Ep. 35 How to develop your documentary - Part 1: Ideation

So you’ve got a brilliant idea for your next (or perhaps it’s your first) documentary. Now it’s time to get to work. But how on earth do you take a concept that exists in your mind and craft it into a living, breathing film? 

Taking a project from idea to completion is no mean feat.  And if you haven’t been to film school or attached yourself to a great mentor then its a process that can be hard to learn without doing.  And in that doing, there will be many times where you have to guess, ask Google it, or just trial and error.  So to help you along on the journey, over the coming months I’ll be sharing with you all aspects of the documentary film making process.  

I know how challenging this process can be, and disappointingly, Mike and I have seen many people with a lot of talent, give up or simply move onto more stable work.  So we’ve decided to share more of what we’ve learned through many years of film making through the Moonshine Moonshot series.  

Our hope is to see the industry thrive here in Australia and beyond and we recognise that to do that, we have to be more open with skills sharing.  We have to discourage pigeoning holing filmmakers into categories.  Maybe you’ve been a director, does that really mean you can’t be a producer or write your own scripts?  Perhaps you’ve worked in feature drama, does that really mean you can’t work in comedy or documentary.

And this little rant has lead us to create this upcoming series of how to develop your documentary film.  Which will be followed by pre production, production, post production, distribution and outreach.  It’s probably going to take us all year so make sure you subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss a step. So click the 'Follow' button on the app you're listening on!

And the first topic is how you get to know the story you want to tell?

Listen now!

But to learn more from me,  head to www.MoonshineCommunicationsAcademy.com to find more great content and resources including my free ebook that will help you craft a compelling video story

