Documentary Storytelling - Taylor & Francis eBooks

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More praise for Documentary Storytelling

Sheila Curran Bernard’s Documentary Storytelling is an essential, pragmatic, common-sense approach to making nonfiction films for the student and/or first-time filmmaker, based on the author’s deep awareness of documentary film history and theory, and her intimate knowledge of how today’s most important documentarians formulate their works.

—Gerald Peary, film critic, The Boston Phoenix

While documentaries are nonfiction, they are certainly not objective, and even the smallest choices in writing, filming, interviewing, narrating, or scoring can drastically alter the perspective of the film, and in turn, the audience. Bernard is keenly aware of the power of persuasive images, and her insistence on complexity and integrity is a consistent theme throughout the book.

—Alyssa Worsham, The Independent

If you fancy yourself as a documentary film-maker, or simply want to improve your understanding of observational storytelling, buy this book, read it, and apply the ideas contained within.

—Quentin Budworth, Focus Magazine

Even if you consider yourself pro, it is a good read and worth the time. For the beginner it should be a required read. We can make it look great, but without a story it is nothing.

—Dan Shellenbarger, dvartdan.com

Documentary Storytelling. That’s what this book is about. It’s about the story, how to convey that story eloquently, effectively, and ethically � � � This book is absolutely brilliant � � � . packed full of interviews with award-winning documentary filmmakers offering up information, advice, and wisdom you’ll find interesting and useful.

—Krista Galyen, AAUG Reviews

What a valuable aid to documentary filmmakers. The importance of a topic won’t cut it if the story isn’t told well and Bernard’s book cuts right to the chase.

—Paul Stekler, producer/director, Last Man Standing

http://www.dvartdan.com

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Documentary Storytelling

Second Edition

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Documentary Storytelling

Making Stronger and More Dramatic Nonfiction Films

Second Edition

Sheila Curran Bernard

AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON

NEW YORK • OXFORD • PARIS • SAN DIEGO

SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO

Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier

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Copyright © 2007, Sheila Curran Bernard. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataBernard, Sheila Curran.Documentary storytelling: making stronger and more dramatic nonfiction films/Sheila

Curran Bernard.p. cm.

Rev. ed. of: Documentary storytelling for film and videomakers. 2004.Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN-13: 978-0-240-80875-8 (pbk. : alk. paper)ISBN-10: 0-240-80875-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Documentary films—Production and

direction. 2. Documentary films—Authorship. I. Bernard, Sheila Curran. Documentarystorytelling for film and videomakers. II. Title.PN1995.9.D6B394 2007070.1′8—dc22

2006030461

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication DataA catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 13: 978-0-240-80875-8ISBN 10: 0-240-80875-4

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In memory of Henry Hampton

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Table of Contents

Preface to the Second Edition xiii

1Introduction 1

PART I: STORY DESIGN 13

2Story Basics 15

3Documentary Storytelling 33

4Approach 47

5Structure 61

6Manipulating Time 75

7Case Studies 87

ix

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x Table of Contents

PART II: IDEAS TO TREATMENTS 111

8Research 113

9Casting 129

10Pitching and Proposal Writing 137

11Outlines, Treatments, and Scripts 151

PART III: SHOOTING AND EDITING 175

12Shooting 177

13Editing 193

14Writing Narration and Voice-Over 211

15Storytelling: A Checklist 233

PART IV: CONVERSATIONS ABOUT STORY 235

16Steven Ascher and Jeanne Jordan 237

17Victoria Bruce and Karin Hayes 251

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xi Table of Contents

18Ric Burns 263

19Jon Else 275

20Nicholas Fraser 289

21Susan Froemke 301

22Sam Pollard 313

23Kenn Rabin 325

24Per Saari 341

25Onyekachi Wambu 349

PART V: ADDITIONAL MATERIAL 359

Sources and Notes 361Films 365About the Author 369Index 371

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Preface to the Second Edition

Documentaries are many things to many people, often simultaneously. They are a form of self expression, like novels, songs, or paintings. They are a form of journalism, independent and unmediated. They are tools for bridging the divide between cultures or exposing the harsh realities of a volatile world. They inspire, motivate, educate, exacerbate, and entertain. Documentaries reflect all that is great, challenging, disturbing, and humorous about the human condition. But first, they must reach an audience. Within these pages, you’ll find strategies for accomplishing this through storytelling, the crafting of a unique narrative that conveys not only the film’s subject but also its themes and authorship, and does so honestly.

This new edition contains about 20 percent new material, with some previous content revised or removed to keep the book at an affordable length. Updated content includes an examination of new films, more discussion of independent, lower-budget work, an expanded look at international approaches to storytelling, and additional filmmaker interviews.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Since the first edition was published, I had the opportunity to serve as the Anschutz Distinguished Fellow at Princeton University. The semester was valuable in shaping many of the ideas contained in this new edition, and I am grateful to my students and to Sean Wilentz and Judith Ferszt of Princeton’s American Studies program. Special thanks also go to those whose interviews appear in these pages (listed in Sources and Notes in Part V), and to Paula Apsell, Barbara Decharo, Martha Fowlkes,

xiii

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xiv Preface to the Second Edition

Peter Frumkin, Jim Gilmore, Robert Lavelle, Xan Parker, Terry Rockefeller, Kate Roth, Susanne Simpson, Bennett Singer, Eric Stange, and Melanie Wallace. Thanks to Deborah Schneider and Cathy Gleason at Gelfman-Schneider, and to manuscript reviewers including Debbie Brodsky, Valerie Brown, Jennifer Lawson, Peter Lutze, Michael Ogden, Geoff Poister, and Linda Sever. Special thanks to the team at Focal Press, especially Elinor Actipis, senior acquisitions editor, for their guidance and support through both editions. For everything else, I need to thank my parents, David and Kathleen Bernard; my sisters, brother, and their families; and Joel D. Scheraga.

Sheila Curran Bernard October 2006

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1 Introduction

These are exciting times for documentary films and filmmakers. Changes in technology and the way media is produced and consumed are creating new opportunities, and documentary stories are finding new audiences both locally and globally. Not just documentary films, documentary stories. Look at the films that have been winning acclaim recently at Cannes, at the Academy Awards, in Banff and Berlin and Bergen. Born into Brothels. Grizzly Man. March of the Penguins. Super Size Me. These films succeed not because they’re important or inspiring or because they motivate action and activism. They succeed—and they often are important, inspirational, and motivational—because they grab audiences and take them on an unforgettable journey. They do this through story.

Documentary storytelling involves a range of creative choices about a film’s structure, point of view, balance, style, casting, and more. No matter what your specific role—producer, director, writer, editor, cinematographer, researcher, commissioning editor, or executive producer—decisions about storytelling will confront you throughout your career. Storytelling lies at the heart of most good documentaries: strong characters, compelling tension, a credible resolution. It’s a must for many, if not most, programmers and financiers, especially those seeking to reach national or international audiences. But even local and specialized productions, which may have built-in audiences (students, museum-goers, employees), can be made stronger through better storytelling, usually at no extra expense and sometimes at lower cost.

Yet how do documentary filmmakers learn to tell strong and competitive stories? Bookstore shelves are crowded with guides

1



2 Documentary Storytelling

to story and structure in dramatic filmmaking, many of which are excellent. But documentarians work with fact, not fiction; we’re not free to invent plot points or character arcs and instead must find them in the raw material of real life. Our stories depend not on creative invention but on creative arrangement, and our storytelling must be done without sacrificing journalistic integrity. It’s a tall order.

To that end, this book offers some basics of documentary storytelling—what it is, how it’s done, and what mistakes to look out for. It also offers a range of examples to demonstrate that good storytelling is a strategy, not a blueprint. Grizzly Man is a very different film, for example, than The Boys of Baraka, and yet both tell strong, memorable stories. Understanding what story is and how it works to your advantage is a step toward finding your own creative voice as a filmmaker.

DEFINING DOCUMENTARY

Documentaries bring viewers into new worlds and experiences through the presentation of factual information about real people, places, and events, generally portrayed through the use of actual images and artifacts. A presidential candidate in Colombia is kidnapped (The Kidnapping of Ingrid Betancourt); children in Calcutta are given cameras and inspired to move beyond their limited circumstances (Born into Brothels); executives and traders at Enron play fast and loose with ethics and the law (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room). But factuality alone does not define documentary films; it’s what the filmmaker does with those factual elements, weaving them into an overall narrative that strives to be as compelling as it is truthful and is often greater than the sum of its parts. “The documentarist has a passion for what he finds in images and sounds—which always seem to him more meaningful than anything he can invent,” wrote Erik Barnouw in his 1974 book, Documentary. “Unlike the fiction artist, he is dedicated to not inventing. It is in selecting and arranging his findings that he expresses himself.”

Story is the device that enables this arrangement. A story may begin as an idea, hypothesis, or series of questions. It becomes more focused throughout the filmmaking process, until the finished film has a compelling beginning, an unexpected middle, and



3 Introduction

a satisfying end. Along the way, the better you understand your story, even as it’s evolving, the more prepared you’ll be to tell it creatively and well. The visuals you shoot will be stronger. You’re likely to cast and scout locations more carefully and waste less time filming scenes that aren’t necessary. And perhaps surprisingly, you’ll be better prepared to follow the unexpected—to take advantage of the twists and turns that are an inevitable part of documentary production, and recognize those elements that will make your film even stronger.

