Film Discussion: Documentary Do's and Don'ts

We've had quite a few potentially strong documentaries come into our office over the past couple months. Unfortunately most of them violate one or more of the taboos for crafting a saleable documentary.

Please know that there is nothing wrong with making a film about very personal or arcane subject matter. Just understand that most revenue for a documentary will come from tv licenses, and most tv programmers, especially the ones that offer big license fees, are looking for subject matter that will appeal to a boad audience. As a result, these personal documentaries are very very difficult to sell.

So what are the main do's and don'ts for a saleable documentary? See for yourself after the jump.

1. Choose interesting subject matter with at least moderate appeal. Really specific subject matter that appeals to a niche audience isn't so bad, but it might limit the film's options in the marketplace. The rest of the world is much less interested in things American than they used to be, so if you choose subject matter along these lines, you better make sure you provide a point of view, access, etc. that a foreign tv channel couldn't get. For example, don't make a film about travelling down the Mississippi River a la Huck Finn. Every tv channel in Europe has one of those already.

2. Do not choose subject matter that gets dated. TV is a now medium. There is usually room for one retrospective doc on any given subject. The odds of that doc being yours aren't good so don't play in that sandbox. An example of this would be a film about the 2006 Congressional elections. International and American tv is already focused on 2008.

3. Historical subject matter is fine. Make the distinction between old news and history.

4. Make the film is engaging and visual. Talking heads are the death of the modern documentary. Also, make sure that you can understand your subjects. I can't tell you how many docs we see where the subject, speaking English, basically needs subtitles to be understood. Manipulate your sound levels, or honestly, subtitle it yourself if you can't understand it.

5. Don't be afraid to be funny. Everyone likes humor.

6. Edit your film, then re-edit and re-edit again. Make it as tight as possible. Programmers hate padding. If it is still feature length after all your editing, be prepared to cut a one hour version. One hour time slots outnumber feature length timeslots for documentaries by 4 to 1.

7. Make absolutely sure that you have all your rights squared away, releases etc.

6. Shoot in hi def if at all possible. Doing so will increase your sales options here in N. America and abroad.

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