CHAPTER 8 NONFICTION

CHAPTER OBJECTIVES  Survey the History and Varied Philosophies of nonfiction filmmaking;  Examine popular nonfiction Approaches, Styles and Formats;  Introduce documentary Research, Writing, Financing and Production;  Explore the process of planning and recording effective On-Camera Interviews.

APPROACHES TO NONFICTION PROGRAMS  First PROJECTED FILM: The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (1895)  First DOCUMENTARY: Nanook of the North (1922)

APPROACHES TO NONFICTION PROGRAMS  The British School: John Grierson  Cinema Verite: Jean Rouch  Direct Cinema: Robert Drew

NONFICTION FORMATS  Documentary  Industrials “Corporate films”  Instructional  News  Reality TV

RESEARCH AND WRITING The Proposal  Statement of purpose  Background  Program description  Program goals  Production timeline  Financial support  Distribution commitments  Biographies of key creative personnel  Budget

RESEARCH AND WRITING Financing  Grants  Front-end financing  On speculation (on spec)

RESEARCH AND WRITING ResearchOutlinesScripts  Predominantly, a tool for editing rather than shooting

RESEARCH AND WRITING The News Script  Split-page document  Script in one column and the director’s notes in the other

THE INTERVIEW  Successful interviews begin with Research  Pre-interviews  Sit-down and Stand-up interviews  Build Events Around Interviews and structure Interviews Within Events  Selecting the Composition  Conduct a Site-visit Beforehand  Rule of Thirds

THE INTERVIEW Miking an Interview  The lavaliere, or clip-on mic  Unidirectional microphone placed outside of the frame Releases  Implied consent  Performance release  On-camera release  Editorial requests

THE INTERVIEW  Asking Questions  Reverse Angles: Interviewer as Subject  Self-Contained Responses  Listen and Be Flexible  Turn Off Your Tally Light  Make Sure You Have it Covered

LIGHTING THE INTERVIEW  Three- or four- point lighting  Lighting on location  Available light  “Motivation” for your light

LIGHTING THE INTERVIEW Hit and Run Lighting

LIGHTING THE INTERVIEW  Put a light on the opposite side of key-light side  Adjust it so the direct light passes in front of the subject’s face  The soft spill light serves as the “fill” light  Use a white card to bounce the direct light back to key side  The second instrument is set up as a traditional back light  Camera Light  Exteriors Hit and Run Lighting

SAMPLE EXERCISES 1. Conduct an Informal Pre-interview with someone you think would make an Interesting Subject of a Documentary. Create a Program Outline and On- camera Question List based on this pre-interview. 2. Study the local news section of your community newspaper. Choose a story you think would make a Compelling News Package and outline how you would tell this story on Television. 3. Construct an Interview Set-up. Choose an interesting Location and Background. Use the tools of lighting and sound and Record Your Test on camera. Copyright 2008 Taylor and Francis