The Perfect Documentary: Narrative, Aesthetic, and Social Message

Samantha King

12 February 2016
Ms. Barnhart, Period 6

The Perfect Documentary: Narrative, Aesthetic, and Social Message

Humanities 2
Documentaries have been produced for hundreds of years. Nonfiction motion pictures,
require a certain finesse to be produced successfully. The subject of the film will sometimes
dictate the success of the film, but mainly there are a few concepts to keep in mind when creating
a film, for it to be successful. Documentaries are usually harder to access to the public, but with
this fairly new digital age, more and more documentaries are being viewed by the masses
through Netflix and other video streaming websites.. Audiences need to be enthralled by the
documentary because of increased competition, now that the public can generally find more
documentaries. To create a potentially thought-provoking and artistically sound documentary a
filmmaker must keep in mind three aspects in constructing a film: telling a story, aesthetic, and a
social message.
While viewers could easily interpret documentaries as a kind of report, the films are made
to tell a story. Throughout their history documentaries have showcased a wide range of topics,
but the many of the early films did not truly tell a story, and therefore the documentary did not
intrigue the masses. Thinking of documentaries like books or narratives, with a beginning,
middle and end, helps plot out how the documentaries are filmed to portray narration. The
beginning of a documentary is crucial because the background intrigues and informs the
audience on the topic of the film. The beginning is the point where the film either engages the
audience or turns them away. Alan Rosenthal, director, and author of Writing, Directing, and
Producing Documentary Films and Videos explains, "The background information should be a
lure to fascinate the reader, to make him or her say, 'What a marvelous possibility for a film'"
(Rosenthal 27). Without the background in the opening of the a documentary, there is nothing to
grab the audience's attention. Just like when writing a persuasive paper or a news story, a hook is
needed to intrigue readers. The same goes for any film or documentary. Within Rosenthals book
he illustrates the importance of establishing a solid background, in order to move forward with

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the film. The background section of a film reviews information necessary to acquaint the
audience with the subject, and lets them see why the film is needed or of would be interest to the
audience for entertainment or general knowledge (Rosenthal 26). The background information is
not only the beginning of a film, but the introduction to the audience. All introductions whether
in film, literature or real-life are about making impactful impressions, which is why the
background is an essential component of a documentary.
Following the background, the director/writers build their approach with technique and
structure. All films begin with an idea, but it is up to the director to carry out that idea and bring
it to life. Many documentaries have a superb topic, but the way in which the film is produced is
not effective. As Rosenthal wrote, "Your ideas sound fascinating and appealing, but how will you
carry them out in practice? Where is the drama in your story? Where is the conflict? Where are
the emotions and the character development? This is where you must be downshy; to-earth"
(Rosenthal 27). This is the part of brainstorming, where thinking of the development of the story
is needed. Creating some sort of concept map or outline helps develop the story with
brainstorming and questioning aspect. A documentary, essentially requires everything a written
story or fiction film needs. Starting with an exposition, followed by rising action, a strong
climax, falling action and finally the resolution or the end result. Having several different
approaches, and then choosing the style that fits best with the topic, will result in the best
outcome of the film.
When filming a documentary, the director needs to think about who the film will be geared
towards, and tell the story in a way that particular audience will not only enjoy, but also take
something away from it. People perceive things in many different ways, which makes filming for
a wide-range of people difficult. However, combining the topic with the audience in mind will
help drive the film towards that audience. Knowing something about your audience from the

