Wednesday, May 7, 2025

What Is A Documentary?

 Imagine you are talking to a person who has never before seen or even heard of a documentary film. How would you describe it? What are some essential elements of a documentary film? What distinguishes a documentary film from a narrative (Hollywood) film or a broadcast news story?

    A documentary film is a piece of non-fiction media that follows a specific subject and has an unspoken driving question that the filmmakers want to answer by the end of the film. Essential elements for a documentary would be b-roll footage of the main elements of your subject of the film, a driving question that must be answered by the end of the film, and narration or interviews. What distinguishes a documentary from a narrative film is that it is not scripted in the same way that a narrative film is, you are working live with non-actors for the most part and possibly asking them questions and you have to be prepared for any answer they give and any situation that happens. 

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