JRN 572 - Lecture 14

JRN 572 - Researching & Writing the News DocumentaryRich Hanley, Associate ProfessorLecture Fourteen

JRN 572 - News Documentary

Review:• The class concludes this week

with a summary review of material covered since the start of the semester.

• Think of this as a highlight reel of critical points instead of a comprehensive rehashing of what has been covered to date.


Review:• The final version of your draft

script is due finals week. See the date on Blackboard.


Review:• A point of tension in the

documentary field is whether to compose even a draft script before recording begins.

• Our view in this class is the same as that of the BBC: a draft helps shape the idea because it is part of the preparation, or pre-production, process.


Review:• Do documentarians operate

without a draft script? Yes but with great risk.

• What happens most of the time is producers confront a blob of film or video and try to find a story in it. Good luck with that on deadline.


Review:• The BBC emphasizes

preparation, preparation, preparation as the following passage posted in earlier lectures drawn from a BBC Academy writing seminar underscores:


Review:• “When making long form

documentaries the urge to just get out there and film can be huge, leaving considerations about the script later until the edit. However there are very good reasons to firm up your script before you shoot …


Review:• “After all, documentaries are all

about storytelling and scripting in the beginning will give you a good plan, allowing you to work out the shots you want to get as well as shape the program during the production process.”


Review:• Let’s repeat that a final time:

“documentaries are all about storytelling.”

• Without a firm sense of the story, documentarians are guessing that a story exists and do so at their peril.


Review:• “The script may change shape

during the production – you never know what may happen on a shoot,” the BBC recommends.

• But preparation allows for flexibility that “can bring your story together and keep the production on track.”


Review:• BBC writer Hazel Marshall

summarizes this approach:

• “Good stories don't just happen. You need to know when to be creative and when to be analytical. You need to know what you're looking for and that's when good craft comes into play.”


Review:• “Good craft” means a firm

process that can be applied is available to all who wish to pursue this form and do so with a fair chance of success.

• The craft process for both news and sports is as follows:


Review:• Idea formation• Mode of storytelling• Story development research• Archival / b-roll footage research• Pre-interviews• Treatment• Outline• Script drafting


Review:• For the class, the goal is to write

a draft, pre-production script for a 30-minute documentary.

• But please note the format can be applied to a documentary of any length.


Review:• It all starts with the idea.

• Ideas are easy and are all around us, some drawn from observations, others from reading.

• Writers should always be ready to see an idea in everything in their visual horizon.


Review:• Ideas for documentaries must

be factual and be of relevance to a given audience.

• Try to create an idea that is original and contains at the outset a broad narrative arc.

• Don’t confuse a story idea with a list of things that happened.


Review:• Now comes the hard part. Is the

idea something that can be painted to reality?

• This is the point where preliminary story development and archival and b-roll research begins.


Review:• Results of hat preliminary

research should suggest the mode.

• The most widely-used mode is that of the “voice of god,” or the narrative voice-over, which is the most efficient way to present expository (background facts) information.


Review:• At this point, the research

continues to follow a broad-based approach to see if the idea is original and that there are basic visual elements available.

• In short, validate the idea as something that is original and can be composed as a visual as opposed to textual work.


Review:• The idea must then be tested on

closer, molecular inspection.

• Bernard’s concept of 10 elements as posted in the textbook’s Chapter 3 provides a firm trajectory in testing an idea at the level of firm detail.


Review:• The 10 are: - Access and Feasibility

- Affordability- Passion and Curiosity

- Audience - Relevance - Timeliness

- Visualization


Review:• The 10 are (continued): - Hook

- Existing Projects - Is This a Film You’d Want to See


Review:• All of these 10 are important but

some are more important than others.

• For example, Access and Feasibility is at the top of the list for a reason.

• Are the key people accessible and is the idea realistic? If not, move on.


Review:• Affordability is of a great

importance, too.

• Yes, it’s possible to produce, write and direct a documentary for $500.

• But that’s not a competitive production budget for if you wish commercial distribution of the finished film.


Review:• In addition to revealing whether

the idea is in compliance with Bernard’s list of 10 elements, the preliminary research into the idea ought to show broadly whether the concept of the three C’s as identified by Trisha Das are available at the core of the story.

• The three C’s are:


Review:• Character• Conflict• Change


Review:• Make sure to honestly test ideas

against all 10 and the three C’s.


Review:• At this point, firm confirmation

or continued identification of potential interview subjects ought to commence in a process known as the pre-interview.

• The pre-interview provides information and will determine whether a person is worth putting on-camera during the production phase.


Review:• Pre-interviews can take place

via phone or email or in-person (depending on geography).

• The responses can be applied to the subsequent steps in paraphrase form, so it is fine if these are informally pursued.


Review:• With the research deepening

and the pre-interviews underway, the scripting process ought to commence with ongoing composition of a treatment.

• A treatment is a summary of a documentary that shows how the story will unfold.


Review:• Please note: the treatment can

serve as container for all your research points including pre-interview material until a point where a solid formulation can be drafted.

• In other words, the treatment is both a process and a goal en route to molding story development and research into visuals into a narrative.


Review:• The treatment should indicate

the flow of the narrative as segmented by the traditional three-act structure as an organizing tool.

• This is where the idea begins to take on a life of its own as for the first time it is rendered in textual form that reveals the shape of a documentary.


Review:• The outline follows the

treatment.

• This textual device organizes the information as it is presented point-by-point in a form that can serve as a blueprint for the script.


Review:• The script itself should be

drafted next.

• It must be rendered in two columns, with the video on the left and the audio on the right in draft form.


Review:• There is no expectation that the

draft script will be the final script, as research continues, new material emerges and filming commences.

• But it serves the purpose of forcing the fact that the writer must write to pictures and, as such, needs to calibrate the writing to that form.


Review:• The draft script also serves as

yet another test, or validation point, for the idea.

• Is there enough “cover” or video for expository material?

• That’s just one question the draft answers. As such, it can enhance preparation when production begins.


Review:• In short, matching the

information with the visual elements at this stage provides a good test of the writer’s capacity to imagine how a documentary will look when linked to factual material posted in the script.


Review:• It’s important to recognize that

in factual, visual storytelling, the script is never finalized until the end of post-production, when the documentary is locked for distribution.

• But the drafting process that begins in pre-production is essential to making sure a story is well-told.


Review:• That’s the process, and that’s

what we have covered in class this semester.

• To be sure, the tension about whether to script or not to script, to pre-interview or not to pre-interview, will persist in some quarters.


Review:• But if you wish to be successful

in the craft of writing and researching (and producing and directing) documentary films, you would need to know two things:

- You can never have enough cover.

- You can never have too much preparation.


Review:• Writing and researching for a

draft script will guarantee that you will be successful on those two points.

• Thanks for a great semester and please consider producing your ideas for the screen!

Education

JRN 572 - Lecture 14