10Choosing and Framing Footage
In Part IIIa we discussed the mechanics of how to put together documentary scenes. Now we need to look a little deeper at the relative value and potential function of the different types of footage that might be available to us. If we’re choosing between describing an event via talking head interviews, showing it with verité footage, depicting it in reenactments, or summarizing it in a title card, how do we decide which way to tell our story? Every film will proceed according to its own logic, but let’s start by positing that we should always try to bring the audience as close as possible to firsthand experience.
A Hierarchy of Experience
I’ve found that the closer you can get to the source and the closer you ...
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