimes less is more. The camera, pictures, interviews and other material can show more than words ever could. This is exactly why a good documentary is often the one that lets its material speak for itself. Big declarations many times work against the film's credibility.

great documentaries are usually the ones that combine all the above qualities. Objectivity when approaching a strong and interesting subject is crucial in order to make an appealing but also convincing film. Smart and concise editing is also a must.




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