Okay, so you’re going to take a leap and you’ve decided you’re going to film your first documentary. You’ve got a great story, some strong characters with relatable goals, and all the access lined up. But how are you actually supposed to film the thing? And I’m not talking about what camera lens. I mean, how do you actually cover a scene so that you can tell a story in the edit? That’s what I’m going to go over in this video.
What makes a scene? How to plan them? What kinds of shots do you need and how to bring out emotion through lens choice and distance? And finally, what sort of shots will you definitely regret not getting when you start to edit? Finally, I’ll talk about the filmmaker’s not so secret weapon, the tool that’s going to do the real heavy lifting when it comes to storytelling. So there’s a ton to talk about. Let’s get into it.
Hey, guys. Welcome back. And if you’re new here, my name is Luke Forsyth, and on this channel, I teach the skills and tricks I’ve learned over ten years of being a documentary filmmaker and photographer.
Coming from a photography background, when I first started shooting documentaries, it took me quite a while to wrap my head around the fact that in video, stories are told through scenes, not single frames like they are in stills where you want to tell the whole story in one amazing shot.
We’ve all heard the word scene, but what exactly does it entail and how do you film them? It might seem simple enough, but trust me, when you get out into the field with your camera, things tend to get hectic pretty fast.
What makes a scene?
Scenes, which are sometimes called beats in the industry jargon, are the smaller moments that are combined together to form a story arc and develop characters through each scene. If your storytelling is on point, we learn a little more about our characters, their hopes and fears, and the obstacles they’re facing on their journey. And hopefully by the end of the film, we care what happens to them.
If we use the easy example of Star Wars, there’s a scene where Luke is eating with his aunt and uncle at the start of the movie where he’s desperate to get off the farm and see the broader world. This tells us he’s ready for an adventure and a change. Then later, Obi-Wan is trying to teach Luke to use the force with that flying robot thing, and it keeps shooting him with the laser until he’s able to calm his mind and then block the shots, even with the blinder over his eyes. We’re learning here that Luke really does have the potential for something great at the end. He’s flying alone through the Death Star, and by channeling the force, he blows it up and we know he’s the real deal. And it’s all been worth it.
It’s a super simple version, and I don’t want to get bogged down in the plot of Star Wars here. But the point is, just like in movies, a documentary is told through scenes. As filmmakers, we need to identify moments where we can see our characters grow and change in the same way that Luke Skywalker goes from Dirt Farmer to Jedi Knight. Great documentaries do this just as well as Hollywood, and I promise it’s no accident.
How to Plan your Documentaries
So how do you do the same thing in your projects? Well, the first thing I’d say is that you need to plan them. Planning reality is sort of a weird concept. And when I was just starting out, my instinct was kind of to follow people for a really long time and see what happened. But as I’ve worked with more and more really talented filmmakers, I’ve learned that the best out there are going to embrace scenes that fall into their laps, but they aren’t necessarily counting on that. They’ve gotten to know their characters well and they’ve spent time thinking about their story arcs, and because of this, they’ve been able to visualize some moments that could make powerful scenes ahead of time. Then they make these moments happen. They don’t just wait to get lucky.
This summer, I was directing my first feature Doc about professional tree planters in Canada, and directing a group of 71 young people living out in the woods in tents was like trying to herd cats. Sometimes I knew that certain scenes were going to be very important in telling the stories of some of these characters, like, I don’t know, calls home to loved ones or quiet conversations with their boyfriends or girlfriends about the future or tense meetings of their managers over production goals and getting ready for wild bush parties. It’s possible that I could have just stumbled in at the perfect time to get these moments, but I wasn’t going to leave this to chance, and so I deliberately made all of them into reality. By that I mean I told the characters what I wanted to film and why, and then arranged to make it happen. It’s important to note that this isn’t the same as making stuff up to suit my filmmaking needs. I knew all these things were actually happening in real life. I just needed to make sure I was there when they did. So, by making a list of all the different scenes I wanted to get, I could then bring in my characters as collaborators to get the bits that mattered.
There were times when these scenes didn’t work out at all and I scrapped them, and other times when things I wasn’t expecting, it all just fell into my lap. But a lot of the core beats of the story are probably going to be made up of moments that I knew were coming ahead of time and I was actively looking for it. And you should probably try and do the same thing too. Even if you’re making a purely verité film where you don’t plan to direct your characters in any way, you still need to give yourself the best chance of coming away with the story instead of just cool B-roll. And that means scenes. So right off the bat, make a huge list of all your dream scenes and it doesn’t really matter how crazy they are at this stage. Then reverse engineer ways to make them happen. Some of them won’t work. Some of them will work better than you expected. But you should be anticipating these scenes ahead of time and then stay flexible enough to adapt to whatever else reality throws at you.
Always Imagine how to get in and out of a scene
Okay, so you’ve planted some scenes and your characters are on board, but how do you actually cover them with a camera? If you’re lucky and have a bunch of money, you just hire an experienced DP and they’ll do it for you. Most indie doc filmmakers aren’t in this situation, and for you guys, there’s a mantra that I repeat to myself over and over again as I’m personally shooting: just three words wide, medium, and tight. If it isn’t obvious, I’m just reminding myself to get wide establishing shots, medium distance coverage like most conversations are filled, and then tight detail shots of every scene. When you get into posts, you’re going to need a much bigger variety of shots than you might be expecting. And one thing you’ll learn quickly is that cutting between shots of the same type is kind of weird and jarring. I notice a lot of new shooters instinct is to find a nice medium shot they like and then stay on it until the action is over. This is sometimes called following the ball and it’s a way a lot of reality TV films, but those shots have a bunch of cameras
rolling at once and they’re not really known for their cinematic artistry.
