_Documentaries
_Learning to produce a documentary can be a lot of fun and does not need a filmmaking degree. You just need to a burning desire to inform your story plus a willingness to figure out each step with the process.
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Listed here are 10 easy-to-follow steps to make a documentary
Pinpoint a documentary idea -- The main element here to decide on a subject you're truly enthusiastic about.
Create an outline -- Map out the essential structure and topics you want relating to your documentary. You should take into account the storytelling style -- News/PBS Frontline-type style? Half documentary/Half movie with reenactments? Talking heads? Personal perspective? Observational?
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Gather your audio visuals - Start gathering existing footage as well as other audio visuals on your topic - this can be old home movies, photos, audio tracks, national archives, music, etc. Then decide what new footage is needed to educate story and commence shooting. This is often interviews with experts, capturing a meeting such as a horse show or football game, shooting footage of one of one's characters - for instance if you are emphasizing a famous artist in your area, you will want to get footage of this artist painting.
Produce/Edit a Trailer - Once you have gathered 3-5 hours of "raw footage", start piecing together a mini-version of one's documentary, also known as a "trailer". A trailer is normally 3-8 minutes and captures the essence of the documentary. This is a useful gizmo to build buzz and help raise money for the documentary.
Shoot remaining footage - Continue gathering interviews along with other footage to pay for all the areas you placed in your documentary outline.
Catalog and organize -- In case you are producing an hour-long documentary, you may choose to have dozens, even hundreds, of hours of footage that you will need to drag from during the editing process. Make sure all your interviews happen to be transcribed and that you know precisely where your entire footage is found. There's nothing worse than being "in the groove" editing and having to prevent and appearance through all of the footage to locate a specific shot.
Write a script - Although you may don't want to have a narrator, you ought to have a script to get out the basic order of the sequences, how you plan to start and handle your film, plus any interview quotes.
Edit your documentary -- If you've never edited video before, you might want to start off with some simple free video editing software such as Apple's "iMovie", although something a little more sophisticated such as Final Cut Express will give you more flexibility. Start your documentary off with something intriguing, unusual or controversial to catch the interest with the audience. And understand how the documentary can easily to help determine your editing choices before in conclusion.
Upload to the internet or burn with a DVD -- Make sure you own the copyright to EVERYTHING in your documentary before posting on the web or making copies. Which goes for music (even ambient music playing in the background), archive footage and photos.
Promote, Distribute and Showcase -- Here is the final step up the procedure in places you might submit your documentary to film festivals, pitch it to PBS or other television broadcasters, upload to Amazon UnBox to market copies of the documentary, have a premiere showing, produce a public relations campaign round the discharge of your documentary not to mention distribute free DVDs and thank-you's to all who helped you.:)
To ensure that is my quick, top ten list based on how to make a documentary.
Watch documentaries
Listed here are 10 easy-to-follow steps to make a documentary
Pinpoint a documentary idea -- The main element here to decide on a subject you're truly enthusiastic about.
Create an outline -- Map out the essential structure and topics you want relating to your documentary. You should take into account the storytelling style -- News/PBS Frontline-type style? Half documentary/Half movie with reenactments? Talking heads? Personal perspective? Observational?
Watch documentaries
Gather your audio visuals - Start gathering existing footage as well as other audio visuals on your topic - this can be old home movies, photos, audio tracks, national archives, music, etc. Then decide what new footage is needed to educate story and commence shooting. This is often interviews with experts, capturing a meeting such as a horse show or football game, shooting footage of one of one's characters - for instance if you are emphasizing a famous artist in your area, you will want to get footage of this artist painting.
Produce/Edit a Trailer - Once you have gathered 3-5 hours of "raw footage", start piecing together a mini-version of one's documentary, also known as a "trailer". A trailer is normally 3-8 minutes and captures the essence of the documentary. This is a useful gizmo to build buzz and help raise money for the documentary.
Shoot remaining footage - Continue gathering interviews along with other footage to pay for all the areas you placed in your documentary outline.
Catalog and organize -- In case you are producing an hour-long documentary, you may choose to have dozens, even hundreds, of hours of footage that you will need to drag from during the editing process. Make sure all your interviews happen to be transcribed and that you know precisely where your entire footage is found. There's nothing worse than being "in the groove" editing and having to prevent and appearance through all of the footage to locate a specific shot.
Write a script - Although you may don't want to have a narrator, you ought to have a script to get out the basic order of the sequences, how you plan to start and handle your film, plus any interview quotes.
Edit your documentary -- If you've never edited video before, you might want to start off with some simple free video editing software such as Apple's "iMovie", although something a little more sophisticated such as Final Cut Express will give you more flexibility. Start your documentary off with something intriguing, unusual or controversial to catch the interest with the audience. And understand how the documentary can easily to help determine your editing choices before in conclusion.
Upload to the internet or burn with a DVD -- Make sure you own the copyright to EVERYTHING in your documentary before posting on the web or making copies. Which goes for music (even ambient music playing in the background), archive footage and photos.
Promote, Distribute and Showcase -- Here is the final step up the procedure in places you might submit your documentary to film festivals, pitch it to PBS or other television broadcasters, upload to Amazon UnBox to market copies of the documentary, have a premiere showing, produce a public relations campaign round the discharge of your documentary not to mention distribute free DVDs and thank-you's to all who helped you.:)
To ensure that is my quick, top ten list based on how to make a documentary.