Analysing documentary editing stages

Analysing documentary editing stages

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Editing permits all of the different facets of a documentary to form a united whole.


Editing is a vital stage of all movies, as it is the stage when raw footage transforms in to the final item. This phase is particularly necessary for documentary films, however. The reason being most narrative movies are edited to fit round the pre-defined script and storyboard. In the meantime, documentary filmmakers frequently go into their shoots with just a rough pre-planned concept of whatever they will make, with the rest of the story being not known until they really film it. James Rogan is going to be well aware that this may mean that documentary directors and producers could possibly be sitting on thousands of hours' worth of footage with no established narrative. The first step would be to back-up all of it because any moment could turn out to be used in the ultimate documentary. After this, all footage needs to be watched with accompanying records being made to identify the very best moments. This should happen at precisely the same time as going through archive material, photos, and music to decide what's the best fit for the documentary.


Editing has developed dramatically through the span of movie history. In fact, the complete reason the medium is called film could be because of the material that films had been filmed on. This material would be modified by hand, with editors cutting and pasting camera shots together. Nowadays many films are now actually digital, meaning that the majority of the editing is performed by computer. Morgan Matthews will know that most documentary filmmakers are well-acquainted with editing software. As soon as all possible components of the film are added to their selected software, it is time to begin experimenting with laying the greatest shots into a timeline. Moments that show key information and may be the emotional core of the documentary would be the best to utilise. Seeing what works and does not work during this period can help establish the foundation of the documentary.


People are drawn to viewing documentaries because they wish to discover something. However, this does not mean that documentaries ought to be dry lectures. Individuals are also seeking to have fun while learning the info via a narrative structure. Tim Parker should be able to tell you that choosing the narrative and locating elements that fit the narrative among the most important stages within the film editing process. Even the most beautiful shots combined with the most remarkable archive footage is going to be meaningless if linked together without any clear narrative. Many filmmakers will generate a long first cut version of the documentary once they have established the narrative. They'll then go through the entire process of refining and re-editing it till it turns into a viewable length while accomplishing the goals that the filmmaker set out to achieve.