Producing with Passion. Dorothy Fadiman

straightforward way to get started on a film: Clarify what you want your film to be about, write a brief overview, decide what you want to shoot, and begin shooting.

       5. Shooting without a script does not mean grabbing the camera and running out to shoot whatever you see. It means planning thoughtfully and being open to the story that emerges from the material.

      Some filmmakers prepare a script, treatment, and proposal before beginning to shoot. My approach is different. I usually do some background research, make contacts with crew and interviewees, start filming, and then allow the story to emerge from the footage. I gather material and raise money as I go.

      This chapter suggests ways to start your film before you know exactly where you will end up, and encourages you not to worry about how you are going to get there.

DO YOU NEED A SCRIPT?

      One of the first decisions you will make is whether or not you will write a script. Many modern documentaries are made without scripts. Scripted documentaries, however, have a long and prestigious history.

       Scripted Documentaries

      Some documentaries — such as most educational and industrial films — call for a clear structure and a script.

      One of the best examples of a scripted documentary is Night Mail, a film made in 1936 by Harry Watt and Basil Wright.

      Night Mail shows the nightly mail trains between England and Scotland. A voice-over narration, written by W. H. Auden, tells how the mail service delivers mail each night to towns and villages.

      A combination of great camera work, strong images, poetic narration, and compelling music made the film an instant success.

      Night Mail (1936), Harry Watt and Basil Wright.

      There are many good books that address scripted documentaries, and one of the best is Directing the Documentary by Michael Rabiger.

      But — for the kind of documentary that this book invites you to dare to make — what you need more than a script is a sense of adventure.

       The Power of Unscripted Moments

      The key to success when working without a script is to be ready for moments that become the heart of the story. After deciding to make a film about an innovative school, my videographer, Peter, and I chose to spend the first day in the schoolyard, ready to record whatever happened.

      The first day of filming, Peter waded into a group of twenty nursery school students. Soon the children forgot about the camera. He filmed as they screamed with excitement, dunking fat brushes into cans of paint, bristles dripping with thick wet color as they painted their climbing equipment, and sometimes each other.

      I didn’t need to tell Peter what to shoot. He knew, intuitively, how to spot “the action.” I watched as he followed a little boy with golden curls who was starting to cry. The child ran over to his teacher to tell her he was sad. She leaned toward him to listen.

      As Peter came closer, the camera microphone picked up the little boy’s words, “John splashed paint in my ear.”

      The teacher asked, “Did you tell him you didn’t like it?” The boy shook his head “No,” then turned toward the other little boy, who was now far across the schoolyard. Peter followed as the boy toddled over to the other child.

      We picked up his voice as he announced, with determination, “John! Don’t splash paint in my ear!” There is no way we could have scripted that moment. Did we have great sound? No. Was it good enough to capture a great moment? Yes.

      Later, during an interview with the director of the school, she said, “We don’t label children’s behavior as good or bad, we look at what’s working and what isn’t working, and that makes sense to kids.” Her statement explains why no one was reprimanded in the paint-splashing episode.

      To film an unscripted documentary, you decide generally what to film — the time of day, the location, who to interview — and prepare to shoot that material. Then you let the story unfold. In this case a scene was built around one unplanned exchange that tells a story about this alternative approach to education. Ideally, the footage and the emerging story “click.” (See Chapter 15 for a description of editing.)

      Be alert for opportunities to shape the story so it is yours. First, you choose what to shoot, and then you select the moments that stand out for you.

      The absence of a blueprint does not mean grabbing the camera and running out to shoot whatever you see. Instead, it means beginning early on to put together a supportive team; doing some homework first; finding and framing the idea; doing background research; and once you start shooting, opening yourself to the direction suggested by what you see and hear. In this way, you allow what you gather to inform you about where to go instead of following a predetermined script.

      Working in this way, I find that the script begins to develop as I work. Each interviewee adds direction while the new footage and other images suggest more to the story. I bring these pieces into the editing process where the script takes shape.

YOUR TREATMENT

      A treatment (for a documentary film) is usually one to three pages that overview the project in a narrative form, as a short, detailed story (with a beginning, a middle, and an end) describing what the audience will see on the screen. If you are writing it for yourself, which is useful, it should be one of the first things you do. However, some filmmakers wait until they approach funders and use the treatment as a frame for others to better understand what you are planning to do. As you go forward, for some potential funders, you may need to write a much longer treatment. Eventually, you will write a full proposal.

      You can use your treatment as a springboard to write a proposal, create a budget, raise money, and do preproduction planning. It will help you estimate out how many locations, shooting days, and interviewees you might need to make your film.

      Ideally, a treatment will pull the reader in immediately, creating interest, and a desire to read all the way to the end. Make your treatment concise, yet detailed. The details will engage the reader, and help you to figure out how to “flesh out” your film.

      At this point, you might review how other filmmakers have solved problems similar to ones you face. As you work on your treatment, you can combine previous approaches with your own, and come up with new ways to use the elements you have to work with.

      You might begin your treatment by describing an interesting event, anecdote, or scene. Tell the reader what he or she will see onscreen as the event plays out. When you have a compelling opening, tell the rest of the story in a way that will hold a reader from beginning to end. As you write, keep in mind that the treatment is only a rough sketch of what your film might look like. The final story will be decided in the editing room.

WAYS TO TELL YOUR STORY

      Once you are clear whether or not you will have a script, the question becomes: What filmmaking style will be yours?

      In film school, students usually learn different styles of documentary filmmaking. Then, when they set out to make a film, they choose the appropriate style.

      But as long as you are familiar with the major styles as options, you may choose one style, and stay with it through the film, or you may mix styles as the material demands. As you discover your own style, you might watch documentaries made in different styles, and choose one or more that feel right for you and your films.

       Some Styles Used by Documentary Filmmakers

      In his book Introduction to Documentary, Bill Nichols defines five distinct styles of documentary: