Directing the Documentary, 6th Edition

Directing the Documentary, 6th Edition

by Michael Rabiger
Released September 2014
Publisher(s): Routledge
ISBN: 9781317963882

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Book description

Directing the Documentary, Sixth Edition is the definitive book on the form, offering time-tested principles to help you master the craft. Ideal for documentary courses as well as aspiring and established documentary filmmakers, this book has it all, with in-depth lessons and insider perspectives on every aspect of preproduction, production, and postproduction. Focusing on the hands-on work needed to make your concept a reality, this new edition covers it all, from the fundamental to advanced elements of directing and more. It includes dozens of projects, practical exercises, and thought-provoking questions, and provides best practices for researching and honing your documentary idea, developing a crew, guiding your team, maintaining control throughout the shoot, and much more.

This new edition features:


  • A two-stage cinematic learning process: camera observation skills, then advanced storytelling


  • Dozens of real-world exercises and case studies to demystify production processes and enhance your skills


  • Easy-to-comprehend guidance in the creative, technical, and artistic aspects of directing


  • Fresh coverage of the latest filmmaking technology


  • Expanded sections on grant writing and fundraising, emphasizing proposal and pitching skills


  • A self-assessment of your interviewing skills and expanded coverage of narration-writing


  • A companion website (www.directingthedocumentary.com) that includes handy production checklists and forms, updated projects, exercises, and video examples

