Research: Begin with thorough research on the topic, the organization, and their core values. Understand the essence of what they represent.

Topic Selection: Compile a list of relevant topics and generate questions based on these topics. This will guide your exploration during filming and interviews.

Open-minded Approach: Maintain an open-minded perspective, especially when the project's parameters are not clearly defined. Avoid imposing preconceived notions and instead embrace the subject's viewpoint, allowing it to shape the narrative organically.

Producer Point of View: This perspective stems from the producer's own experiences, research, and comprehension of the subject matter. It's an interpretation crafted by the producer based on their understanding and insights.

Subject Point of View: Conversely, a subject point of view involves the direct input of the individuals or entities being documented. It offers a holistic perspective by allowing the subjects to share their own life experiences and insights on the topic, providing a more authentic and immersive narrative.

Conduct a Bias Check: It's essential to recognize that as a producer of the project, there's a risk of introducing biases into the story, influenced by personal experiences or perspectives. Conversely, a subject point of view tends to provide more intricate details and authenticity.

It's crucial to acknowledge any preconceived notions about the subject matter. Awareness of these biases helps prevent errors in question formulation and approach, ensuring a more impartial and objective documentary.

Crafting Open Ended Questions:

Crafting open-ended questions is essential to elicit detailed responses and enable subjects to share their lived experiences freely. This approach serves as a guide for subjects to provide the necessary feedback.

For instance, an open-ended question could be: "Could you describe the challenges you encountered during your time in school and explain how they influenced your decision to drop out?”

Writing your Shot List:

Writing your shot list is the next step in the process. For both photo and video documentaries, you can align your shot list with the questions you’ve formulated.

Ensure your shot list includes a variety of shots, including wide, medium, and close-up shots, to capture the essence of the subject comprehensively.

Additionally, don't overlook capturing plenty of surrounding shots to provide context and depth to your documentary.

Your shot list should also extend to your interview sessions. Pay close attention to the insights shared by your subjects during interviews, as they can inspire additional shots, particularly surrounding shots. Always include a drone shot in your list, as it can serve as valuable footage during editing. A well-executed drone shot can seamlessly tie together scenes or even serve as a captivating opening sequence for your documentary.

Daily Documentation Review:

During interviews, it's crucial to actively listen to your subjects as they provide insights into the story they wish to convey. Aim to interview as many individuals as possible, especially if they suggest others who may offer valuable perspectives. Consider conducting interviews in various locations or states to present a diverse, interethnic viewpoint on the subject.

After each day of fieldwork, review all collected data, including videos and audio recordings. Listen attentively to identify any additional questions that arise from the interviews. This process helps fill in any gaps in your initial questions and enhances your understanding of the project over time.

As you become more immersed in the documentary, you may find that your questions become less necessary. Eventually, you might even discard the script entirely and engage in more spontaneous, free-flowing conversations with your subjects.

Contextual Answers from Subjects:

It's essential to guide your subjects to provide contextual answers that directly address the questions asked.

For instance, if the question is, "Can you share with us the challenges you faced while in school and why it led you to dropping out?", encourage your subject to begin their response with a reference to the question, such as "The challenges that I faced that made me leave school were...".

This approach helps maintain clarity and coherence in the documentary's narrative, ensuring that viewers and editors can easily follow the flow of information without any crucial details being overlooked.

Time to Edit: Crafting Your Script

Once all the footage has been gathered, the next step is editing. Personally, I prefer to review all the footage myself before handing it over to the editor, as it allows me to familiarize myself with the stories to be told.

The next task is to enlist the help of a transcriber, who will meticulously document each interview word for word. If interviews were conducted in another language, a translator should be engaged for accurate translation. It's crucial that this transcription or translation is time-coded.

This time-coded transcription serves as a valuable tool for correlating each person's speech with the corresponding footage. From there, I craft the script, using the correlations and ensuring that it aligns seamlessly with the timing of the interviews.

The script is then passed on to the editor, who follows the time codes to synchronize the dialogue with the footage, creating a cohesive and compelling narrative flow.

First and Second Draft Editing Process:

Typically, I engage two editors for the editing process: the first editor focuses on creating the initial draft, while the second editor specializes in integrating B-roll footage.

The first editor utilizes the time-coded script to lay out the timeline, ensuring that the narrative structure is followed closely. This includes an introduction, which sets the stage for the story and can range from one to five minutes in length. The middle section solidifies the themes introduced to the audience, while the conclusion brings all elements together, potentially including a call to action or a concluding narrative interpretation.

The time-coded script facilitates this structured approach, particularly when integrating B-roll footage. I find it beneficial to collaborate closely with the first editor during script development, as their input can be creatively enriching.

The second editor offers a fresh perspective and focuses on enhancing the documentary's flow, creating synergy between the three arcs of the script. This collaborative approach ensures a comprehensive and engaging final product.

Sound Design:

I find sound design particularly rewarding once the first and second drafts of the documentary have been completed. Rather than creating pre-existing sounds, I prefer designing based on the films already on the timeline, ensuring a seamless integration with the visual narrative.

Given budget constraints, utilizing existing sounds from various sound sites is often necessary. It's essential to select sounds that accurately convey the emotions portrayed in the documentary, and I find it beneficial to explore sound options after editing the video to ensure a perfect fit.

Additionally, knowing when to use sound and when silence is more effective is crucial. Sometimes, images are best appreciated without any background sound. Therefore, maintaining open communication with the sound designer to convey the desired sound aesthetic for the documentary is essential for a cohesive and impactful final product.

Subtitling Your Documentary:

Adding subtitles to documentaries is a step I particularly enjoy. While it may seem straightforward, it can sometimes be stressful. However, having timecoded scripts simplifies the process to a copy-and-paste task.

It's crucial to include subtitles as they enhance accessibility and ensure that the message reaches a wider audience. I typically have someone in the editing team add the subtitles, and once done, the documentary is complete and ready for distribution.

Trailer:

Having a one-minute trailer or extract for your documentary is always beneficial. It's like crafting another project on its own, as it requires creating a concise narrative arc within a short duration.

The one-minute arc of your trailer should mirror the structure of your script. It should encompass the introduction, middle, and end of your documentary, providing a condensed yet compelling preview of the full story. This ensures that the trailer effectively captures the essence of the documentary and entices viewers to engage further.