Documentary Voice & Vision

Chapter 16Production Procedures, Etiquette, and Safety

■ On the Documentary Set

With small crews in real-world locations and situations that can vary from a quiet living room to a war zone, the documentary set would appear to have little of the hierarchy visible on fiction film sets. Very often, there will be no more than three or four people collaborating on a project. But don’t let the small size fool you! Good documentary filmmaking is not about “shooting from the hip.” When you are on location, in the middle of other people’s lives with your cameras, microphones, and lights, it is extremely important to have a clear idea of who does what, and who, quite literally, “calls the shots.” A smart director will share her vision with her crew in ...