In Directing the Documentary, Sixth Edition Michael Rabiger combines expert advice on the storytelling process and technical aspects of documentary filmmaking with sound commentary on the philosophical underpinnings of the art, providing the practical and holistic understanding you need to become a highly-regarded, original, and ethical contributor to the genre.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Half Title
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright Page
  5. Dedication
  6. Table of Contents
  7. Preface to the Sixth Edition
  8. Contents of Companion Website
  9. Book I: Observing
    1. Part 1: You and Your Ideas
      1. 1 You and Film Authorship
        1. The Director’s Temperament
        2. Unfinished Business: How Your Life Has Usefully Marked You
          1. Project 1-1: The Self-Inventory (Marks and Themes)
          2. Project 1-2: What Is the Family Drama?
        3. The Work of the Director
          1. Witnessing with the Future Box
          2. Ethnography
          3. Working for Social Change
          4. A Rewarding Way of Life
          5. Learning from What you Shoot
          6. Filmmaking Democratized
          7. The Ordinary Can be Extraordinary
          8. Documentaries that Cross Boundaries and Buck Trends
          9. Importance of Creativity
        4. Documentary as a Prelude to Directing Fiction
        5. Getting an Education
          1. Film School
          2. Teaching Yourself
          3. Planning Your Future
          4. Journals
          5. Internships as a Student
        6. Hands-On Learning
      2. 2 The Nature of Documentary
        1. Beginnings
          1. Grierson’s Definition
          2. Documentary as Art
          3. An Oral Tale with a Purpose
          4. Art Finds Order
          5. Characters with Goals
        2. Philosophies of Approach
          1. Observational Mode
          2. Participatory Mode
          3. Making Incursions
          4. Giving, Not Just Taking
          5. A Workhorse Genre
        3. Testing for Documentary Values
        4. Learning From Your Work
          1. The Artistic Process
          2. When You Lose Your Way
          3. Privacy and Competition Issues
          4. Hostile Environments
        5. Hands-On Learning
    2. Part 2: Documentaries and Film Language
      1. 3 Documentary History
        1. Technology and Screen Language
        2. Birth of the Cinema
        3. The Documentary Arrives on the Scene
        4. Documentary Paradoxes
        5. The Cinematic Eye
        6. Sound
          1. Travelogue
          2. Essay Films
        7. Shooting Goes Mobile
        8. Direct Cinema and Cinéma Vérité
          1. Observational Documentary
          2. Participatory Documentary
          3. Waiting for Privileged Moments
        9. Objectivity and Subjectivity
        10. Which Approach is Best?
        11. The Ascendency of Editing
          1. The Three-Act Structure in Documentary
        12. Video and Digital Technology
        13. Eclectic Filmmaking
          1. Longitudinal Study
          2. Brechtian Protest
          3. Documentary Noir
          4. Diary
          5. Ambush and Advocacy
          6. Archive-Based Filmmaking
          7. 3D Documentaries
          8. The Interactive Documentary
        14. Hands-On Learning
      2. 4 Constructing Reality
        1. The “Contract” and Exposition
        2. Actuality and Evidence
          1. Types of Actuality
          2. Objectivity, Balanced Reporting, and Propaganda
          3. Fairness
          4. Evidence Then and Now
          5. Documentary is Not Reality, But a Construct
        3. Drama
          1. Authored Constructs
          2. Conflict
          3. Character-Driven or Plot-Driven Stories
          4. Dramatic Tension
          5. Development
        4. Film Language
        5. Form and Style
        6. Hands-On Learning
      3. 5 Story Elements and Film Grammar
        1. Perception and Making Stories
        2. How Screen Language Mimics Consciousness
        3. Documentary Ingredients and Human Consciousness
          1. Elements
          2. A Guiding Theory
          3. Shots are Like the Human Gaze
          4. Cuts
          5. Camera Movement
          6. Motivated Camera Movements and Cuts
          7. Denotation and Connotation
        4. The Camera in Relation to Action
          1. Preparing to Shoot with Feeling
          2. The Actor and the Acted-Upon
          3. Observing a Conversation
          4. Hunting Subtexts
          5. Hidden Agendas and Subtexts
          6. Attention and Focus
          7. Eye Contact and Eyelines
          8. Looking At, and Looking Through
        5. Scene Geography and Axes
          1. Scene Axis
          2. Camera Axis
          3. Panning and Cutting
          4. Screen Direction
          5. Changing Screen Direction
        6. Shot Duration, Rhythm, and Demand on the Audience
          1. Generating Options
          2. Shot Duration
          3. Visual Rhythm
          4. Rhythms Help Us Concentrate
          5. Speech Rhythms
        7. Sequences as Building Blocks
          1. Elision
        8. Transitions and Transitional Devices
          1. Picture Transitions