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:03

Hello fellow creatives. Have you got a brilliant idea for your next or perhaps it's your first documentary? Now it is time to get to work. But how on earth do you take a concept that exists in your mind and craft it into a living, breathing film? Look, I know taking a project from idea to completion is no mean feat. And if you haven't been to film school or attached yourself to a great mentor, then it's a process that can be hard to learn without doing. And in that doing, there will be many, many times where you have to guess, ask, Google it, or just trial and error. So to help you on that journey over the coming months, I am very excited because I am going to be sharing with you all aspects of the documentary filmmaking process. So if you're new to the Moonshine Moonshot podcast, I'm your host Sue Collins, and this is where I am sharing much of what I have learned over the past easily 15 years or more, showing my age there. But I'm sharing all about what I have learned producing documentary films and other types of video projects. I specialise in impact films, and impact films are films that are designed to take an audience from passive viewing to being an active participant. It gets them doing something, getting involved and being part of the solution. So please stick around today as I share the first of many podcasts to come on how to develop your own documentary project or film project idea into a finished piece of work that you can put out into the world. I know how challenging this process can be, and disappointingly, Michael, my partner in all things at Moonshine Agency, and I have seen many people with a lot of talent give up or simply move on to more stable work. So we've decided to share even more of what we've learned through many years of filmmaking through this The Moonshine Moonshot series. And our hope is to see the industry thrive here in Australia and beyond. And we recognize that to do that, we have to be more open with our skills sharing. We have to discourage pinchetholing filmmakers into categories. Because, you know, maybe you have been a director. But does that really mean you can't be a producer or that you can't write your own scripts? Or perhaps you've worked in feature drama. Does that really mean that you can't now change over to comedy or switch genre to documentary? Really don't want to see more of this happening, and it does happen a lot. So this little rant has led Mike and I to create this upcoming series on how to develop your documentary film. And that series is going to be followed by pre-production, production, post-production, distribution, and outreach. And it is probably going to take us all year to cover all of these topics. So make sure you subscribe on whatever platform you're listening to now or join the eNewsletter over at Moonshine Communications Academy.com so you don't miss a step. And you can also find all the social media links on that website, which was moonshinecommunicationsacademy.com. And if you prefer watching, Mike and I break it all down in the YouTube companion series called Moonshine Moonshot. But this podcast, you just get me. So this podcast is the first of a number that will deep dive into how to develop your documentary film idea. And the first topic I'm drilling into is how to get to know the story you want to tell. So here we go. Topic one, development. How do you get to know the story you want to tell? First thing is first, take a deep breath. Actually take a few, because every movie you've ever seen started with a pithy idea in someone's head, which means your idea can go from something abstract to the silver screen as well. Honestly, I think everyone, even non-filmmakers, has thought about what would make a great blockbuster or documentary film. I mean, how many times have you turned to someone and said, hey, that could make a great story or a film? And I bet as a creative it is more than once. Which is probably what led you to this podcast. And maybe it was something in your personal life, good or bad, that triggered the idea, or it could have been a story on the news, or something you experienced when you were traveling. Whatever the idea is, how you take it from inception and get it into production can leave a lot of aspiring and even established filmmakers scratching their heads. But I promise that you can transform your concept into a beautiful, moving, impactful film. It just won't happen overnight. Can you believe that the average Hollywood movie takes 871 days? Yes, that is well over two years, to go from an idea to the screen, according to an article published by Stephen Follow's Film and Data Education website. Your independent film could take a lot longer, and some of my films definitely have. And I really want to stay with this point for a moment because when you have a big idea, you're extremely excited and you cannot wait to bring it to life. And then the work begins, and it's slower and it's harder than you thought it would be, and you lose interest, get distracted by other priorities, or worst, you simply stop. And I think the way to avoid that loss of motivation is to really consider that filmmaking is a long game, and to use the cliche, it's a marathon, not a sprint. Good things take time, so be patient, just keep going because you will get there. So, yes, there is a lot of work to be done, but if you've got the right tools at your disposal, you can bring that idea of yours to life, and that is what I am helping you with starting today. While my experience lies more in documentary filmmaking, if you're keen to explore narrative fiction film production, these steps that I'm going to walk you through in this post can still be applied. Alright, get ready, let's make that film. First, get clear on your genre. Look, pinpointing your idea is one thing, but determining the right genre for your film is often a whole different mystery to solve. It's probably the first question you need to ask yourself after coming up with your idea, way before you get into the nuts and bolts of writing the script, determining the location or casting the talent. And so while you might think that your concept automatically dictates what the genre will be, it's not actually entirely true. In fact, almost every film idea has multiple possibilities. Here's a good tidbit Stanley Kubrick, prolific filmmaker that he was, in 1964's classic Doctor Strange Love, it actually started out as a serious drama before the legendary filmmaker changed it to being a dark comedy. So for example, let's say your idea relates to the environment. In that case it might fit into a nature style genre. But if you're really leaning into the challenges surrounding climate change, it may be suited to a social justice or education genre. And other popular documentary genres include true crime, music, pop