Digital Filmmaking For Kids For Dummies

PROJECT 10

Shooting Your Documentary

It’s now time to shoot your documentary using your shot list and your list of questions to ask your characters and subjects. Take the time to prepare and make sure you have filmed everything you need. It’ll make editing your film a lot easier.

Remember, a documentary is a fact-based, non-fiction film, so it’s important to present the information in your documentary as accurately and truthfully as possible and to respect the subjects you are working with. Also, remember that it’s important to avoid showing your opinions or feelings throughout your documentary.

In this chapter, I show you how to shoot a documentary that you will be proud to show your friends and family.

Create a Short Summary to Introduce Your Topic

The summary at the beginning of your documentary is a great way to introduce the topic. This summary can be made up of footage and interview clips from the main section. You could also write a voiceover to help introduce the topic. I often create the introduction summary toward the end of filming, because I know what I can use from the footage I have already filmed.

Expect your introduction summary to be about 30 seconds long — long enough to introduce the topic, inform your audience, and capture their interest. Think of the introduction summary is a trailer for the main section. The following list describes the sort of clips ...