          2. Sound Transitions
          3. Overlap Cuts
        9. Your Dual Roles: Observer and Storyteller
          1. Conflicts Between the Two
          2. Resolving Tensions
        10. Hands-On Learning
    3. Part 3: Preproduction
      1. 6 Developing Story Ideas
        1. Ideation
          1. Beginning the Writing Process
        2. Story Sources
          1. Making an Idea Database
          2. Keeping a Journal
          3. Newspapers and Magazines
          4. Online
          5. History
          6. Legends
          7. Myths
          8. Family Stories
          9. Childhood Stories
          10. Social Science and Social History
          11. Fiction
        3. Selecting a Subject
        4. Testing a Subject
          1. Don’t Bite Off More Than You Can Chew
          2. Narrow the Frame
        5. Choosing a Central Character
          1. Character is Destiny
        6. Locating and Raising the Stakes
          1. Manipulation Dangers
        7. Using the Medium to Stir Feelings
          1. Shock Value
          2. Primary Evidence
          3. Testing for Cinematic Qualities
          4. Mood Matters
          5. Local Can be Large
        8. Subject-Driven, Character-Driven, and Plot-Driven Films
          1. Subject-Driven Films
          2. What to Avoid
          3. Displace and Transform
        9. Hands-On Learning
      2. 7 Research
        1. Developing a Proposal
          1. A Note on Film Writing
          2. Research Overview
        2. Make a Working Hypothesis
        3. Project 7-1: Developing a Brief Working Hypothesis
        4. Field Research
          1. Narrowing the Frame
          2. Taking Notes
          3. Research Methods are Subject-Driven
          4. Finding the Paradigm
          5. Shootable Evidence
          6. Making an Inventory
        5. Project 7-2: Dramatic Content Worksheet
        6. How to Film It: Style and Content
        7. Hands-On Learning
      3. 8 Developing and Pitching a Short Documentary
        1. Turning Dramatic Content into an Outline
        2. Pitching
          1. Who/What/When/Where/Why
          2. A Typical Pitch
          3. Critiquing a Pitch
        3. Expanding the Pitch to a Proposal
        4. Scheduling
        5. Signed Agreements
          1. Location Agreement
          2. Personal Release
        6. Budget
        7. Project 8-1: A Short Observational Documentary
          1. Some Short Film Proposals and Their Films
        8. Hands-On Learning
      4. 9 The Crew
        1. Developing Your Own Crew
          1. Why Crewmembers’ Temperaments Matter
        2. Small Crew Roles and Responsibilities
          1. Director
          2. Director of Photography (DP), and/or Camera Operator
          3. Sound Recordist
          4. Put Commitments in Writing
    4. Part 4: Production
      1. 10 Capturing Sound
        1. Headphones to Monitor Your Work
        2. Sound Design and Soundscapes
        3. Sound Terms
          1. Acoustics and the Hand-Clap Test
          2. Signal, Noise, and Signal-to-Noise Ratio
          3. Ambience
          4. Resonance and Echo
          5. Presence
        4. Microphones
          1. Transduction
          2. Microphone Axis and Directionality
          3. Sound Perspective
        5. How Sound Behaves
          1. Signal Decay over Distance
          2. Defensive Measures
        6. Sound Environments and Signal-to-Noise Ratio
          1. Why Sound Consistency is So Important
        7. Sound and the Camcorder
          1. Balanced and Unbalanced Inputs
          2. Strain Relief
          3. Automatic Sound Level
          4. Manual Sound Level
          5. Volume Unit (VU) Meters
          6. Averaging and Peaking
          7. The Microphone Input Box
          8. Making Use of Stereo Inputs
        8. Microphone Types and Pickup Patterns
          1. Power Supplies
          2. Pickup Patterns
          3. Body Mike Precautions
          4. Roll-Off
          5. Wireless Mikes
          6. Wired Mikes
          7. Spares and Accessories
        9. Microphone Handling
          1. Handling the Fishpole
          2. Windscreens and Shock Mounts
          3. When Sound and Picture Subjects Diverge
          4. The Recordist and the Camera
          5. Safety Cover
          6. Virtuoso Performances
        10. Shooting
          1. Location Spotting and Ambient Noise
          2. Interiors
          3. Sounds on the Set
          4. Presence Track Recording
        11. Sound with Editing in Mind
          1. How the Editor Uses Presence Tracks
          2. Ambience Inconsistencies
          3. Wild Tracks
          4. Sound Effects
          5. Soundscape Construction
        12. Hands-On Learning
      2. 11 Lighting
        1. Light Quality
          1. Soft Light
        2. Lighting Instruments
          1. Light Quality and Lighting Instruments
          2. Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)
          3. HMI Lamps
          4. Fluorescents
          5. Color Temperature
          6. Safety
        3. Power Supplies
          1. Power Requirements Vary by Instrument
          2. Calculating Consumption
          3. Scouting Locations
        4. Lighting
          1. Defining Shadows (Hard and Soft Light)
