This morning I got an IM from an NYVS member.
He’s also a student at a film school in the UK and now he has to make a small documentary film for his class.
He wrote to ask some advice, (which I am always happy to give).
He wants to do a documentary about a guitar repair shop, more or less. Â It’s not a bad starting point.
The problem is after that – he starts in with a million little stories and some interviews with ‘experts’, blah blah blah.
You have seen this a million times. Â And it always sucks. In fact, most documentaries suck. (Yes, there are exceptions, I know).
But for the most part they are living death.
Hard to watch.
Unengaging, unless you happen to be particularly interested in the topic – or they were made by a relative or friends.
Endless talking heads.
In a word….Boring!
When they give out the Academy Awards for docs in Hollywood, everyone knows its time to go to the bathroom.
Why is that? Why is it that the mere word ‘documentary’ is enough to give most people heavy eye lids?
A few days ago I posted Jiro Dreams of Sushi, which is a doc, but it’s also more a piece of fine art.
Today, in answer to our member’s question, I posted a like to The Commitments – a lovely film by Alan Parker (1991).
Watch the whole film.
It’s not about a guitar repair shop – but it is a great story about music, with characters and an arc of story – all the elements you need to make a compelling film.
Our member wrote back immediately and said: ‘the class is for documentaries, not fiction’. Â I said, ‘steal all the elements that make great fiction and apply them to a documentary’. Â And why not? Â Why not have a plot, character(s), music, tension and so on in a documentary? Â It can be done. But you have to think out the plot before you start shooting.
I told our friend to sit down today and storyboard out what a great film (truthful, factual, but compelling wth lots of music) would look like. Â In his head. A kind of blueprint for a hit. Â Of course, when he starts to shoot, things may deviate, but at least he’ll have a plan, a target and a roadmap. Â You can keep correcting the blueprints as you learn more and proceed, but its a whole lot better than just going out and shooting a pile of stuff and then trying to lace something coherent out of it.
Can docs aspire to be as compelling as fiction?
I think so.
But we’ll only find out by trying.
