WRITING, DIRECTING, AND PRODUCING DOCUMENTARY FILMS AND VIDEOS Writing, Directing, and Producing Documentary Films and Videos Third Edition Alan Rosenthal Southern Illinois University Press Carbondale and Edwardsville Copyright © 1990, 1996, 2002 by Alan Rosenthal All rights reserved Revised Edition 1996 Third Edition 2002 Printed in the United States of America 05 04 03 02 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Rosenthal, Alan, date. Writing, directing, and producing documentary ¤lms and videos / Alan Rosenthal.— 3rd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Documentary ¤lms—Production and direction. 2. Documentary ¤lms—Authorship. I. Title. PN1995.9.D6 R65 2002 070.1′8—dc21 ISBN 0–8093–2448–2 (paper : alk. paper) 2002018706 Printed on recycled paper. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48–1992. > For Tirtsa CONTENTS Preface to the Third Edition ix Preface to the Revised Edition xi Preamble: Preface to the First Edition xv 1. Introduction 1 Part One. From Idea to First Draft 2. Clearing the Decks 9 3. Getting to Work 19 4. Writing the Proposal 33 5.Research 50 6. Shaping the Film 59 7. Beginning the First Draft 82 8. Completing the First Draft 96 Part Two. Preproduction 9. Budget and Contract 129 10. Preproduction Survey 144 Part Three. Production 11. The Director Prepares 163 vii CONTENTS 12. D irecting the I nterview 175 13. O n Location 188 Part Four. Postproduction 14. Editing 199 15. Writing the F inal Narration 219 16. F inishing the F ilm 254 Part Five. Special Cases 17. Cinema Verite 265 18. D ocumentary D rama 276 19. T he History D ocumentary 297 20. F amily F ilms 307 21. I ndustrial and Public Relations F ilms 329 22. Staying Alive 342 Conclusion 23. Problems and Challenges 363 Appendix: Budget for a O ne-Hour D ocumentary, Peace Process 375 Selected Bibliography 381 I ndex 383 viii PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION Some learned sage is once reputed to have said “The only constant is change.” Those were indeed words spoken in wisdom. About ¤ve years ago, I pushed away my pen (actually word processor) after completing the second edition of this book. I was happy. I could take a holiday. Now I could lie low for at least ten years before it would be necessary to update the text. Well, I was wrong once again. New equipment, new broadcast systems, new approaches, and new ¤lming methods, not to mention the Web and digital video, have all forced me to reconsider how one approaches documentary ¤lmmaking in the twenty-¤rst century. The fruits of that thinking underpin this new edition. Again, the emphasis in this book is on what to say and what to show, and how to do both these things in the best possible way. So this is a book about storytelling—how to tell great and moving stories about fascinat- ing people, whether they be villains or heroes. My goal in this new edition has been to enlarge and amplify certain key elements that were discussed in the earlier texts. Thus, the chapter on editing has been revised to take into account the massive strides in the use of nonlinear editing. Again, because cable TV stations like Discovery and A&E demand such precise and exacting proposals, I have provided even more examples of how one accomplishes these tasks. Budgeting has also been rethought, with the examination of a fairly complex budget ix PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION example to show how it is all done. The chapter entitled “Staying Alive” has also been expanded to show in more detail how European and U.S. stations approach documentary, and how the Web can help you in ¤nding your market. I have also added a new chapter entitled “Family Films.” This seems to me a genre that has been growing by leaps and bounds these last few years; thus, a few words on its possibilities and its pitfalls seemed to me very necessary for both new and mature video and ¤lmmakers. Once more, many friends helped in providing stimulating ideas, provo- cations, and assistance, namely, Henry Breitrose, Deann Borshay Liem, John Marshall, Len McClure, Russell Porter, Michael Rabiger, and Ken Paul Rosenthal. To all of them my thanks. Dr. Victor Valbuena and the staff of Ngee Ann Polytechnic also offered me wonderful general assis- tance during my ¤ve-month sojourn in Singapore. The stay will not be forgotten. Extra special thanks must go to John Else, Jon Fox, Jan Krawitz, Minda Martin, Lilly Rivlin, and Steve Thomas, who took time off to dis- cuss their ¤lms with me at length and, in four cases, allowed me to use excerpts from their work. Again, along with thanks, I would also like to acknowledge that all the script or document extracts