          2. Why you May Need Lighting
          3. Curing Contrast Problems
          4. Avoiding the Overbright Background
        5. Lighting Methodology
          1. Key Light Direction
          2. Practical
          3. Cheating
        6. Two Basic Lighting Methods
          1. Adding to a Base and Using a Key
          2. Three-Point Lighting
        7. Lighting Tests and Rehearsals
          1. Backgrounds
        8. Hands-On Learning
      3. 12 Camera
        1. Codecs and Workflow
        2. Equipment Checkout
        3. Golden Rule #1, Test It First
        4. Golden Rule #2, Prepare for the Worst
        5. Camera
          1. Caveat Concerning DSLR Cameras and Timecode
          2. Body Design
          3. Viewfinder
          4. Camera Controls
          5. Professional Options
        6. Color Balancing the Camera
          1. White Balance Options
          2. Shooting under Mixed Color Temperatures
        7. Exposure
          1. Automatic Exposure
          2. Manual Exposure
          3. Backlight Control
          4. Picture Gain
        8. Filtering
          1. Neutral Density
          2. Other Filters
        9. Lenses
          1. Interchangeable Lenses
          2. Lenses and Perspective
          3. Lens Protection
        10. Aspect Ratio
        11. Focus and Depth of Field
          1. Practicalities of Focus and Depth of Field
        12. Power Supplies
        13. Camera Support Systems
          1. Tripod and Accessories
          2. Pan/Tilt Head Setup
          3. Quick-Release Plate
          4. Mobile Support Systems
        14. Monitors and Viewfinders
        15. Composing the Shot
          1. Rule of Thirds
          2. Matching Shots
          3. Lead Space
          4. Handheld Composing
          5. Covering Two People Standing in Conversation
        16. Camera Operating
          1. Check and Recheck Composition
          2. Camera Operator’s Interior Monologue
          3. Operator’s Body Mechanics
          4. Refocusing During a Shot
          5. Handheld Shots
          6. Walking a Handheld Camera
          7. Checking your Handheld Tracking Skills
          8. Tripod Preparation
          9. Error Recovery
          10. Operating with Editing in Mind
          11. Inserts and Cutaways
        17. Camera Operator’s Checklist
        18. Hands-On Learning
      4. 13 Directing
        1. Directing Participants
          1. Creating Trust
          2. A Documentary is a Record of Relationships
          3. In Search of Naturalness
          4. Giving Participants Work
          5. Interviewing in Brief
          6. Avoiding Voice Overlaps
          7. Silence is Golden
          8. Winding Up Gracefully
        2. Filming in Institutions or Organizations
        3. Directing the Crew
          1. Communication
          2. Who is Responsible for What
          3. Working Atmosphere
          4. Crew Unity
          5. Check the Shot
          6. Run-Up
          7. Positioning Yourself
          8. Crew Etiquette
          9. Communicating with the Camera Operator
          10. Communicating with the Sound Recordist
          11. Sensory Overload
          12. Breaks
          13. Who Else can Call “Cut!”
          14. Sound Presence
          15. Securing the Personal Release
          16. “It’s a Wrap”
        4. Assuring Quality
          1. Feedback
          2. Reinforcing the Purpose of the Shoot
        5. Hands-On Learning
    5. Part 5: Postproduction
      1. 14 Creating the First Assembly
        1. Editing Personnel, Process, and Procedures
          1. Director-Editors
          2. Equipment
        2. Using Transcripts
          1. Making Them
          2. A Workaround Solution to Transcribing
          3. Transcripts Can be Misleading
        3. Postproduction Overview
          1. Forestalling Workflow Problems
          2. Low Resolution Editing
          3. Digitizing
          4. Synchronizing Sound
          5. Logging and Categorizing the Material
        4. Viewings Before You Begin the Assemby
          1. Crew Dailies-Viewing Session
          2. Crew Reactions
          3. Editor and Director’s Viewing Session
          4. Taking Notes
          5. Gut Feelings Matter
        5. Beginning the Assembly
          1. Seeking a Visually Driven Film
          2. The Only Film is in the Dailies
          3. Rendering
        6. Finding a Structure
          1. Why Structure Matters
          2. Time and Structural Alternatives
          3. Finding an Action-Determined Structure
          4. Using a Speech-Based Narrative Structure
          5. The Contract
          6. Stories Need Dramatic Tension
          7. Stories Need Development
          8. Microcosm and Macrocosm
          9. Assembling
        7. Facing the First Assembly
          1. Return to Innocence
          2. Recognizing your Film’s Ideal Length
        8. Diagnostic Questioning
          1. What Works and What Doesn’t
        9. The Documentarian as Dramatist
          1. Pleasing Your Audience
          2. What Next, When the Dust Settles?
        10. Hands-On Learning
      2. 15 Editing for Refinement
        1. Compressing and Juxtaposing
          1. Elision
          2. Cutting Between Sequences
