Documentary Research (Viewings)

For this project, we had to create our own short 5 minute documentary, but before jumping into filming anything, we spent time watching different documentaries in class and for the Op-Doc assignment to understand how they’re built. The three main ones we watched were Exit Through the Gift Shop, American Promise, and Abstract: The Art of Design. Each one had its own style, pacing, and way of telling a real story, which helped me understand what type of documentary I wanted to make.

For our first documentary we watched American Promise (class favorite), it felt to be more of a traditional piece but emotionally powerful. It followed the same two African American boys for years, sharing their experiences in regards of their education at a prestigious school in New York, showing long-term storytelling, personal interviews, family interactions, and a calm observational style. This documentary really helped me understand how to insert B-roll, as the interviews and graphics flowed seamlessly.

Meanwhile, Exit Through the Gift Shop illustrated how chaotic but creative a documentary can become. It starts with Thierry being super passionate about street art and documenting real artists. But once he becomes Mr. Brainwash, everything shifts. He stops focusing on the meaning of the art and starts focusing on profit and fame. The film goes from being about passion of street art to showing how easily art can turn into a business. The documentary shows this by shifting the tone with visuals by using a mix of direct interviews, indirect interviews, found footage, and even moments where the filmmaker becomes part of the story. I liked how it felt messy but still super intentional. 

And finally, Abstract focused on design, but what stood out was the visual style, clean shots, voiceovers over footage (which I really liked), aesthetic graphics, and interviews that felt more artistic than just informational. It made me realize in order to get my purpose across I need to focus on presentation and how these choices affect my audience's perception of it. The editing gave me a good sense of what I wanted to do with my documentary in terms of choosing the aesthetic, even analyzing the music used. 

Watching these three really helped me understand things like:

– The difference between direct vs. indirect interviews

– How B-roll supports what someone is saying

– How documentaries use narration, archive footage, and real-life moments

– How the overall tone and style change depending on the topic

From all that, I started to get an idea of what I wanted my own documentary to feel like. Seeing so many different approaches made me realize I don’t have to follow one strict format, it's more about choosing the elements that match the story I want to tell.