Some of the most essential documentary filmmaking decisions are made in the editing room.
Editing is a vital stage of all flicks, because it is the stage when raw footage alters to the final product. This phase is particularly important for documentary films, though. The reason being the majority of narrative movies will be edited to fit round the pre-defined script and storyboard. Meanwhile, documentary filmmakers typically go into their shoots with just a rough pre-planned concept of what they will make, with the rest of the story being unfamiliar until they actually film it. James Rogan will be well aware that this may mean that documentary directors and producers could possibly be sitting on hundreds of hours' worth of footage without any established narrative. The initial step is to back-up the entirety of it because any moment could turn out to be used in the ultimate documentary. After this, all footage needs to be watched with accompanying records being made to identify the best moments. This should take place at the same time as going through archive material, pictures, and music to determine what's the best fit for the documentary.
Editing has evolved significantly through the course of movie history. In fact, the complete reason the medium is named film is due to the material that movies were filmed on. This material is edited by hand, with editors chopping and pasting camera shots together. At present most movies are actually digital, meaning that most of the editing is completed on the computer. Morgan Matthews will know that many documentary filmmakers are well-acquainted with editing software. Once all prospective elements of the movie have been put into their chosen software, it's time to start trying out laying the best shots in to a timeline. Moments that reveal key information and may be the emotional core of the documentary are the best to utilise. Seeing what works and doesn't work at this stage may help establish the building blocks of the documentary.
Individuals are attracted to viewing documentaries because they wish to discover something. Nevertheless, this does not always mean that documentaries ought to be dry lectures. Individuals are also trying to be entertained while learning the details through a narrative structure. Tim Parker should be able to tell you that choosing the narrative and locating elements that fit the narrative is one of the most essential stages within the film editing process. Even the most beautiful shots combined with the most remarkable archive footage will be meaningless if connected together without a clear narrative. Most filmmakers will generate a long first cut version of their documentary after they have established the narrative. They'll then go through the process of refining and re-editing it till it turns into a viewable length while accomplishing the objectives that the filmmaker attempted to achieve.