Documentary Editing Tip #13: The Detractor
I’ve finally discovered a stellar example of a documentary that makes ample use of a detractor.
What’s a detractor? The equivalent of the bad guy–only for an essay, rather than a story. Essay-style documentaries often lack the emotional appeal of a character-driven quest.
One way to bring emotional drama to your dry essay is through the clash of ideas. Use a detractor to assail your film’s thesis statement.
Barry Ptolemy’s “Transcendent Man” examines the ideas of futurist Ray Kurzweil, advocate of the approaching acceleration of artificial intelligence known as “the Singularity”.
While Ptolemy allows his subject ample screen time to develop his argument that the Singularity is near, he also includes four bona-fide detractors.
These scientists and technology “contrarians” criticize Kurzweil’s ideas, providing dramatic counter-points that sharpen the film’s thesis.
In an interview with Singularity Hub, Ptolemy says, “I wanted to throw everything I could against his (Kurzweil’s) ideas, knowing that if his ideas were as good as I thought they were, that they would prevail.”
The result? A riveting (and balanced) documentary that will spark your imagination.
To learn more techniques for structuring topic-driven or character-driven documentaries, register for our upcoming Inner Circle program at:
We’ve extended the early-bird registration a few more days.
