Writing a Documentary

By Laura P. Valtorta

www.gattafilms.com

www.thearthousemovie.webs.com

laurapv.wordpress.com

                                               

Whenever I watch a documentary film, the credit for writing takes me by surprise. How can anyone write a documentary, since it’s a recording of real life, and unscripted experiences?

While making my sixth documentary, “Mehndi & Me” (completed today, July 27, 2017 – Yahoo!) I finally figured it out. I was the writer, because I was piecing together the “script”: a list of film clips typed up in the order they should appear in the final product. With “Mehndi & Me,” a portion of the draft script, with inexact times, looks like this:

                                                Mehndi & Me (short film)

                                                Summer 2017

Version 1 – 07.08.2017 Laura P. Valtorta

Clip #	Description	Beginning and end of clip (dialogue)	Music & special effects	Beginning and end (seconds)
GoPro 168	Six bare hands in circle		Laboni’s music, instrumental	0:00 to 0:07 (7 seconds)
GoPro 172	Hands in circle, painted		Laboni’s music, instrumental	0:12 to 0:25 (13 seconds)
Laura’s shot, outside of law office	Shaky shot proceeds from side of building to sign			9 seconds
MVI 134 Lynn’s shot	Laura introduces theme	“I’m just glad to be here in Columbia, SC; and I can get mehndi from a real artist from Bangladesh.”	First time this is said, NOT repeat	0:16 to 0:27 (11 seconds)
MVI 130 Lynn’s shot	Silent shot of Laboni		Laboni’s music with singing	0:11 to 0:21 (10 seconds)
MVI 122 Lynn’s shot	Dianne, Laboni, Laura, & Kimberly at table	“I would love it if you got 2 designs…more balanced”	No music	0:10 to 0:17 (7 seconds)

This is my personal version of a documentary script. Others might use a storyboard with pictures or drawings. Sometimes I begin with a storyboard after shooting and proceed to the written script. In any case, writing a script is the step taken before editing, when the film is actually cut.

Before putting together a script, the director must first shoot the film (the most joyous part of the process) and then review hours of clips, making a complete list of what’s going on in each clip. Reviewing the raw footage is tedious. The Editing Decision List (EDL) that results is a giant list of clips with times and descriptions. These are the ingredients used to assemble the script.

For a documentary, the middle process is something like this:

·         Plan the shoots

·         Shoot the film

·         Review the film clips and prepare Editing Decision Lists (EDLs) ugh!;

·         Choose elements from the EDLs to write a script;

·         Edit the film and promos; add music

Before all this, after conceiving an idea for a documentary, I secure the music and music rights. Music must be available during the editing process.

For me, making a film is teamwork. I could not make any of my films without the help of either Genesis Studio (owned by Cliff Springs), or the indomitable Lynn Cornfoot, who works at South Carolina ETV.