used herein retain the copyright of the original owners. This is my third book for Southern Illinois University Press, and no one could have a better patron. Here, my thanks go in particular to Rick Stetter, new friend, and to Jim Simmons, my favorite editor and drinking buddy. Finally, I would like to express gratitude to my copy editor, Marie Maes, and to Tirtsa Elnathan, who was always there for me. x PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION In 1988, I took a summer off to review some ideas on non¤ction ¤lm- making. There seemed to be a dearth of good material on the subject, and I thought there might be room for a short book that would assist both students and professionals in making great documentaries. I wanted to write a book that would guide ¤lmmakers from the initial idea through to the ¤nished ¤lm, while exploring in detail all the processes and prob- lems, pitfalls and challenges along the way. But I also wanted it to be a book that would appeal to the mind and the imagination, one that would not simply lay out rules but would stimulate the ¤lmmaker to reach fur- ther, aim higher, and let his or her imagination soar in the process of creation. And, after two years, Writing, Directing, and Producing Documentary Films was born. I had thought the book would be a useful tool but was amazed at how warm and positive a reception it was given. Since its publication, it has been used in courses from Australia to California, and from London to Hong Kong. Students have discussed it with me. Colleagues have shared their opinions with me, and a surprisingly large number of people have written to me about it, mostly in very supportive tones. At the same time that I was trying to assess all these reactions, the documentary world itself was going through many changes. MTV was xi PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION in®uencing the style and pace of cutting. The words CD-ROM were be- ginning to circulate. Video was being used more and more in place of ¤lm. Equipment was becoming increasingly miniaturized. Computerized nonlinear editing was becoming more common. And stylistic experi- ments were taking place everywhere, from the verse documentaries of Pe- ter Symes and Tony Harrison and the Hi-8 efforts of Ellen Bruno to the cinema verite playgrounds of the BBC’s and Australia’s Sylvania Waters. Gradually, it seemed to me the time had come for a second edition that would both bring the book up to date and also bring it even more in line with the needs of students and experienced professionals. While still guided by my ¤rst principles, that this should be a book about ideas rather than equipment, I have nevertheless made a great num- ber of changes. The most important of these is that the book now talks to the video documentarist as much as the pure ¤lmmaker. Thus, it discusses at length the creative possibilities of lightweight equipment, the nature of on- and off-line editing, the advent of the Avid, and the revolution in non- linear editing. The second change, directly in®uenced by my students’ comments, is that I have increased the number of examples, from proposal writing to the preparation of treatments and narration. I’ve also added a few more comments from assorted ¤lmmakers showing how they have dealt with different problems, such as Stephen Most’s intervention in the making of Berkeley in the Sixties. Most chapters have been considerably enlarged, and a few have been quite drastically rewritten. Thus, chapter 18, on documentary drama, has had to take into account the tremendous activity and expansion of the form in the last few years and now discusses more deeply the various directions in which the genre is heading. Finally, besides including a bibliography and index, I have added a to- tally new chapter called “Staying Alive.” As the title suggests, the section is mainly about funding, getting grants, and ¤nding your way around cable and television commissioning editors. Working on the revisions has been fun. Once again, it necessitated a total immersion in documentary. And, once again, I’ve emerged from the experience surprised and delighted in the strength and fascination of the genre and the courage and backbone of most of its practitioners. As I’ve said in the general introduction, unless you feel passionate about docu- mentary, you might as well forget it. There are easier ways to make a liv- ing (though maybe few as satisfying). xii PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION As usual, many of the improvements in this book are due to my friends and colleagues at Stanford University, namely, Henry Breitrose, Jan Krawitz, and Kristine Samuelson.