Defining the Stakes in Citizenfour
Today’s editing tip comes from Citizenfour, an enthralling documentary that unfolds in a non-descript hotel room.
Given this drab setting, how did director Laura Poitras infuse her story with so much suspense that it won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2015?
One technique she employs is what screenwriters call “defining the stakes”. In her protagonist’s quest to uncover secret operations at the U.S. National Security Agency, what were the stakes?
In other words, what did whistleblower Edward Snowden stand to gain? Equally important, what did he stand to lose?
If you can answer these two questions in your fundraising material–and eventually your documentary script–you’ll inject your film topic with both meaning and suspense.
Poitras and her editor/co-producer Mathilde Bonnefoy articulated the stakes in Act One. Whistle blower Edward Snowden says, “I am more willing to risk imprisonment–or any other negative outcome personally–than I am willing to risk the entailment of my intellectual freedom.”
Like government suit-turned-activist Daniel Ellsberg in The Most Dangerous Man in America, Snowden is willing to risk getting locked up for revealing the truth.
What’s to gain? In Snowden’s words, it’s knowing that “I can contribute to the good of others” by preserving privacy.
Ideally you define the stakes frequently, starting in your film’s first act.
In another HBO hit, Bobby Fischer Against the World, the stakes are delivered five minutes into the film. Henry Kissinger says of the upcoming world chess match, “The Soviets had been winning the tournaments, and I thought it would be good for America, for democracy, to have an American win it.”
“The stakes really couldn’t have been much higher politically,” adds David Shenk.
Bobby Fischer, the soon-to-be U.S. world champion, sums it up: “I feel that the prestige of this country is at stake.”
What are the stakes for your protagonist? And what is the best vehicle for delivering them? Sound bites? A verite scene? Narration?
If you need an editor, we have a superb editor available now who can help execute your vision. Also check out our Finish Your Film program beginning Dec. 1st. I’m accepting three filmmakers:
