There were good and bad storytellers.

A good one could tell the same story

over and over again, and it would
always be fresh to us, the listeners.
He or she could tell a story told by
someone else and make it more alive
and dramatic.
Ngg wa Thiong'o
http://www.ngugiwathiongo.com/

Documentary is not about form, a set of rules

that are either followed or not, its an investigation
into the nature of the real world, into what people
thought and why they thought what they thought.
Errol Morris
The Thin Blue Line The Fog of War Standard Operating Procedure

CORE COMPETENCY FOR NARRATIVE FILMMAKING

coverage
the camera in the right place
at the right time
for the right reason

MOTION + WRITING

cinematography
motion picture photography
LIGHT + WRITING

Playwright & Screenwriter, theatre & film Director

David Mamet wrote:

Editing is the closest thing to writing.

writing in light and motion,
your cinematography is the first draft
of your documentary story

Agreements:
No such thing as b-roll
No such thing as a cutaway

Agreements:
What we mean when we talk about
STORY

Agreements:
What we mean when we talk about
DOCUMENTARY STORYTELLING

If this is the beginning of our story, what happens next?

If this is the end of our story, what happened before?

If this is the middle of our story: what happened, what will happen?

pick one
beginning, middle or end
but must be three shots

A STORY
Four relentless door-to-door salesmen deal
with constant rejection, homesickness and
inevitable burnout as they go across the country
selling very expensive bibles to low-income
Catholic families.

SALESMAN (1968)
Clip | RT 0:08:08| Cinematographer: Albert Maysles Editors: Charlotte Zwerin & David Maysles

GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS (1992)

Clip | RT 0:02:54 | http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104348/

ASIDE ON CHARACTER 1

Characters are the stuff of good nonfiction

just as much as they are the stuff of fiction.

ASIDE ON CHARACTER 2

We, the audience:

... it's in the nature of our relationship
to central figures in a narrative that we
want to identify with them, even if we
don't much like them.
David Denby
Review of Arbitrage, New Yorker, 24 Sept 2102

narrative cinematography
for

documentary storytelling

narrative
a chronology of events with meaning

MOTION + WRITING

cinematography
motion picture photography
LIGHT + WRITING

documentary
...the creative treatment of actuality.
John Grierson

ASIDE ON CREATIVITY

Creativity is merely a plus name for regular

activity. Any activity becomes creative when
the doer cares about doing it right, or better.
John Updike

story

Nope.

STORY is
a detailed
character-based narrative of
a character's struggles to overcome obstacles
in pursuit of a goal or objective
which is meaningful.

OT: OUR TOWN

Trailer | OT: Our Town | RT 0:02:33 | http://youtu.be/wlL2_4IbhIs

STORY OT: OUR TOWN

Dominguez High, in the infamous Compton, CA,
has not produced a play in over twenty
years. With no money and no stage, two
teachers and twenty-four students
attempt to produce Thornton Wilder's
American Classic OUR TOWN.

STORY is
a detailed
character-based narrative of
a character's struggles to overcome obstacles
in pursuit of a goal or objective
which is meaningful.

ONLY WHEN I DANCE

Trailer | Only When I Dance | RT 0:03:47 | http://youtu.be/wlL2_4IbhIs

STORY ONLY WHEN I DANCE

Two young kids try to dance their way out of the
favelas of Rio.
Victory, for those born rich, it comes
easy. For the rest of us, we have to fight.

STORY is
a detailed
character-based narrative of
a character's struggles to overcome obstacles
in pursuit of a goal or objective
which is meaningful.

THE COLOR OF OLIVES

Promo | The Colour of Olives | RT 0:02:11 | http://youtu.be/_dtE_0crg2w

STORY THE COLOR OF OLIVES

Refusing to leave land that has been in their
family for generations, the Amer clan
lives surrounded by the West Bank Wall.
Each day Hani Amer and his children
wait for soldiers to unlock the gate and
allow them to go to work and school.
Sometimes they wait a very long time.

STORY is
a detailed
character-based narrative of
a character's struggles to overcome obstacles
in pursuit of a goal or objective
which is meaningful.

BLUEBIRD
2nd Place: "48 HOUR FEATURE" Category | NPPA Awards, 2013 | RT 0:03:22 | https://nppa.org/spotlight/5071

STORY is
a detailed
character-based narrative of
a character's struggles to overcome obstacles
in pursuit of a goal or objective
which is meaningful.

documentary

ETHICS

Nothing gets a bigger laugh than when

you refer to things like ethics...
Ron Silver

Excerpt | Pretty Village Pretty Flame | RT 0:01:58 |http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116860/

STAGING?
Can you walk through the door again
but a little slower this time?

Whenever you ask someone to repeat an

action, or attempt to direct someone,
you are "staging".
A documentary first principle:
Staging action for the camera is
journalistically unethical.
It's can also be lazy and incompetent
the opposite of creative.

Three other good reasons to not stage action

in a documentary:
1. You (& your victim) will probably suck at it
2. Your audience isn't stupid
3. (see next slide)

3. SELF-INTEREST: The closer you stick to this

principle, not just in documentary but in all
your work, whether it's educational or
corporate production, the better the final
outcome will be.

SITUATIONAL ETHICS 101

When is staging not only okay
but appropriate, maybe even
necessary?

learning from DRAMA

coverage
event beat shot scene sequence

TEMPLE GRANDIN
CLIP | RT 0:01:20 | www.imdb.com/title/tt1278469/

THE BOURNE SUPREMACY

CLIPDELETED SCENE | RT 0:01:46 | http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372183/

THE POSSIBILITIES
CLIP | RT 0:01:45 | John Clement

LIGHT OF DAY
CLIP | RT 0:02:15 | Rene Gilbey & John Clement

learning from DOCUMENTARY

coverage
event beat shot scene sequence

SALESMAN (1968)
Clip | RT 0:14:14| Cinematographer: Albert Maysles Editors: Charlotte Zwerin & David Maysles

What drives scene coverage?

FROM INSIDE OUT

1. Given circumstances
2. Objective
3. Conflict
4. Action (strategy/tactics)
5. Moments

21 GRAMS
CLIP | RT 0:01:16 | http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0315733/

Given Circumstances
WHO, WHAT, WHEN, and WHERE
of the scene

Objective
What specifically does the character
need, want, desire?
What's at stake?

Who, what, where, why means nothing

if you dont know what the point is.
Nora Ephron

Conflict
What obstacle(s) internal or external
stands in the way of our character getting
what he or she wants?

Action (strategy/tactics)
What the character(s) does to achieve his or
her objective and to make thought and
feelings clear.

Moments
Specific islands of import in the storys
progression or arc; places in the script where
moments can be made, revealed, and/or
portrayed dramatically. Victories, defeats,
and discoveries are often made there.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.

action
What drives scene coverage?
reaction
FROM OUTSIDE IN
interaction
line of action (continuity line, axis, 180-degree rule)
circle of action (internal and external set-ups )
characters in relationship to each other
characters in relationship to their environment
shot/reverse-shot pairs
the "look"
entrances/exits
THIRTEEN
insert/detail
RESPONSIBILITIES
context/ambience
transitions
OF COVERAGE

TEMPLE GRANDIN
CLIP | RT 0:01:20 | www.imdb.com/title/tt1278469/

nine-shot story
(scene/sequence)