Documentary Unit - Feedback & Scripting

Today we learnt several things about how to set up your documentary reviewing the footage from the workshop. Our group had good and positive feedback as the framing was good and the sound was clear and at the right level. The only thing was the contrast on the faces was a little bit exposed but that could easily be adjusted by the zebra setting on the camera.

The main thing we learnt about was how to script for a documentary film. Its not writing it out like a play or a story, its more like a table. An example below shows what I mean.

You would lay it out so that the video is on the left side of the grid and the audio is on the right. It will also be handy to have a duration column also to see how long each section lasts. I will make sure to use this as I beleive its very important to plan and follow when on shoot.

The scripting conventions are as follows:

Seq - Sequence
Act - Actuality
C/A - Cut Away
Sync - Interview Clips
SFX - Sound Effects

Commentary is usually used in bold italics and by the final script it should have developed after multiple versions as its being updated along with the film.