Humanities 4
beginning is imperative (Rosenthal 18). Everyone's a critic, which is why it is important to learn
about the audience. Learning more about the audience, can lead to a more successful film.
Telling a story is one of the main goals of documentary filming, but the story cannot be told if
there is no one to tell the story to. For documentary filmmaking, becoming invested in the project
and the story of a person or thing as a whole is of the utmost importance. To me, of course, the
high value is not what makes it expensive, but the high value comes in capturing another
persons experience as directly and as interestingly as possible (Stubbs 4). The audience takes
home the story, and the information given to them. They can receive and learn the information
given to them, however to make them really think about, and absorb the information the film
must capture the audiences attention, to make a lasting impact. By making this lasting impact,
the documentary will be a success, and the audience glean the importance and impact of the film
simply from watching it.
Within storytelling, whether it is verbal or visual, there are little things to make the story
verbally or visually appealing. The aesthetic component of creating a film, is just as important as
telling a story. One can tell a story with no problem, but to make the experience interesting and
appealing takes that film to another level. Jean Rouch, a French filmmaker is considered to be
one of the founders of cinma-vrit in France, which is a style of documentary filmmaking. This
man paved the way for many documentary filmmakers and will continue to inspire the truth
cinema of documentaries, starting with the cinematography. Michael Renov, author of The
Subject of Documentary, shares his interpretation of Rouch: "The camera is for Rouch a kind of
two-way glass that retains a double function: it is a window that delivers the profilmic to an
absent gaze and, at the same moment, a reflective surface that reintroduces us to ourselves"
(Renov 197). Renov mentions this quote from Rouch due to the truth and sincerity behind it. For
any filmmaker, the camera can be a very powerful tool when used in just the right way. it is

Humanities 5
always about getting the shot, which makes a director's film that much closer to cinematic
perfection. The cinematography, is just as important as what the documentary is about. The right
shot can make a scene engaging, while a mediocre shot will not intrigue the audience. The
correct shot makes an impact on a specific scene; if the lead of the film is sharing an intimate
story, they are not going to be in the background of a shot. A great shot for a moment like that
would feature the lead in the foreground, with either a blurred background or a warm or dark
background depending on the tone of the moment. As professional cinema editor, who has a BFA
from the School of Visual Arts, Vincent LoBrutto said, "Cinematography visually presents points
of view and the verisimilitude and artificiality of movement for a narrative or psychological
purpose" (LoBrutto xi). In short, documentary films express reality, and other cinema genres
usually rely on method acting to enhance a scene, or make it real. In documentaries, the scenes
are real, the conversation (if any) is real, as well as the shots. Generally documentary
filmmakers, like Rouch and Rosenthal, rely on integrity from their leads and their story, as well
as particular cinematography to create an incredible film. With the correct camera angles and
length of a shot, delivers an aesthetically authentic and engaging scene.
The cinematography keeps the audience visually engaged, but the sounds creates a sort of
subconscious interest. Sound is a very powerful tool within documentary films, whether the
sound is ambient or there is music in a scene, sometimes having no sound is just as powerful.
Having no sound can be a time for the audience to take in the scene or shot and really think.
Sound and music add the extra animation to a particular scene. After picture editing, music and
narration are added to the film. Music should not be used to solely uplift the mood of scene.
Music enhances a scene, whether emotionally, or comedically, but when over used, defeats the
purpose of the sounds. Documentaries tend to need and or use less music, due to breaking the
reality of human interaction and thought. Although when used well, certain music can lift a scene

Humanities 6
or film as a whole remarkably (Rosenthal 175). Music within documentaries solely depends on
the topic of the film, and the rhythm or tempo of the scene/shot. Dynamics of the music and
scene are also to be acknowledged when incorporating music. Other sounds to consider however
is narration. Narration and documentaries tend correspond, but not all documentaries require
narration. Narration is used to inform the audience on a specific scene or depict a certain mood
for the scene(s). If there is narration illustrating a scene, that is already self-explanatory, it
defeats the purpose of either the narration or shot. "The broad function of narration is to amplify
and clarify the picture. It should help establish the direction of the film and provide any
necessary information not obvious from the visuals" (Rosenthal 182). Narration can also help to
establish the mood of a film or particular scene. Additionally, narration is quite useful in bridging
filmic transitions, and also turning the film in a new direction from before (Rosenthal 182).
Narration, sound and music, are all key components within a documentary and they help keep
the audience intrigued and also animate the scenes. These aesthetic factors when used correctly
will push the film further towards perfection.
Documentaries contain certain aspects that help make them successful, like an important
social message. The underlying social message is of importance and relevance to the topic of the
documentary. Usually, the production of a powerful documentary is constructed by a director
who is passionate about the subject of the film. Without passion, how can one effectively get a
message across to an audience. The viewer must feel something from a socially provocative
documentary, whether it be an intensely joyful emotion or an emotion that makes the spectator
rattled. The point of a social message is to educate the masses, and do so through the power of
emotion and poignancy. Filmmaker Robert Vas, once put it to me this way: 'I've brought with
me a great many things to talk about. This baggage, this message which nobody asked me to talk
about, is absolutely central to me. I can't exist without it. And I must talk about it to audiences

