Friday, August 30, 2013

The Process Of Creating Documentaries

By Amanda Baird


There are several important things that one needs to have in mind if they intend to make documentaries. The most important of these is the fact that they must have an idea on which they want to base their story. Since the story is being created for a given set of audience, there is need to have some knowledge on the tastes and preferences of these audience from the very start.

The next thing is to develop the story along the main idea. The content has to fall into what is known as the story arc. It should let the audience see a character change and develop as they are faced with different challenges. The main parts that have to be addressed are the beginning when the idea is introduced, the middle when objectives are met and the end when a conclusion is drawn.

One must have access to the materials required for the production. This may mean travelling to a different geographical location or getting authorisation to access some classified information. For instance, if one is creating a documentary on an army operation, they will need to be allowed to access areas that are not normally accessible to civilians. Interviews are an integral part of a documentary. They serve to add credibility to the work created. Therefore securing appointments well in advance is advised.

Passion is central to the success of any kind of documentary. Due to the many challenges that are encountered, only a deep desire to complete the task will ensure that indeed it is successfully completed. Most times, there is an underestimation of the required resources and this may lead to difficulties in raising the finances or getting the time to finish the documentary.

After the ideas have been put together and the resources obtained, one needs to create a script that will be used. Consultation with persons that have done similar projects in the past really helps at this stage. The first copy is usually a provisional one and is used to identify possible mistakes and to correct them.

A good documentary is one that has an emotional centre. In other words, it allows the audience to feel what the characters are feeling. If the characters are sad, for example, the same must be conveyed to the viewers. Conversely, if the characters are happy, the same emotion should be felt amongst the audience. This is the best way of ensuring that you have communicated your message.

There are several mistakes that are made by a number of creators. For example, many fail to choose an appropriate theme on which they can base their creation. The result of this is failure to communicate the intended message adequately. Recreation of ideas is another thing that is not done appropriately by many creators. The same applies to the choice of music.

The final thing is distribution of your work. This can be done in print or electronic media. There has been increased use of the internet for distribution of documentaries mainly due to the low associated costs. Feedback from the audience is also easy to obtain through this channel.




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