DOCUMENTARY AS A SUBSET OF NONFICTION FILM AND VIDEO

Think of the range of nonfiction material available in a bookstore. There are magazines aimed at special interests and ages. There are manuals with instructions for building furniture or running software. Some nonfiction books are created quickly to meet time-sensitive market interest. Others take years to research and craft. One book on a topic might be heavily illustrated and superficial; another, on the same topic, might be a Pulitzer Prize–winner with a gripping narrative that appeals to even the general reader.

This same kind of variety exists in the world of nonfiction media. The crowded schedule of televised “reality” programs includes how-to shows, game shows, and shows involving manufactured social experiments (such as contestants living in isolation or temporarily swapping homes or even spouses). Camera crews travel with bounty hunters, police officers, and animal rescue personnel. Stories of predators and prey, autopsies, haunted houses, deadly weather, and celebrities may intrigue viewers, but often offer little in the way of substance. And certainly, there are programs interspersed in these schedules that satisfy Barnouw’s definition of documentary, although they vary widely when it comes to artistry, depth, or import.

At their best, documentaries should do more than help viewers pass the time; they should demand their active engagement, challenging them to think about what they know, how they know it, and what more they might want to learn. A good documentary confounds our expectations, pushes boundaries, and takes us into worlds—both literal worlds and worlds of ideas—that we did not




anticipate entering. To do this, they generally must grab us first by playing on our very basic desire for a good story well told. When the audience is caught up in a life-and-death struggle for a union (Harlan County, U.S.A.), in Mick Jagger’s futile efforts to calm the crowd at a free Rolling Stones concert (Gimme Shelter), or in the story of a family’s rift over whether or not a deaf child should be given a chance to hear (Sound and Fury), there is nothing as powerful as a documentary. Some documentaries have surprising impact. Jeanne Jordan and Steven Ascher learned that their film, Troublesome Creek, about the efforts of Jordan’s parents to save their Iowa farm from foreclosure, had influenced farming policy in Australia; Jon Else’s Cadillac Desert, the story of water and the transformation of nature in the American West, was screened to inform policy makers on Capitol Hill.

Whether they entertain, inform, or both, documentaries matter. Nick Fraser, commissioning editor for the BBC’s Storyville, compares the best of today’s documentaries to the New Journalism that emerged in the United States in the 1960s. “As a journalistic premise, the idea that someone did the reporting took root in these years,” he wrote in an article published in Critical Quarterly (and discusses further in Chapter 20 of this book). “By making it possible for individual voices to exist, the New Journalism countered the growing power of corporate expression.”

SUBJECTIVITY

The power of documentary films comes from the fact that they are grounded in fact, not fiction. This is not to say that they’re “objective.” Like any form of communication, whether spoken, written, painted, or photographed, documentary filmmaking involves the communicator in making choices. It’s therefore unavoidably subjective, no matter how balanced or neutral the presentation seeks to be. Which stories are being told, why, and by whom? What information or material is included or excluded? What choices are made concerning style, tone, point of view, and format? “To be sure, some documentarists claim to be ‘objective,’ ” noted Barnouw, “a term that seems to renounce an interpretive role. The claim may be strategic but is surely meaningless.”

Within that subjectivity, however, there are some basic ethical guidelines for documentary filmmaking. Audiences trust



5 Introduction

documentaries—and that trust is key to the film’s power and relevance. Betray that trust by implying that important events happened in a way that they did not, selecting only those facts that support your argument, or bending the facts in service of a more “dramatic” story, and you’ve undermined the form and your film. This doesn’t mean that you can’t have and present a very strong and overt point of view, or, for that matter, that you can’t create work that is determinedly neutral. It does means that your argument or neutrality needs to be grounded in accuracy.

WHO WANTS DOCUMENTARY STORIES?