          3. Cutting Within a Sequence
          4. Action-Match Cutting
          5. Jump Cutting
          6. Using Fast or Slow Motion
          7. Parallel Cutting
          8. Cutting to a Rhythm
        2. Unifying Material into a Flow
          1. The Audience as Active Participants
        3. The Overlap Cut
          1. Mono- and Bi-directional Attention
          2. Dialogue Sequences
          3. Overlap Cut Theory
          4. Subtexts
          5. Transitions Between Sequences
          6. Anticipatory and Holdover Sound
        4. Editing Pitfalls
        5. Regaining Some Distance
          1. Make a Diagnostic Flow Chart
          2. A Trial Showing
          3. Sound Check
          4. Surviving Your Critics and Using What They Say
        6. Participant Viewings
          1. The Uses of Procrastination
          2. Try, Try Again
        7. Hands-On Learning
      3. 16 Editing From Fine Cut to Festival
        1. Aiming for a Fine Cut
          1. Check All Source Material
          2. Looking Ahead to the Sound Mix
        2. Sound Design
          1. The Sound Design Discussion
          2. Sound Clichés
          3. Recreating Sound Effects (SFX)
          4. Sound Libraries
          5. Equalization (EQ) and What the Sound Mix Can Do
          6. Sound Mix Preparation
          7. Narration or Voice-Over
          8. Dialogue Tracks and Problems of Inconsistency
          9. Laying Music Tracks
          10. Spot Sound Effects
          11. Using Atmospheres
        3. Sound Mix Strategy
          1. Premixing
          2. Tailoring
          3. Be Cautious with Comparative Levels
          4. Rehearse, Then Record
          5. Safety Copies
          6. Music and Effects (M & E) Tracks
        4. Titles
          1. Style
          2. Titling
          3. Font, Layout, and Size
          4. Overladen Titles
          5. Spelling
          6. Title Durations
          7. Copyright Mark
          8. Transcript and Subtitling
        5. Acknowledgments
        6. Legal Omissions
        7. Website and Press Kit
        8. Festivals
  10. Book II: Storytelling
    1. Part 6: Documentary Aesthetics
      1. Enter the Storyteller
        1. Give Yourself a Storytelling Role to Play
      2. 17 Point of View and Storytelling
        1. Monological Versus Dialogical Films
        2. Point of View
          1. Film, Literature, and Graphic Art
          2. Will and Empathy
          3. Using your Emotional Self
          4. POV in Screen Drama
          5. Observational or Participatory Approach
          6. Overview of Generating POVs
        3. Range of POV on the Screen
          1. Single POV (Character in the Film)
          2. Multiple Characters’ POVs Within the Film
          3. Omniscient POV
          4. Personal POV
          5. Reflexivity and Representation
          6. Self-Reflexivity
        4. Film Language and the Authorial Voice
          1. Finding Fresh Language
          2. Storyteller and POV Question Checklist
        5. Hands-On Learning
      3. 18 Dramatic Development, Time, and Story Structure
        1. Plots and their Central Characters
          1. Plot and the Rules of the Universe
          2. Active and Passive
          3. Heroes and Heroines
          4. “Character is Fate”
          5. Whether the Hero Develops
          6. The Antihero
        2. Drama and the Three-Act Structure
          1. The Dramatic Arc
          2. Defining the Crisis
        3. Scenes are Dramas in Microcosm
          1. The Director Intercedes
          2. Beats and Dramatic Units
          3. Misidentifying Conflicts
          4. A Scene May Have One Dramatic Unit or Several
          5. Inhalation and Exhalation
        4. The Director as Dramatist
        5. Time and Structure
          1. Preparing for the Predictable
          2. Stories Need Development
        6. Chronological Time
          1. The Event-Centered Film
          2. The Process Film
          3. The Journey Film
          4. The Historical Film
          5. The Biographical Film
        7. Non-Chronological Time
          1. Time Reordered
          2. Poetic Time
          3. The Journey of Inquiry
          4. The Walled-City Film
          5. The Thesis Film
        8. Time as Non-Relevant
          1. The Catalogue Film
          2. When No Time Structure Predominates
        9. Structure Questionnaire
        10. Hands-On Learning
      4. 19 Form, Control, and Style
        1. Form
          1. Setting Limits
          2. Content Influences Form
        2. Style
          1. Style You Can’t Choose
          2. Style You Can Choose
        3. Hands-On Learning
      5. 20 Re-Enactment, Reconstruction, and Docudrama
        1. Re-enactments
          1. Truthful Labeling
          2. Using Actors
          3. Wholesale Reconstruction
        2. The Docudrama
          1. Subjective Reconstruction
        3. Fake Documentaries or Mockumentaries
        4. Hands-On Learning
      6. 21 Values, Ethics, and Choices
        1. Art and Temperament
        2. Form Follows Function
          1. Moral Responsibilities
          2. Evidence and Ethics
          3. Behalfers: Speaking for Others
        3. Embedded Values
