Cliff Etzel

So I have several ideas for short documentary projects.

One in particular is based on the premise of several local people who are like minded in their philosophy, but do specific things that are unique to them within the general framework of the philosophy (sorry to be vague - trying to keep this under wraps for the time being).

I'm a trained photojournalist by profession, and have moved into shooting as a solo video journalist. I have all the necessary gear to shoot with. My problem is getting the project out of my head and into some sort of tangible story board form to begin preproduction.

I feel like I have writers block - I can see the idea in my head for this project - I just can't seem to get it into a form that allows me to move forward with it.

Any suggestions on how to proceed on this?

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Cliff Etzel - Solo Video Journalist
bluprojekt | solovj.com

Peter Wiley

Read this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Directing-Docu.../dp/0240802705

Then do what it says to do.

Cliff Etzel

Thanks Peter - just ordered the book :-)

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Cliff Etzel - Solo Video Journalist
bluprojekt | solovj.com

Ernest Sams

One of the best books I have read so far on this subject is Documentary Storytelling, Second Edition: Making Stronger and More Dramatic Nonfiction Films
(Amazon.com: Documentary Storytelling, Second Edition: Making Stronger and More Dramatic Nonfiction Films: Sheila Curran Bernard: Books)

You can also find here a summary of making documentaries:
How to Make a Documentary Film | Expert Village Videos

Michael Wisniewski

I agree with Ernest, I've found Documentary Storytelling to be the strongest book I've read on making documentaries. I have the other ones by Michael Rabiger and Barry Hampe, and they are very good. But I think Documentary Storytelling gets right to the heart of the matter, by helping you shape the story of your doc before, during, and after you start shooting. I had all three on my desk while I was assisting on a documentary with 250+ hours of footage, and Documentary Storytelling was the one that really helped to pull the rabbit out of the hat, if you get my drift.

Michael Rabiger's book is very well rounded, and has better technical and production information. Barry Hampe's book is a gold mine of anecdotal information. But for shaping and fine tuning a story out of a mountain of footage, Documentary Storytelling gets my vote.

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Michael Wisniewski

I'm not an expert in docs, but I've had one rolling around in my head for awhile, and was also putting it off because I didn't know where to start. I just got the whole process kickstarted by buying dinner for one of the subjects and then sitting down to record her stories and thoughts all in the name of "documentary research". Based off that, I was able to form a plan of attack as it helped map out the "story". I still don't have a specific storyline, but I've narrowed it down so I can focus my research on a few key players, events, and actions.

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