Humanities 7
that never experienced these things directly'" (Rosenthal 287). The importance of a social
message, begs the question, so what?. The filmmakers is constantly aware of the essential
question, and there is reason to produce his or her film. Documentary filmmakers use film as a
tool to educate the public, and advocate for people or things who cannot advocate for
themselves. Kathryn Olson, writer of a review for the documentary, Al Gores An Inconvenient
Truth, argues, "The film's rhetorical success as an instance of social advocacy that successfully
galvanized ordinary people to take action and become advocates themselves is its related, but
more interesting achievement" (Olson). An Inconvenient Truth, shares with the public the reality
of global warming, and spreads awareness of this very real threat. The social message is calling
the masses to stand up and do something to curb global warming and its destructive effects on
the environment. All in all, documentaries have many purposes, however, the most powerful and
transformed are used to get a certain social awareness message across to a large number of
people.
Documentaries with a strong social message, provoke audiences to really think, and the
job of the filmmaker is to artistically and articulately share audiences the information. The social
message of a film may be strong but, how it is shown will result in either success of the message
or the down fall. Educating the public on a certain subject, those who may be ignorant of that
topic, is the purpose and driving factor for producing said film. As Rosenthal said, The main
difference, of course, lies in purpose. The documentary usually has a strong social drive. It wants
to inform you, to draw your attention, to awaken your interest so that some social or political
problem can be fully understood and perhaps ameliorated (Rosenthal 259). The fact is, people
are naturally skeptical. Someone may hear about a social problem, but in order to believe it, they
must see it for themselves to accept it. A documentarians job is to communicate that issue to
audiences in order to make the audience think. A thought-provoking documentary, is one that the

Humanities 8
viewer will think about after they go home or turn their screen from which they were watching it.
One that can influence them change their way of thinking for the better, those documentaries are
the superior, and most powerful documentaries.
A documentarys main purpose is to educate people, on something a filmmaker feels
strongly about. While there are an ample amount of documentaries that have been made, and will
continue to be made, there are many that do not fulfill the requirements to produce an incredibly
powerful documentary. While one may tell a story and carry an underlying social message, the
artistry and aesthetics of the film are not present. Or one may have beautiful camera shots, and
really powerful music with entertaining narration, and tell a story, but there is no social message
that the audience can learn from. Having all three components is the key to a filmmaker
producing a dynamic and influential documentary.

Works Cited

Humanities 9
LoBrutto, Vincent. Principal Photography: Interviews with Feature Film Cinematographers.
Westport, CT: Praeger, 1999. Questia. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.
Olson, Kathryn M. "Rhetorical Leadership and Transferable Lessons for Successful Social
Advocacy in Al Gore's an Inconvenient Truth." Argumentation and Advocacy 44.2
(2007): 90+. Questia. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.
Stubbs, Liz. Documentary Filmmakers Speak. New York: Allworth, 2002. Print.
Renov, Michael. The Subject of Documentary. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota, 2004. Questia.
Web. 16 Dec. 2015.
Rosenthal, Alan. Writing, Directing, and Producing Documentary Films and Videos. Revised
ed. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois UP, 1996. Questia. Web. 15 Dec. 2015.

Humanities 10

Works Cited
LoBrutto, Vincent. Principal Photography: Interviews with Feature Film Cinematographers.
Westport, CT: Praeger, 1999. Questia. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.
Olson, Kathryn M. "Rhetorical Leadership and Transferable Lessons for Successful Social
Advocacy in Al Gore's an Inconvenient Truth." Argumentation and Advocacy 44.2
(2007): 90+. Questia. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.
Stubbs, Liz. Documentary Filmmakers Speak. New York: Allworth, 2002. Print.
Renov, Michael. The Subject of Documentary. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota, 2004. Questia.
Web. 16 Dec. 2015.
Rosenthal, Alan. Writing, Directing, and Producing Documentary Films and Videos. Revised
ed. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois UP, 1996. Questia. Web. 15 Dec. 2015.