Do You Have a Documentary Story?

One of the first questions I ask my clients is whether their documentary film is character-driven or topic driven.  If they are not sure or say “both”, my second question is “what does your protagonist want?”

 

When appropriate, I ask them to leave their own film on the shelf for a moment and join me for a mini tutorial on story structure.  I invite them to see that a story, in the screenwriter’s sense of the word, is not a profile (for example, Crumb, a slice of life look at a famous animator) or an essay (Warner Herzog’s poetic ruminations on Antartica).  Simply stated, a story chronicles the efforts of the main character to achieve his or her heart’s desire in the face of opposition. This is true for documentary films as well as narrative films. And…the more concrete the desire, the better.  In The Times of Harvey Milk, for example, Milk wanted equal rights for gay people, but his concrete objective was winning a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.  Even directors who understand narrative structure often forget that a concrete “object of desire” is much more effective in orienting the viewer to the story arc than a vaguely defined goal.  I know, easier said than done.  But have fun casting around for specific desired outcome that will signify that the protagonist has achieved an inner psychological desire.