jrn 572de - news documentary
TRANSCRIPT
JRN 572 - Researching & Writing the News DocumentaryRich Hanley, Associate ProfessorLecture Eight
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Review Week:• This week is focused on a review
of materials to date.
• Students ought to review the posted historical materials, Bernard’s book and the lectures to deepen understanding of the skills necessary to develop ideas that matter to the top pros in this realm.
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Review Week:• Now, let’s review ideas and the
need to conduct research from the start.
• Remember: ideas are all around us, sometimes they emerge from what we observe, other times they emerge from what we hear and still other times they emerge from what we read.
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Review Week:• On the tactic to find ideas from
what we read, here are two ideas that stem from recent news articles.
• The ideas emerged because documentary writers are constantly reading news in the context of how the story would work as documentary.
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Review Week:• Idea No. 1:
• Against the odds, the Orange Nine tried to keep a season going
• The story by Greg Brownell of the Post-Star of Glen Falls, New York, is about a girls’ soccer team that competes despite roster issues.
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Review Week:• The idea has character, conflict
and change.
• The idea is timely, has great visuals, a hook, relevance, affordability, etc.
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Review Week:• Please note: ideas don’t all have
to be about global or national events.
• They just have to tell a story that matters, visually.
• Follow the team as it prepares and competes; it becomes a character study.
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Review Week:• Idea No. 2:
• The Battle for the #SoulofOakland
• The story is about how Oakland wants the poor and the homeless to leave as it rapidly gentrifies.
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Review Week:• The idea stems from Joel
Anderson’s BuzzFeed article on the problem.
• It meets the requirements for a documentary that is important, can be told visually and contains all the other required benchmarks.
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Review Week:• Back to the general approach
for ideas.
• The first question to ask is this:
• Does the subject you wish to pursue reveal something important about society that is otherwise unknown, ignored or unseen?
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Review Week:• Does research into the idea
confirm its potential as a story that be rendered visually that a funder would want to support and that an audience would want to see?
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Review Week:• The basic research includes a
first pass into story development and visual assets.
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Review Week:• Story research includes:
- Primary research into the subject through an
exploration into original documents, studies, etc.
- Identification of characters or people who can be interviewed for a story.
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Review Week:• Visual asset research includes:
- An exploration of the material available in public (e.g., government and private (e.g., news companies) archives,
museums, libraries, private collections and similar
repositories.
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Review Week:• After that, think of the
mechanical aspects of the idea, as expressed by:
- The formulation of six modes as developed by Bill Nichols
- The structural narrative trajectory of documentaries- Bernard’s formulation of
10 standards to test ideas- The three C’s
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Review Week:• Nichols lineup of modes is
important because it sets in place the narrative approach to a given subject.
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Review Week:• The modes are:
- Expository - Poetic
- Observational - Participatory - Reflexive
- Performative
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Review Week:• If so, the next question that
follows is:
• Can the story be told visually to hold an audience that wants to be both informed and, to some extent, enthralled by what appears on the screen (mobile, TV or theater).
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Review Week:• From there, Bernard’s concept of
10 elements as posted in Chapter 3 provides a firm trajectory in transforming the conceptual to the point where an idea can be represented textually as a treatment or proposal.
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Review Week:• The10 are: - Access and Feasibility
- Affordability- Passion and Curiosity
- Audience - Relevance - Timeliness
- Visualization
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Review Week:• The 10 are (continued): - Timeliness
- Visualization - Hook- Existing Projects
- Is This a Film You’d Want to See
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Review Week:• It’s not necessary to perfectly
align all 10 as the definition for some such as timeliness can be broadly conceived, but it’s best to have all working in your favor.
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Review Week:• Alongside Bernard’s formulation,
the concept of the three C’s as identified by Trisha Das among others is also of critical importance in determining whether an idea is valid. (see Lecture Four)
• The three C’s are:
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Review Week:• Character• Conflict• Change
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Review Week:• Thus, if an idea is plausible
under Bernard’s formulation and carries with it character, conflict, change, is empirically supported by research elements and expertise, there is a strong chance that it will get funded, meaning it will get produced.
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Review Week:• If not, any weak point will have
to be addressed by either re-orienting the idea or by simply dismissing it.
• Don’t stick with an idea that simply does not fit the genre.
• And use the treatment format to thoroughly test it.
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Review Week:• That treatment will include the
first phase of research into story development and archival visual materials to prove that the story has an arc and the story can be rendered visually.
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Review Week:• All the material covered in the
first half of the semester is essential to understanding the process of pre-production phase of a documentary film.
• But the most important piece is your first attempt at a treatment as it starts your process toward success.