Video Production - The Importance of Documentaries - Essay Example

To take advantage of this broad scope for creativity offered by documentary films, the filmmakers should adopt a script-free approach. Documentaries such as Fahrenheit 911 and Bowling for Columbine, which have garnered much critical acclaim are good examples of this scrip-free approach. The filmmaker needs to possess an eye for spotting key moments in the film before, during and after the production of film content. In the words of a famous cameraperson, “working creatively and seizing the moment and turning the camera on when things are happening before the rehearsal are important”.

To be successful in this approach a passionate approach to work, an elevated cause behind the production and a sense of intuition are all essential qualities in the filmmaker. In the case of Fahrenheit 911, its producer/director Michael Moore excels in all the above aspects (www.documentaryfilms.net). A central unifying concept is essential to organize disparate footages and to integrate the various points of view expressed in it. While interviews and images of talking heads are important elements, there are many nuances to them.

For example, “Interviews are not enough. Interviews may help define the point of view, but they are usually a terribly cumbersome way to get the documentary idea across, because they dont show the topic; they show people talking about the topic. It takes pictures” (Barnouw, 121). The first good example of the utility value of still images in documentaries is The Civil War film made by Ken Burns. By clever maneuvering of camera across each photo, the director lets the viewers know that the rest of the film will revolve around still pictures.

The time span of these visuals and the background music are also equally important to make the intended impact on the audience. In The Civil War sound track the rendition of the solitary violin “speaks” for the