Finding Documentary Subjects: A Mindset Approach
When embarking on a documentary project, you are essentially inviting the audience into someone's world. Therefore, the success of your documentary film hinges on whose world you're delving into and how deeply they let you in.
Simply put: characters are the heartbeat of your story. So how do you find them?
Organically Discovering Characters: A Personal Anecdote
Let me share a story from my own experience. During the creation of my first documentary, "Fly Ethiopia," Ethiopian Airlines offered to introduce me to some of their pilots. However, they were slow to make introduction and I lost a lot of time waiting.
Quickly realising my documentary wouldn't happen unless I took matters into my own hands, I hung out at the only place I knew pilots went, a small cafe inside the training compound. It was here that I met my first documentary subject, Tewodros.
The Power of Saying Hello: Initiating Connections
How did I film with Tewodros? It was simple really; I said hello and struck up a conversation with him. I'd gone from having no characters at to, literally within minutes, filming with one. And that really is the only secret you need to know; the world is full of stories, all you have to do is engage strangers in conversation. A simple greeting can pave the way for profound connections.
Documentary Interviews and First Dates
I have a theory: documentary interviews and first dates are the same thing. In both situations you want a fun, engaging conversation that gets personal. Establishing rapport is akin to a delicate dance, where trust and intimacy gradually unfurl. Recognising this subtext enables filmmakers to foster meaningful dialogues.
Identifying Ideal Characters: Nurturing Authenticity
Determining the suitability of a potential documentary subject requires clarity of vision – what is your film about and what type of person would best embody that story? For example, someone very analytical might not be best for documentary that is more lighthearted in nature. Therefore, aligning your potential subjects' personality with the film's thematic trajectory is paramount. Just like in dating, through purposeful questioning, you can discern whether your potential subject is a good fit.
Building Understanding: Elevating Conversations Beyond Surface Level
Avoiding the pitfalls of mundane exchanges, meaningful connections stem from delving beneath the surface. Conversations are not data harvesting exchanges – leave all the "how long have you..." questions for later.
For documentary, what you care about are delving into the motivations and emotions that shape a person's story, and understanding why they have made their set of choices. Ask why they've made those choices, what impact did those choices have and how do they feel about those choices now.
Fostering Trust: The Key to Candid Portrayals
At the heart of documentary filmmaking lies trust-building. Someone has to open themselves up to you and trust that you won't betray them. If you can achieve this, your film will have a unique insight that no one else could have captured.
Demonstrating genuine interest and empathy lays the foundation for subjects to reveal their innermost thoughts and experiences. By showcasing sincerity and investment, you can pave the way for profound storytelling.
Embracing Exploration: Beyond Documentary Filmmaking
It's a good idea to ask yourself why do you want to make documentary films. For me, a big part of documentary filmmaking is about meeting people I would otherwise never encounter. I want to find connection and understanding and experience, and then share those things, so talking to the people around me is more a way of life than something exclusive to documentary filmmaking.
Saying hello opens up the world and brings all sorts of possibilities for connection and if you do this you'll be amazed to discover generous people and untold stories for you to film.
In Ethiopia, I ended up going bowling with a family, I was invited into their home and then out to a nature park in the north of Addis, and my favourite thing was exploring the city with the hotel waiter. One day he knocked on my door said he had the day off and he took me around Addis showing me things that only a local could. I will never forget that and it would never have happened if I hadn't just been chatting to him throughout my stay.
This isn't some secret to unlocking everyone. Some people will never open up to you and that's okay. The point is, unless you say hello, you'll never know.