Analysing documentary editing stages

Analysing documentary editing stages

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Some of the very most essential documentary filmmaking decisions are made in the editing room.


Editing is a vital phase of all films, since it is the stage when raw footage transforms in to the final product. This phase is particularly very important to documentary films, though. The reason being the majority of narrative films will be edited to fit round the pre-defined script and storyboard. On the other hand, documentary filmmakers frequently get into their shoots with merely a rough pre-planned notion of what they will make, with the rest of the story being unknown until they really film it. James Rogan will be well aware that this may mean that documentary directors and producers might be sitting on hundreds of hours' worth of footage with no established narrative. Step one is to back-up the entirety of it because any moment could become used in the final documentary. Following this, all footage needs to be watched with accompanying records being written to pinpoint the greatest moments. This should happen at precisely the same time as going through archive material, photos, and music to determine what's the best fit for the documentary.


Editing has improved considerably through the span of movie history. In fact, the entire explanation the medium is named film is because of the material that movies had been filmed on. This material would be edited by hand, with editors chopping and pasting camera shots together. Today most movies are now actually digital, which means that a lot of the editing is completed on the computer. Morgan Matthews will know that most documentary filmmakers are well-acquainted with editing software. When all prospective elements of the film were put into their selected software, it is time to start trying out laying the best shots into a timeline. Moments that reveal key information and will be the emotional core of the documentary will be the best to work with. Seeing what works and doesn't work during this period will help establish the building blocks of the documentary.


People are drawn to watching documentaries simply because they desire to discover something. However, this does not mean that documentaries must be dry lectures. Individuals are additionally looking to be entertained while learning the knowledge via a narrative structure. Tim Parker should be able to inform you that deciding on the narrative and finding elements that fit the narrative is one of the most crucial phases within the film editing process. Even the most stunning shots blended with the most remarkable archive footage is going to be meaningless if linked together without any clear narrative. Most filmmakers will create a long first cut version of their documentary once they have established the narrative. They'll then undergo the 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.