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Documentary Storytelling, 3rd Edition
book

Documentary Storytelling, 3rd Edition

by Sheila Curran Bernard
September 2012
Beginner
387 pages
10h 53m
English
Focal Press
Content preview from Documentary Storytelling, 3rd Edition

CHAPTER 4

Story Structure

One of the best ways to gauge the status of a film in progress is to ask the filmmaker to tell you what it's about. If he or she immediately launches into a lengthy description of the opening shot or an amazing scene—and this happens all the time—the film is probably in trouble. Visuals serve a story; they are not the story. As filmmaker Ronald Blumer has said, “Film is not a visual medium, it's a story medium.”

In previous chapters, we've looked at what a story is. In this chapter, we'll explore ways to see the story at its most basic level, its structure. One good way to do this is through pitching—not just at the start of a project, but throughout shooting and especially editing. Pitching forces you to take everything ...

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Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9780240812410