Tasks
Write a definition - What is a documentary?
Watch ‘Top 10 Documentaries of All Time’: What do we learn from this about documentaries?
Analyze: What would you expect from a documentary - unique elements. (Start with brainstorm and go back to the top 10 documentaries to add further information.)
Extension: Compare and Contrast: What sub-genres are there and how do they differ?
Choose one of the Documentaries and Answer:
List six facts described in the film that impressed you and explain how each fact relates to the film’s premise or theme. (This might be very difficult but this is your aim.)
What particularly appealed to you in the cinematic presentation of the film, such as the way in which particular scenes, images, or sounds were presented?
What next?
What do we do next?
This is in effect the plan of the next few days!
SOT
VO
B-Roll
Nat Sound Break
Though of course we also will want to look at framing, directionality, lighting, using music, cutting...