        4. Ethical Conflicts in the Field
          1. Film is Collaborative, So is Responsibility
          2. Art as Displaced Autobiography
          3. Giving, Not Just Taking
        5. Hands-On Learning
    2. Part 7: Advanced Production Issues
      1. Part 7A: Advanced Preproduction
        1. 22 Advanced Research
          1. Researching for Information
            1. Archival Material
            2. Fair Use and Best Practices
          2. In Relation to Participants
            1. Observation and Access
            2. Keeping Notes
            3. Observing Character
            4. Open Questions and Leading Questions
            5. Trust
            6. The Case for Subterfuge
            7. Compromising Yourself
          3. Hands-On Learning
        2. 23 Advanced Story Development And Proposal
          1. Using the Working Hypothesis to the Full
          2. Evidence, Exposition, and Dramatic Tension
            1. Exposition
            2. The Problem and Dramatic Conflict
            3. Volition
            4. Challenging the Audience to Make Judgments
            5. Credibility of Evidence, Witnesses, and Testimony
            6. Credibility of Documentary Sources
            7. Making a Database and Marshaling Evidence
          3. Deciding Central Characters
            1. Defer Choosing Participants
            2. When in Doubt, Make a Recording
          4. Story Development
            1. List Your Action Material
            2. Develop Each Scene’s Dramatic Content
            3. Alternative Structures from a Card Game
            4. Try Your Materials Against the Dramatic Curve
          5. Developing a Proposal
            1. The Demo Reel
            2. Be Specific to the Fund
            3. Writing Quality
            4. Categorized Information
            5. Treatment
            6. Model Application
          6. Hands-On Learning
        3. 24 Advanced Technology And Budgeting
          1. Workflow and Equipment
            1. Choosing Film or Digital Acquisition
          2. Broadcast HD, Formats, and Scanning
            1. Frame Rates and Scanning
            2. Picture and Audio Compression
            3. Sensor Size
            4. High-End Digital Shooting—Uncompressed and RAW
            5. Consumer Cameras
            6. Digital Sound
            7. Double System Sync
            8. Postproduction
          3. Budgeting
            1. Above and Below the Line
            2. Insurances
            3. Budgeting and Scheduling Software
          4. Drawing Up an Equipment List
            1. Keep it Simple
            2. Over-Elaborate Equipment
          5. Scheduling the Shoot
            1. Locations and Shooting Order
            2. Shooting in Chronological Order
            3. Scheduling for Key Scenes
            4. Emotional Demand Order
            5. Weather and Other Contingency Coverage
            6. Allocation of Shooting Time Per Scene
            7. Under- or Over-Scheduling
            8. The Call Sheet
          6. Hands-On Learning
        4. 25 Preparations before Directing
          1. The Directing Plan
            1. Casting
            2. Reminders for Each Sequence
          2. Test Your Assumptions
          3. Obtaining Permissions
          4. Trial Shooting
          5. Scouting Locations
          6. Logistics and Scheduling
          7. Longitudinal Development
          8. Location Permits
            1. Permission
            2. Tripod or Other Camera Support Systems
            3. Guerillas in the Mist
          9. The Personal Release Form
          10. Crowd Scene Releases
          11. Legal Issues
          12. Paying Participants
            1. Celebrities
            2. Public Servants
            3. People in Dire Need
          13. Hands-On Learning
      2. Part 7B: Advanced Production
        1. 26 Optics
          1. Space and Perception
            1. Camera Eye and Human Eye
            2. Cheating Space
          2. Lens Characteristics
            1. How We Use Perspective
            2. Varying Apparent Separation
            3. Manipulating Perspective
            4. Focal Length
            5. Perspective Changes When Camera-to-Subject Distance Changes
            6. Lenses and Image Texture
            7. Lens Speed
          3. Depth
            1. Zooming Versus Dollying
            2. Getting a Film Look
            3. Depth of Field
          4. Composition
            1. Static Composition
            2. Aspects of Visual Design
            3. Visual Rhythm and Images in Succession
            4. Dynamic Composition
            5. Internal and External Composition
        2. 27 Advanced Cameras and Equipment
          1. Archiving Issues
          2. Compatibility
          3. Hiring Equipment
          4. Shooting Abroad
          5. Workflow
          6. Camera Support
            1. Tripod and Pan/Tilt Head
            2. Shoulder Rigs
            3. Stabilizers
            4. Dollies
          7. Settings and Options
            1. Aspect Ratio
            2. Timecode (TC)
          8. High-End Cameras Compared
          9. Camera Accessories
            1. Matte Box and Filters
            2. Lens Hood
          10. Camera Aesthetics
            1. Camera Height
