Documentary film inherently presents challenges that don’t exist within narrative film – crafting a story through interviews, utilizing archival footage and shooting in unsecure locations. The following tips are good jumping off points for those new to the documentary format, as well as solid reminders for seasoned documentarians.<\/p>\n
Don’t just capture the subject, but capture the environment as well. I worked as the Director of Cinematography on a documentary film about an explosion that rocked a small community. The crew was not there to capture the blast, but we were there for the aftermath. We spent several weeks in and around the small town capturing everything from destroyed houses with abandoned toys on the floor to the unscathed main street and even the quiet outskirts with nothing but cotton fields. All of these shots of the environment are vital in telling the total story and for giving your audience a sense of place.<\/p>\n
When filming you want to make sure that the shots you capture have good variety and are covering as much of the action as possible. The last thing you want to do is go into the editing room with a host of shots that look exactly the same in terms of framing, movement or non-movement. Variety makes it much easier to develop the visuals underneath the narrative from your subjects. Having these solid starting and ending frames will save you a lot of headaches and make it much easier to develop pacing for your film. So while your filming think about each shot and how you would connect one with the other. How can you frame in such a way to create smooth transition from one cut to another?<\/p>\n
The audience needs to clearly see your interview subject so light them accordingly. If you don’t have access to a light kit you’ll want to utilize natural light as much as possible. Setting up near a window can work if you use it as a side light or back light, then reflect that light back onto the subject. When going outside to conduct your interview be sure to do so either in the morning or afternoon (you don’t want a noon day sun shining down on your subject). Lighting can sway an audience’s emotions one way or another, so use that to your advantage.<\/p>\n
Erick Beck with Indy Mogul<\/strong><\/em><\/a> has a good video up where he goes through his top 5 Lighting Techniques.<\/p>\n