Written By
by Wendy Milette, The MY HERO Project
Grade Level
K-4, 5-8, 9-12+
Subject
Arts - Media
A documentary is a real story about a real hero.
Objectives:
In making a short film, you want to think about your audience. People love stories, especially a story in which they care about the main character. Often what endears people to characters is watching them go through trials and tribulations.
How has your hero overcome obstacles and dealt with challenges in his/her life's journey?
How has your hero achieved his/her goals?
What makes your hero unique?
What feeling do you want to leave the audience with at the end of the film?
In preparation for making your documentary short keep these simple guidelines in mind:
You are documenting the STORY of someone's life.
What fascinates you about your hero?
Why this person?
How has this person inspired you?
Where will you shoot to best capture the world of your hero?
What part of his/her life are you most interested in? (Keep a narrow focus for a short film.)
Begin with writing the SCRIPT - Keep it simple.
Outline the main points you are interested in.
Research your subject.
Make a list of questions.
Structure the beginning, middle, and end.
Write, re-write, and re-write some more.
Get feedback.
STRUCTURE:
In structuring a documentary short, you can combine establishing shots, interviews, re-created scenes, montages and B-roll footage in a variety of ways to create an interesting story. Try to avoid the "talking head" problem of only shooting standard interviews.
Establishing shots are wide exteriors of the location to establish where the story takes place
Interviews are the documentary standard. It is the best way to gather information. Choosing the background carefully and designing your shots will make them more interesting. ALWAYS use a good microphone for clear audio.
Re-created scenes are shot with actors re-creating a part of your hero's life. Some scenes have dialogue, some do not.
Montages are usually created by combining music and stills (or footage without dialogue) in sequences to help tell the story.
B-roll footage is filming the activities or environments in which your hero's journey takes place. For example, if your hero is a dancer, then footage of your hero dancing will make the interview more interesting when s/he talks about his/her experience of dance.
Screenwriters Guide
1. Write a single paragraph of the story's concept, including the wants & needs
of the main character.
2. Create a character profile for each main character, 1/2 - 1 page per character
(more detail is better), listing:
a. who they are
b. what they want/need (motivation)
c. physical appearance
d. relationships
e. personality
f. emotional bearing
g. where they live
h. their beliefs
i. paradoxes
j. other pertinent info
3. Expand the concept paragraph to a 1-page summary, including a beginning,
middle & end.
4. Brainstorming session where you list all the images that come to your mind,
typically 1-2 pages.
5. Write a numbered, sequential list of all the events in the story (called a Beat
sheet, typically 4-5 pages). For example:
1. Benson drives to the beach and parks his car.
2. Benson gets out of the car, and walks to the end of the pier.
3. Benson meets Natasha and kisses her passionately.
6. Use the Beat sheet describe each new location (scene), and write a more
detailed description of what happens at each new scene. This is called a
treatment, typically 8-10 pages.
7. Write the script, using the Treatment as reference, adding dialogue. Try to
make each sentence a different shot. Rule of thumb: each page = 1 minute.
Common Core English - Language 6-12
1
Conventions of Standard english: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