            2. Adapting to Location Exigencies
            3. Backgrounds
            4. Revealing Subtexts
            5. Compromises for the Camera
            6. Strobing
          11. Care of People and Equipment
            1. Travel in Wild or Hazardous Areas
            2. Emergencies
        3. 28 Advanced Location Sound
          1. Shooting Single or Double System
            1. Creeping Sync
            2. Using the Camera to Record Sound
          2. Sound Recorders
            1. Location Recorders
            2. Sound Codecs
          3. Sound Mixers
            1. EQ and Roll-Off
            2. Volume Unit (VU) Meters
            3. When the Mixer Feeds into the Camera
            4. Peak Tests
            5. Multiple Mike Inputs
            6. Phasing
            7. Recording Stereo
            8. Phantom Power
          4. Smart Slates
          5. Sound Monitoring
          6. Microphone Types
            1. Cardioid
            2. Shotgun
            3. Lavalier
            4. Wireless Mikes
          7. Microphone Placement
            1. Lavalier
            2. Using the Fishpole
          8. What to Rent and What to Own
        4. 29 Organization, Crew, and Procedures for the Larger Production
          1. Outreach
          2. Production Department
            1. Producer
            2. Unit Production Manager (UPM)
          3. Sound and Camera Assistance
            1. Sound Assistants
            2. Camera Assistant
            3. Grip
            4. Gaffer
            5. Interns
          4. Procedures
            1. Sync Using a Clapperboard
            2. Shot Identification
            3. Alternative Numbering Systems
            4. Syncing Up Dailies
            5. Shooting Logs
            6. The Countdown to Shooting
            7. Starting Without a Clapper
          5. Hands-On Learning
        5. 30 Advanced Directing
          1. What Makes Us Feel Normal
            1. The Mind–Body Connection
            2. Doing What Comes Naturally
            3. Self-Image and Self-Consciousness
            4. Habits of Being
          2. Keys to Directing People
          3. Social and Formal Issues
            1. Advantages of the Small Crew
            2. Having or Losing Authority
            3. Using Social Times and Breaks
            4. Sharing in All Things
          4. Camera Issues and Point of View
            1. Compromises for the Camera
            2. Camera as Passport
          5. Point of View and Motivating the Camera’s Movements
            1. Explaining Multiple Angles on the Same Action
            2. Abstraction and Symbolism
            3. Serendipity
            4. Subjectivity Versus Objectivity
            5. Special Meaning Through Framing
            6. Using Context
          6. Coverage
            1. Scene Breakdown and Crib Notes
            2. Eyeline Shifts Motivate Cuts
            3. Reaction Shots and Eyeline Changes
            4. Cover Alternative Versions of Important Issues
          7. Production Stills
        6. 31 Conducting and Shooting Interviews
          1. First Contact
            1. Initial Research
            2. Deciding About Location
            3. Who Interviews
            4. One Camera or More?
            5. When Others are Present
            6. Interviewing Groups
            7. Vox Pops (vox populi, Latin for “voice of the people”)
          2. Preparation and Basic Skills
            1. Politely Setting Limits
            2. Metaphoric Thinking
            3. Human Constants
          3. Just Before the Interview
            1. Rehearse Alone
            2. Free Yourself to Listen
            3. Prepare the Camera Operator for Touch-Directions
            4. When Two Matching Shots Must Cut Together
            5. Agree on Image Size-Changes
            6. Vary Zoom Speeds
          4. Preparing the Interviewee
            1. Say What You Need
            2. Establish Your Right to Interrupt
          5. Camera and Editing Considerations
            1. Interviewer and Camera Placement
            2. When the Interviewer Should be On-Camera
          6. Preparing to Edit Out the Interviewer
            1. Including the Question in the Answer
            2. Voice Overlaps
          7. Vox Populi Interviews
          8. Solving the Need for Ellipsis
            1. Jump Cuts
            2. Cutaways
            3. Parallel Storytelling
            4. Varying Shot Sizes
          9. The Interview Begins
            1. Interviewing and Directing
            2. Lead by Example
            3. Leading Questions and Open Questions
            4. Focusing Questions
            5. The Right Order for Your Questions
            6. Maintain Eye Contact and Give Behavioral Feedback
            7. Aim to Elicit Feelings
            8. Going Where Angels Fear to Tread
            9. Temptations When Interviewing
            10. Having Power
            11. Witnessing
            12. The Interviewer’s Nightmare
            13. Dummy Run
          10. Interviewing in Depth
            1. Crossing Thresholds
            2. Silence is Your Most Powerful Instrument
            3. Don’t Catch Them When They Fall
            4. Privileged Moments and Beats