In a well-shot documentary scene, it typically starts with a wide shot, providing viewers with the context of the setting, such as two people sitting on a park bench, allowing them to understand their surroundings, the weather, and the number of people present. This wide shot captures essential information in a single frame. Following the wide shot, the scene transitions to medium coverage, focusing on the conversation between characters, typically with a head and shoulders frame alternating between speakers. Then, a detail shot is introduced, zooming in on specific actions or expressions, such as hands fidgeting, conveying emotions or challenges. The conversation continues with alternating speakers, maintaining engagement.
Next, another detailed shot may be utilized, focusing on significant aspects like a character’s clothing, providing insights into their state of mind or lifestyle. The scene concludes with another wide shot, signaling the end of the scene and preparing viewers for the next one. This variety of shots is essential for comprehensive coverage, enabling seamless storytelling and maintaining viewer interest.
While capturing scenes, it’s crucial to anticipate the editing process by planning shots that facilitate smooth transitions between scenes. Shots that wrap up the current scene and lead to the next one should be considered, ensuring a cohesive narrative flow. Additionally, incorporating movement, such as people walking or cars driving, can aid in scene transitions, providing visual cues to the audience.
“They’re going to give you an Oscar.”
A well-shot documentary scene will start on a wide set, like two people sitting on a park bench who will see the landscape, understand where they are, and how many other people are around, even the weather. We’re able to take in all this information about a certain setting in a few seconds with a single wide shot.
Then we come into medium coverage of their conversation. This might be, I don’t know, a head-and-shoulders kind of frame, going back and forth between the two people as they talk.
Then we might cut into a detail shot of our heroes, hands fidgeting as they talk, which shows that they’re nervous or worried about something, or maybe that there’s some sort of challenge ahead. The conversation continues back and forth between the speakers.
Then we come in for another detailed shot, staying on our character’s jacket, showing us a little something more about the state of their mind or the kind of life they lead. Then we pull back to another wide shot, which lets us know we’re leaving the scene and viewers are mentally ready to move on to the next one.
Getting this variety of shots is called coverage, and they’re really good. People know how to get the coverage that you can knit together and pose to form a moving scene with some variety and a good pace. A rookie shooter will be so focused on just following the action, like going back and forth, that they’ll forget the details in the wides. And when you start editing, it’s going to be a nightmare whether or not you want to mutter wide, medium, and tight to yourself like I do and look like a crazy person, it’s sort of up to you. But however you do it, remember to get real coverage of your scenes and don’t just follow the ball. Whoever is cutting this thing will thank you later. Trust me.
One last thing I’ll say on shot selection is that tight shots don’t have to be reserved for objects and cutaways. The human face, specifically the eyes, are windows to reading emotion on screen. And so if there’s a scene unfolding with some strong emotion, get close on the face. You can do this with a zoom lens or by keeping an 85 millimeter on hand or just by taking a few steps closer to your subject. But whatever technical way you do it, remember to get it tight on the face when things get emotional. A wide shot can be great for showing the context and scale, and medium shots are probably going to make up the bulk of most films, but for people to read emotion on someone else’s face, they need to see it. Not saying at the macro of their crow’s feet from two feet away, but if someone starts crying or maybe they’re staring off into the distance in shock, punch in a bit and stay there until you think you’ve really got the emotional moment. Cover.
Oh, and always, always try to imagine how you’re going to get in and out of each scene in the edit. And by that I mean, do you have a shot that wraps up the scene and allows for an easy transition to the next one? Cutting right from a close-up of hands or a face, or going from a medium shot to medium shot might not flow that well. And if you shoot with the editing in mind, you’re going to thank yourself later. So think about things like final wrapping up wide shots, or if there’s some sort of movement like people walking or a car driving. Let the main subject move through the frame and clear it rather than continuing to pan with them endlessly. These kinds of things can be a great moment to cut in. It gives a visual cue to the audience that we’re moving on to another scene.
Secret Tool for Filmmakers
Okay, so hopefully now you’re thinking about your scenes ahead of time and you’re going to make sure you shoot for a variety of coverage. But with all these movements and repositioning the camera, focusing on details, and continuously finding new shots, how do you make sure that you don’t miss out on important story moments while you’re moving around? The answer is audio, and it’s really the doc filmmaker’s best friend when it comes to telling stories. Audio forms the narrative backbone of storytelling. And like I keep saying over and over again on this channel, it’s probably more important than the visuals, as much as I hate that coming from a deep background. If you have good, clean audio of the scene, you can use it to hide all your cuts and position changes while not making things jarring. Without good audio, no matter how pretty your shots are, it’s going to be really, really hard to keep the story moving. That’s why I say a good shotgun and live mic are in the five most important things you should invest in as a new filmmaker. And I’ll link to a video I made about that somewhere up here. I don’t want this video to balloon out of control, so I’m not going to get into all the film theory about why audio is so important. But for this video, it’s enough to know that you really, really need it, especially in post.
So take the time to get a love in your characters, and whoever is holding the camera should wear headphones to make sure the sound is coming through loud and clear and it’s going to keep things flowing later when you’re cutting between all the different shots in the edit. All right, that’s it. A basic rundown of what a scene is, what sorts of shots you need for a good one, and why audio is king in holding them together. Try to plan out your doc in terms of a series of scenes rather than just following people around all day. While you hope that something interesting might happen and you’ll really improve your chances of coming away with a story where viewers watch characters change over time and grow. And that’s what it’s all about at the end of the day. I hope you found that one useful, and if you did, maybe think about giving the video a like or subscribe to the channel. I’ve got new videos like it coming out every Wednesday, and if you did like that one, maybe I’d also like this other video I mentioned about the five things filmmakers really need when starting out.