culture, historical, biography. It's worth taking the time to assess what genre your story best suits, as it will help steer you in the right direction and keep you focused as you move into the next phase of production. My only word of warning with this is that I really recommend you pick a genre that you really enjoy watching. Because if you don't enjoy watching it, you are probably not going to enjoy making a whole film in that genre. At Moonshine Agency, we produce impact films, which is a genre unto itself. And as I mentioned earlier, an impact film is designed to turn viewers into active participants in the story, inspiring them to take the documentary's message on board and be part of that solution. Impact films can also be measured and evaluated to assess the positive changes that they can make. If the idea of an impact film is new to you, my co-host Mike Hill on the Moonshine Moonshot series and I speak about it regularly over on the YouTube channel. So you can check that out later if you want to know a bit more about impact filmmaking. But the next thing you do once you have defined your genre is define your idea. And what I mean by that is once you've landed on the genre, you'll want to do a deep dive into the topic that your idea relates to. And by that I mean you need to flesh out your idea and figure out the type of story you're trying to tell. If you're trying to tell a retrospective story, for example, you'll need to dictate several weeks and possibly months to the research so that you can truly understand the story or the moment in time inside and out. And I recommend taking some time and asking yourself a few key questions, such as, what makes this story newsworthy? What are the hooks or angles that I can expand on to really engage my audience? Am I presenting a new perspective on the topic at hand? You might be now wondering if your idea has already been done. And you know what? Your topic or idea may have already been covered, but don't let that be a stopping force. I mean, wasn't it Mark Twain who said there's no such thing as a new idea? We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. And that means that once the idea goes through your own mental kaleidoscope, you'll bring something new to the table. So don't be disheartened if you find a whole bunch of films that have already been made on your topic, because your take will be entirely your own and most definitely worth watching if you put the time in to really develop it and make it your own. I always find speaking to subject experts is a really helpful exercise when it comes to determining the angle or the unique signature, because these experts can range from professionals working in the field right through to participants who have the lived experience of the subject that the film is focusing on. So stay curious and always be open to new possibilities and insights because the truth is your story will develop as you go. Documentaries always do. And yes, have direction, have an overview in mind, but don't be totally wed to one way of telling things. Often the most compelling part of a documentary comes from the scenes that are spontaneously captured. Rarely are they overproduced. And this brings me to the next point, which is how do you immerse yourself in your story world? How do you really create that space to get your creative thinking going? And this is really fun because creating a space that you can really lean into and that will keep you inspired is really important. Maybe you have a home office that you can cover wall to wall with story notes, visual references, research photos or you know, index cards of each scene that you're planning to put together. And this can be a great way to really help you just marinate in your story and retain that interest and motivation and never discount where you might pull visual inspiration from either. When we recorded the YouTube episode on this particular topic, this episode 35 of Moonshime Moonshot, Mike actually walked viewers through a few of the unexpected pieces that have inspired him in the past, such as a piece of fabric he purchased in the top end of Australia, there was a bookmark from Norfolk Island, there were clippings from old newspapers, photo references, and a book brooming with beautiful illustrations. And the reason that he gathered all that is because we're co-writing a feature film script. So remember what I was saying earlier about don't let yourself be pigeonholed. I do specialise in impact documentary, but I also aspire to write scripts because I love it and I love working in fiction as well. So I am exploring that area and creating that space really helped with that script writing process. You might also like listening to music, going out into the world, and you know, sometimes called a recce, and you know, doing that means you actually get to talk to people as well. So diving headfirst into the research online or immersing yourself in the location of your story where you're gonna set it. All these pieces and activities can trigger ideas for your sets, your costumes, your props, even the colour grade, and can go a long way in helping you pull your final film together. So set up your space in whatever way gets your creative ideas flowing. You'll be spending quite a bit of time in there, so just make sure it's gonna work for you. I also just want to mention filmmaking is a team sport, but depending on where you're starting, the development phase may be mainly just you. And well, I don't really mean just you because you're bringing a project into the world after all. Now, are you feeling inspired? I definitely hope so. But if you need a little bit more assistance fleshing out your project, you can always contact me via support at Moonshine CommunicationsAcademy.com or send a direct message on Instagram at Moonshine Communications Academy. And over the next several weeks, we'll be paying close attention to developing your documentary. And next week is all about planning. And I know your eyes are glazing over right now, but please stay with me because planning is such an incredibly important part of bringing your project to life. So be sure to subscribe on whatever platform you're listening on so you can keep track of what we're working on week on week, and this will help you could even plan out your project week on week based on the podcast. And by the end of a year, you may have a beautiful film. So turning your movie idea into an incredible feature film is possible. You just need to know how to do it. So I'm really hoping you'll come back next week. And I know I said the word planning, but don't be scared. It's not about, you know, sitting down and creating mountains of spreadsheets. Planning can be actually a little bit more simple at this phase. And I'm going to teach you how to do it in the next episode. So I'll be speaking to you again next Tuesday. Speak to you then.