          11. Being Adversarial Without Giving Offense
            1. The Devil’s Advocate Approach
            2. Starting from Generalized Comment
          12. Seeking Briefer Versions
          13. Triggering Unfinished Business
          14. Concluding the Interview
            1. Invitation to Add Anything Not Covered
            2. The Release
          15. Interviewing Self-Assessment
          16. Going Further: “Inward Journey” Monologues
          17. Hands-On Learning
      3. Part 7C: Advanced Postproduction
        1. 32 From Transcript to Assembly
          1. What You Need for Transcripts
            1. Accurate Transcriptions
            2. Timecode (TC)
            3. Line Numbering
            4. Using a Database
          2. Selecting and Assembling Transcript Materials
          3. From Paper Edit to First Assembly
            1. Literal and Non-Literal Comments
            2. Treating Your Audience as Equals
            3. Give Action Preference over Words
        2. 33 Creating Narration
          1. Narration Pros and Cons
            1. Voice
            2. Drawbacks
            3. Problems Narration Can Solve
          2. Comparing Ways to Create Narration
            1. Method A—Reading from a Script
            2. Method B—Improvisation
          3. Method A: Creating the Scripted Narration
            1. Writing
            2. Timing and Syntax
            3. Accommodating Sound Features
            4. Complement, Don’t Duplicate
          4. Trying it Out: The Scratch Recording
          5. Narration: Auditioning and Recording
            1. A Script for the Narrator
            2. Conversing and Reading Aloud are Different
            3. Voice Auditions
            4. Recording and Directing the Narrator
            5. Acoustic Setting
            6. Reading
          6. Method B: Creating the Improvised Narration
            1. Simple Interview
            2. Improvising from a Rough Script
            3. Improvising from an Assumed Identity
            4. Recording Presence Track
          7. Secrets of Fitting Narration
            1. Using the First Word’s Power on a New Image
            2. Operative Words
        3. 34 Using Music and Working with a Composer
          1. Where to Use Music
            1. Using Music to Reveal Hidden Dimensions
            2. Music Misused
            3. Helping to Indicate Narrative Structure
            4. Helping to Indicate Emotional Depths
            5. Music as Storyteller Voice
          2. Starting and Stopping Music
            1. Stock Music
          3. Spotting Session
          4. Libraries and Copyright
          5. Working with a Composer
            1. Choosing a Composer
            2. When the Composer Comes on Board
            3. When there is a Temp Track
            4. Discussing a Music Cue List
            5. Compiling Music Cues
            6. Unifying Through Time
            7. Keys in Diegetic and Non-Diegetic Music
            8. Conflicts and Composing to Sync Points
            9. Conductor Needs
            10. Live Music Session
          6. Music in Postproduction
            1. Fitting Music
            2. The Sound Mix
        4. 35 Editing Refinements and Structural Solutions
          1. Editing Rhythms: An Analogy in Music
            1. Harmony
            2. Counterpoint
            3. Dissonance
          2. Using your Instincts While Editing
          3. Using Trial Audiences
            1. Subtexts and Making the Visible Significant
            2. When Instincts Aren’t Enough
          4. Using the Diagnostics Again
            1. Diagnostic Log
            2. Turning your Film into Playing Cards
            3. Dealing with Multiple Endings
            4. More Trial Audiences
            5. Length
          5. Fear of Failure
    3. Part 8: Work
      1. 36 Developing a Career
        1. Will I Find Work to Pay My Bills?
          1. On Graduating
          2. Networking
          3. Craftsperson
          4. Your Demo Reel for Getting Work
          5. Uploading
          6. You, on the Web
          7. Making a Job for Yourself
        2. The Search for Subjects
          1. Study the Competition
          2. Practice your Pitch
          3. The Demo Reel for a Particular Proposal
          4. Documentary Proposals
          5. Using Festivals
          6. The Importance of Short Films
        3. Seeking Job Information
          1. Informational Interviews
          2. On Getting a Work Interview
      2. 37 Starting up on Your own
        1. Starting a Business
          1. Incorporating
          2. For-Profit or Nonprofit?
          3. Fiscal Sponsorship
        2. Seeking Funds
          1. Current Information
          2. Kickstarter
          3. Caveats
          4. Funds and Foundations
          5. Survey Organizations
        3. Tod Lending on Proposals
        4. Funding Organizations
          1. Broadcast Organizations
          2. Government Agencies
        5. Marketing and Distribution
        6. A Personal Message
    4. Index

Product information

  • Title: Directing the Documentary, 6th Edition
  • Author(s): Michael Rabiger
  • Release date: September 2014
  • Publisher(s): Routledge
  • ISBN: 9781317963882