How do you make a documentary?

[NickClapper]

So, for my next project, I'm going to try and make a short documentary.

I have the basic framework of the film and understand how to approach the research. I've written the narration, planned segments of the film, sent of FOI requests and mined data on the topic. I'm relatively experienced with journalism, so I'm fairly confident about this part of the process.

I'm also fairly confident about approaching and securing interviewees, and, for me, this seems like the most straight forward part of the process (from a technical/logistical perspective). Yes, it's hard to get good interviewees and arrange suitable timings, but once that's all down, I'm fairly sure how that should go.

The bit I'm unsure about is the rest. Procuring archive footage has always baffled me. What are the best ways to source archive footage? What should I expect to offer people in terms of payment? And outside of archive footage, how should I go about doing my own photography? I feel that question would be simpler if my documentary was called 'London Life', but mine is about an archipelago in the Indian ocean. I watched an old programme on it, and they had a 'Director of Photography'. Is that simply for the interviews? Or should I look at the possibility of procuring my own footage, especially if the archive footage is fairly scarce?

Anyhow, I'd love your thoughts on my questions above, or any thoughts on the documentary making process. I feel like it's an art form that doesn't get as much attention on Indietalk, and this might be a good thread to demonstrate some of the important nuts and bolts to documentary production.

 

[NickClapper]

There are two 'movements' within documentary:
- the gear is not as important as the subject, as long as it is watchable and has proper sound, a good story will keep the viewers attention.
- documentary is a cinematic artform, so why can't it look like a feature? Documentary doesn't mean it has to be underlit shaky cam; it can be framed and lit beautifully like a good feature film.

My question is: what is the look and style you want your story to have?
A lav mic is obviously desirable.

I am confident in the story and its interest, but, at the same time, when you're working with a limited budget then what often separates the corn from the chaff with short-form docs is film and sound quality.

There are, of course, other considerations that I am taking on board. In the UK the channels that exhibit documentaries have minimum broadcast requirements that preclude, for example, the Canon 5D. So I want to make sure that the equipment we shoot on doesn't burn any bridges at this point. I am relatively certain that the 'look' or 'style' can be achieved by a good cinematographer with pretty much any camera, but I also want to make sure, on a practical level, that we capture distributable quality image and sound.

 

[WalterB]

If it has to be 4:2:2 footage you can look into a Sony PMW-200.
It's the successor of the EX1R. A 3x 1/2" CMOS camera with fast motorized zoomlens.
Not as low light sensitive as a C300, but a great run and gun camera that can produce nice images in the right hands.
The older XF canons also shoot 4:2:2 but are 1/3" CMOS cameras.

I can't decide for you: it's a very hard choice to make.
C300 is a great camera...

 

[NickClapper]

If it has to be 4:2:2 footage you can look into a Sony PMW-200.
It's the successor of the EX1R. A 3x 1/2" CMOS camera with fast motorized zoomlens.
Not as low light sensitive as a C300, but a great run and gun camera that can produce nice images in the right hands.
The older XF canons also shoot 4:2:2 but are 1/3" CMOS cameras.

I can't decide for you: it's a very hard choice to make.
C300 is a great camera...

Thanks for the info Walter.

Whilst having a good run-and-gun camera is important for documentary work, I suspect that very little of this project will actually fall into the 'run-and-gun' bracket. Undoubtedly there will be some handheld work, but I think that there'll be plenty of time to shoulder-mount and properly compose shots. So, in a way, perhaps the aesthetic choices are as important as the practical ones.

But that's certainly given me something to think about. I would also, in an ideal world, be running a couple of cameras- so maybe it would be sensible to match something like the C300 (or a cheaper equivalent) with something like the PMW-200 which is more 'practical' (for want of a better word).