Class 2: Choosing Subjects

2. CHORAL AUTOBIGORAPHY
Three modes of reading the film and
styles of filming:
• Traditional documentary / interviews
• Re-enacted archival footage
• Meta-narrative about the filmmaking
process itself
Conflicting memories, Multiple voices, what
Leah Anderst calls “choral autobiography”
Radically democratic approach to
documentary
Three-dimensional family story –
negotiation & renegotiation

3. Polley’s comments on the film
“Each of us had a deep and growing
need to tell the story, different parts of
it, in different ways, with emphasis on
different details, in a way that reflected
our own experience and what was
most important to us as we are now.”
References
Susanna Egan, “Encounters in Camera: Autobiography as Interaction,” Modern Fiction Studies 40:3 (1994): 593
Memory’s Chorus: Stories We Tell and Sarah Polley’s Theory of Autobiography, Leah Anderst, senses of cinema,
December 2013, Issue 69
http://sensesofcinema.com/2013/feature-articles/memorys-chorus-stories-we-tell-and-sarah-polleys-theory-of-
autobiography/
Stories We Tell Analysis: Sarah Polley’s Documentary
http://filmslie.com/stories-we-tell-review-sarah-polleys-documentary/

4. Week 2
SHANNON WALSH / FIPR 436/536
DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE AND FILM, UBC
Finding your
Documentary Subject

5. Documentary Tendencies
“The documentary film has, since its beginning, displayed four
fundamental, often overlapping tendencies or aesthetic functions..”
1. To record, reveal, or preserve
2. To persuade or promote
3. To express
4. To analyze or interrogate
From “The Subject of Documentary” Michael Renov

6. • Follow Your Passion
• Solve a Problem
• Make it Personal
• Ask a Question
• Say something about the world
• Go with your GUT!
• Find a compelling character
Tips for finding a subject

7. Solve a Problem & Ask Questions
• Why did this happen?
• Why does that person act a certain way?
• What went wrong?
• Who did it?
• Look for STORIES not SUBJECTS
• Avoid topics that are too broad or overdone where you will
have little room to say anything yourself.
• Fiction structure of Problem, Crisis, Resolution

8. Make it Personal
• First-Person cinema, P.O.V.
• What can you bring through your own point-of-view?
• “5 Broken Cameras”
• “Stories We Tell”
• “Roger & Me”
• “Les plages d’Agnes”
• Mike Hoolboom
• “Little Dieter Wants to Fly”
• “Sona the Other Myself”
• “Man with a Movie Camera”

9. • Secrets
• Music
• News
• Biography
• Right a Wrong
• Document an Event
• Trends
From https://www.udemy.com/blog/documentary-ideas/
“March of the Penguins”
Ideas for Documentary Films

10. • What do you have unique access to?
• Look for a story you could tell about your neighbourhood,
family or friends.
• Do you know someone who is an interesting character?
• Having access is the first KEY to making a documentary?
• Why are you particularly posed to tell this story? Why
now?
Exploring your Access

11. Developing your Story Ideas
Collecting Raw Material
• Journals
• Newspapers and Magazines
• Internet
• History
• Myths & Legends
• Family Stories
• Childhood Stories
• Social Science & Social History
• Fiction

12. Testing a Subject
Self Questioning
• In what area am I most knowledgeable and even
opinionated?
• Is there an aspect of it I could cover well?
• Do I feel a strong and emotional connection to
doing it?
• Can I do justice to the subject?
• Do I have passion to learn more about the subject?

13. Testing a Subject
Narrowing & Intensifying
• What is this subject’s underlying significance to me?
• What do people know already, and what don’t they know?
• What would I – and most people – really like to discover?
• What is unusual and interesting about it?
• Where is its specialness really visible?
• How narrowly (and therefore how deeply) can I focus my film’s
attention?
• What can I show (as opposed to narrate?)
Discovering personal connection of a subject, rather than trying to see
it from an imagined audience, usually takes you into new and exciting
areas.

14. Subjects to Avoid
• Worlds you haven’t experienced and cannot closely observe.
• Any ongoing, inhibiting problems in your own life (see a good
therapist, you wont’ find solutions while trying to direct a film!)
• Anything or anyone “typical”
• Preaching or moral instruction of any kind
• Problems for which you already have the answer (so does your
audience.)

15. KEY QUESTIONS
1. Why do you really want to make this film?
2. Is there a good ‘story’ there? Strong, compelling
narrative
3. Is it practical?
4. Is it feasible?
5. Does it have strong interesting characters who can carry
the story?
Think seriously about why you make films.

16. Tips from the experts
• IFP: You have to go with your gut on this one! Whatever makes you happy, piques your
interest, inspires (or enrages!) and activates is probably going to appeal to someone else.
• Reel Works: You don’t always have to look too hard for your story, sometimes it’s right
in front of you. When choosing a topic, make sure you choose something that you can
relate to and/or something that you’re passionate about. Keep these questions in mind:
What story do you want to tell? Why is it important? Who is your audience? What is your
essential question?
• BAYCAT: My favorite types of stories come from compelling people. It really helps the
viewer connect to a story when the person is vibrant, interesting and a great character. If
you want to make a film about a certain subject, get interesting people to share their
stories and experiences with your audience. At the base of many documentaries is human
connection.

17. • Don’t be afraid to take a risk. Take chances!
• Don’t let anyone ruin your vision. Follow your instincts.
• Don’t doubt the potential of your story and never doubt your ability to get it done.
• Don’t underestimate yourself.
• Don’t take “no” for an answer. Ever.
• Commit to the film. Don’t give up no matter how hard it gets along the way. It will get hard. But it will
be worth it.
• It’s scary to get personal. But the real stuff is always the best stuff.
• It’s okay if your story changes along the way; there’s a large chance that your final result won’t be
what you initially envisioned your film to be, and that’s okay.
• You can never have too much footage.
Reel Works tips

18. FILM SELECTIONS
Sept 27: Observational/Verite/Cinema Direct
Oct 4: Experimental/Poetic
Oct 11: Character-Driven
Oct 18: Archives
Oct 25: Essay Film
Nov 1: Hybrid Forms
Nov 7: Participatory
7 sessions, each lead by 2 people
Get a partner & sign up for a slot!

19. FILM SELECTIONS
Sept 27: Chelsea & Kerem
Oct 4: Ray & Godfrey
Oct 11: Jamie, Louise
Oct 18: Theresa, Eloane
Oct 25: Said & Lauren
Nov 1: Sebastian & Christian
Nov 7: Participatory
7 sessions, each lead by 2 people
Get a partner & sign up for a slot!