Analysing documentary editing phases

Analysing documentary editing phases

Blog Article

Well-crafted editing can be the distinction between a poor documentary and a great one.


Editing is a vital stage of all motion pictures, as it is the phase when raw footage transforms to the final item. This phase is particularly crucial for documentary films, however. It is because most narrative movies will be edited to fit around the pre-defined storyboard and script. Meanwhile, documentary filmmakers typically get into their shoots with merely a rough pre-planned notion of what they will make, with the remainder of the tale being undiscovered until they really film it. James Rogan is going to be well aware that this can mean that documentary directors and producers might be sitting on thousands of hours' worth of footage with no established narrative. The initial step is always to back-up all of it because any moment could turn out to be utilised in the final documentary. After this, all footage has to be watched with accompanying records being written to pinpoint the most effective moments. This should take place at precisely the same time as going through archive material, photos, and music to decide what is the most useful fit for the documentary.


Editing has grown considerably through the course of film history. In fact, the entire explanation the medium is called film is because of the material that films had been filmed on. This material is modified by hand, with editors chopping and pasting camera shots together. Today most films are now digital, meaning that the majority of the editing is completed by computer. Morgan Matthews will know that most documentary filmmakers are well-acquainted with editing software. Once all potential aspects of the film were put into their selected software, it's time to begin experimenting with laying the best shots into a timeline. Moments that reveal key information and can be the emotional core of the documentary are the best to make use of. Seeing what works and does not work at this time can help establish the foundation of the documentary.


Individuals are interested in viewing documentaries since they desire to discover something. But, this does not always mean that documentaries should be dry lectures. People are also looking to be entertained while learning the knowledge via a narrative structure. Tim Parker should be able to inform you that choosing the narrative and locating elements that fit the narrative is one of the most crucial stages in the film editing process. Even the most gorgeous shots combined with the most remarkable archive footage will likely be meaningless if linked together without any clear narrative. Most filmmakers will create a long first cut version of the documentary after they established the narrative. They are going to then go through the entire process of refining and re-editing it till it becomes a viewable length while accomplishing the goals that the filmmaker set out to attain.