Moving Images, Understanding Media

Chapter 6 Recording and Presenting Reality 239

Writing: Documentary Writing

Documentaries do not use an invented script to shoot their footage—when they

do, they are fi ction! However, documentaries can involve a great deal of writing.

One of the most prevalent examples is in the composition of voice-over as the

footage is shaped through editing and the rhetorical structures of the fi lm are

solidifi ed. In your writing for this unit, you will draft preparatory pieces to be

used in developing your projects. Th e fi rst two parts of this exercise will consist

of notes and preliminary work for the completed writing project.

A. Brainstorming – You have watched a number of non-fi ction sequences

and complete documentary motion pictures. What topics interest

you? What subjects could you investigate properly in a non-fi ction

project? Use the following steps to generate subject matter for the

production of a non-fi ction motion picture. Remember that you

should use brainstorming activities to generate possibilities. Even if

initial responses do not seem particularly feasible or possible, note

them. Th ey may lead to other more practical choices. For each of

the following categories, generate one or two examples from the

questions:

1. Person – Is there someone whose personality, activities,
   achievements, or other characteristics you fi nd interesting or
   inspiring?


2. Place – Is there a natural or man-made setting that holds
   particular meaning to you or that has sparked your interest
   for further exploration?


3. Activity – Is there an endeavor that you are regularly involved
   with or that interests you?


4. Behavior – Is there a behavior that you witness regularly
   among peers or other groups of people that strikes you as
   interesting or worthy of investigation?


5. Business – Is there a local economic activity with which you
   ar e familiar?


6. Event – Is there a current event you are aware of that could
   pr ovide subject matter?


7. Academic or thematic concept – Is there an issue you have
   examined in any of your courses at school that you wish to
   investigate further?


8. Moving images – Do you already have personal footage
   linked to a person, event, or defi nable topic?
   B. Feasibility – Now that you have generated a list of potential candidates
   for your project, it is useful to think about the chances you may have
   to create a motion picture from any of these subjects. For each of

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