Chapter 7Research
Research means immersing yourself in your subject so you can decide who and what you might film. Growing familiarity and analysis reveal which people, situations, and materials you’d really like for your documentary. Then you can direct a film with shape and purpose.
Direct intelligently by reaching preliminary conclusions before shooting. If you don’t, everything will look equally useful. Afterwards your material will look like surveillance camera material—no weight, purpose, or inherent story.
Creating Restrictions
You research not just to discover people and situations but also to decide the restrictions that will narrow ...
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