In today’s documentary marketplace, nearly everyone is looking for strong stories. A small sampling:

• From the website for the Sundance Documentary Fund: “In supporting independent vision and creative, compelling stories, the Sundance Documentary Fund hopes to give voice to the diverse exchange of ideas crucial to developing an open society” (www.Sundance.org)

• From the Discovery Channel website for producers, a list of “Required Materials” includes: “One- to two-page treatment that describes the proposed program, story line, visual approach, acts, and production team” (http:// discovery.com/utilities/about/submissions/faq.html)

• From Channel 4’s “Documentary Briefing” (May 2006), Commissioning Editor Meredith Chambers: “Cutting Edge can take the form of a present-tense adventure story � � � a single-narrative story where people go abroad, in the wider sense, to do something extraordinary, and where we do not know the outcome at the start of filming. This is where the risk is, and it should be clear we have taken that. Something inherent in the situation is going to unfold in a way that cannot help but be interesting.” (www.channel4.com/corporate/4producers/ commissioning/documents/Docs2006.pdf)

• From the website for the National Endowment for the Humanities, which funds American public media: “NEH

http://www.Sundance.org

http://discovery.com/utilities/about/submissions/faq.html

http://discovery.com/utilities/about/submissions/faq.html

http://www.channel4.com/corporate/4producers/commissioning/documents/Docs2006.pdf

http://www.channel4.com/corporate/4producers/commissioning/documents/Docs2006.pdf




� � � seeks to fund those films that will best bring the issues, approaches, and materials of the humanities to broad public audiences. Producers should have a well-thought-out story outline, define the target audience, and have a strong commitment to the project” (www.neh.gov)

WHO TELLS DOCUMENTARY STORIES?

The range and breadth of documentary filmmaking worldwide is actually quite astonishing. Some documentary filmmakers work within production houses or stations. In the United States, many work independently, with varying degrees of financial and technical support from national or local governments, commissioning stations or broadcast venues, and/or foundations and corporations. Some filmmakers work to reach regional or local audiences, including community groups; others strive for national theatrical or broadcast release and acclaim at prestigious film festivals worldwide.

A common element at all levels of production is story. In 1992, for example, musician Peter Gabriel cofounded a group called Witness, which provides video equipment and training to people worldwide who want to document injustice as part of a struggle for human rights. The first chapter of the group’s Practical Guide for Activists, available on the web (www.witness.org), is titled “How to Tell a Story.” Filmmaker and writer Onyekachi Wambu, interviewed in Chapter 25, describes the important role of media storytelling in raising awareness of African involvement in that continent’s development. At the other end of the production spectrum, some of the longest running and most influential documentary series on American public television today, including the science series Nova (modeled after the BBC’s Horizon), are founded on the notion that complex ideas can best be conveyed through powerful storytelling.

STORYTELLING, NOT WRITING

Documentary storytelling does not refer specifically or exclusively to writing. Instead, it describes the conceptual process that begins

http://www.neh.gov

http://www.witness.org



7 Introduction

at the moment an idea is raised and continues through production and postproduction. A film’s author is the person (or people) with primary responsibility for the film’s story and structure, which often means that person is the producer and/or director, working as or in tandem with a writer and editor. (It’s unfortunate that many documentary festivals have adopted the practice, more common to dramatic features, of attributing a film to its director. Unless a film is produced, written, and directed by a single person, it is misleading to credit the director as the author. Films are invariably collaborative, and they begin with ideas and stories that often originate with producers and/or writers.) In any case, whether the film is formally written out in a progression from treatment to final script or whether it’s merely outlined for the convenience of the production team, the filmmakers routinely address story issues that are familiar to other types of authors, from playwrights to novelists. “Who are your characters? What do they want? What are the stakes if they don’t get it? Where is the tension? Where is the story going? Why does it matter?” And so on.

When a writer is credited on a documentary film, the job performed may vary. At times, it refers to someone integrally involved in the film’s development and production; at other times, it’s a credit for scripted narration. But note that there is no documentary counterpart to the lone screenwriter writing the Great American Screenplay “on spec” (unpaid), hoping to sell it to Hollywood. Documentary filmmakers may toil (unpaid) for months or years on a project, but they’re pushing the entire project along, not just a script, and often the script is the last element to take shape. What people generally pitch and sell are documentary concepts, usually presented at some stage of preproduction or production as an outline, treatment, or rough cut.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The idea for this book emerged from my experiences as a documentary filmmaker, writer, and consultant on a range of projects, large and small. I’ve worked with established as well as emerging filmmakers on productions intended not only for broadcast and theatrical release but also for museum and classroom use.




It became clear to me that underlying issues of story and structure can generally be applied regardless of a project’s style or length. It also became clear that despite the growing popularity of documentary films and filmmaking, discussion of the form was still too often clouded by misinformation and misconceptions, particularly the notion that it’s better and more “real” to shoot a documentary first and find the story later.

As Susan Froemke, formerly principal filmmaker at Maysles Films, makes clear in Chapter 21, even the most committed vérité filmmakers plan for story. There may be exceptions, but in general, filmmakers who shoot first and try to figure the story out later risk missing a story entirely or realizing in the editing room that they didn’t shoot the elements they need to tell the story they now want to tell. The result is likely to be a cobbled-together film in which many of the elements don’t work or aren’t as powerful as they might have been with a little preparation and forethought. Last-minute narration can’t compensate for a flawed structure. And gimmicks and hype—whether pumped-up music, flashy editing, or hints of danger around every corner—won’t be distracting enough to keep the audience from realizing that the story is weak or missing altogether.

INTENDED READERSHIP

This book is for anyone working in documentary filmmaking (and across the spectrum of nonfiction programming) who has an interest in understanding how story and structure work. It’s written with both the experienced and novice filmmaker in mind, as well as people who enjoy documentaries or use them in their work. It’s my hope that by understanding the storytelling choices filmmakers make, viewers will become better and more critical consumers of nonfiction programming in general. They’ll have a clearer understanding of why something does or does not ring “true,” why some films seem to carry greater emotional or intellectual weight, why some programs leave them feeling manipulated or bored, and how shifts in point of view or tone can change the nature of the presentation. In today’s media-saturated world, media literacy is more important than ever.



9 Introduction

FORMAT AND METHODOLOGY

The sections of this book are intended only as a guide. For instance, there may be information throughout the book—not just in the section on editing—that will prove useful to someone editing a film. Generally speaking, Part I introduces the concepts of story and structure and applies them to the initial stages of a film’s conception. Part II looks further at the development of a story from idea to treatment. Part III looks at storytelling in the field and in the editing room. Part IV includes conversations about documentary storytelling with professionals whose work is diverse in both content and style, from direct cinema to archival filmmaking, and whose involvement includes creating and commissioning documentary work as well as using it to advance organizational goals. Many of those interviewed have enjoyed lengthy and distinguished careers, while others are just starting out. Additional material from these interviews and from conversations with several other filmmakers is interspersed throughout the book.

The stages of filmmaking generally described in this book are research, development, outline, treatment, shooting treatment, assembly, and assembly script, further revised as rough cut, fine cut, picture lock, and script lock. Not all films follow this path, however, and throughout the book I’ve tried to acknowledge the variants that exist, whether for reasons of budget, schedule, or production style. Documentaries involving extensive dramatic recreations or those driven by an underlying essay are sometimes scripted (or at least a preliminary script is drafted) prior to production. Some treatments are long documents, while others consist of a few pages submitted for the approval of an executive producer. There are also times when an event demands an immediate response from filmmakers, in which case shooting sooner rather than later is the only way to go. I trust that filmmakers can pick and choose from this information as needed to suit their circumstances.

Examples in this book that are drawn from actual films are identified as such. Otherwise, the examples were created by me for illustration purposes, and any resemblance to actual films, whether produced or proposed, is purely coincidental. At the back of the book, I’ve included some information on films cited, many of which are now available for purchase or rental through online vendors.




OBSERVATIONS

In preparing both editions of this book, I screened a wide variety of films and spoke with a range of filmmakers, many of whom raised the same basic points:

• The availability of lower-cost digital video technology in many ways increases the need for filmmakers to shoot smarter. It’s very possible to shoot everything and end up in the editing room with nothing.

• Time is an increasingly rare commodity for filmmakers, especially during preproduction and editing. Yet time is often what enables a film to have depth, in terms of research, themes, and layers of storytelling; it can enhance creativity. As a group, we need to resist the push to turn out documentary products, rather than documentary films. While some excellent documentary programming is produced quickly and/or inexpensively, not all stories lend themselves to rapid or low-cost turnaround.

• Story does not have to mean three-act drama, and it definitely does not mean artificial tension that is imposed from without. Story comes organically from within the material and the ways in which you, the filmmaker, structure it.

• Documentary filmmakers, increasingly, offer a powerful addition to or contradiction of mainstream media. Trust your audience and give them the appropriate evidence, even—or perhaps especially—when it allows room for doubt.

• Share the humor. No matter how grim the situation or subject, audiences cannot take a program that is unrelieved misery. Watch any of the top documentaries of the past few years, and notice not only how often you’re on the verge of tears, but also, even within the same film, how often you’re laughing.

There are many ways to tell a quality documentary story, many stories to be told, an increasing number of filmmakers to tell them, and high-quality, lower-cost technology with which to tell them. So tell an honest story and a good one. Contribute to our understanding of who we are, where we’ve been, and what we might



Introduction 11

become. Be open-minded. Be rigorous. Have fun. And whether you call them “docs” or “documentaries,” know that you’re referring not to some old and ill-fitting stereotype of films that are dry, dull, and dutiful, but to a form of creative expression that is exciting, challenging, and dynamic.

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