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With digitalisation growing rapidly and technology advancing every day, one career that has attractively crawled out of the well is filmmaking. With a smartphone in every hand, every minute a film is made.
There are so many people who aspire to become filmmakers and yet end up in a 9 to 5 job. Well, it’s a competitive market with every kid off the block trying to make short films in the hope of selling it for a quick buck.
But, is it really the reason why most film students never end up making a career in Hollywood or elsewhere? I don’t think so. The real reason is, students are not used to failure these days. I know this sounds philosophical, but it’s the truth.
Frustration is part of the game here. Difficulties are going to arise whether you are making an independent film or a documentary. And especially students who haven’t gone to film school.
While you might aspire to get your dream documentary on a popular streaming platform, it is important to analyse the deep challenges that student documentarians face while working on the ground and researching for the subject matter.
The primary difficulties that students face while making these documentaries are:
- Deciding on a Budget
- On-location Cooperation
- Rights to using archival footages
- Research material
- Using the right equipment
- Production management (due to inexperience)
Deciding on a budget
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The primary concern of students before planning the shoot of a documentary is the budget. As students, financing an entire documentary is absolutely not possible. And getting sponsors for a student project is as difficult as getting blood from a stone.
No matter how much students try, the financing for a student documentary project usually has to be borne by the students themselves. In such situations, the students cannot be as free as they want to be while shooting the documentary.
This leads to cuts and compromises at various sections such as camera equipment, gears, locations, traveling, etc.
On-Location cooperation
When students film a documentary, the most common challenge faced by them is their need to be taken seriously. While the project is extremely serious for the students but not for the people who are being interviewed or featured.
They are in dire need to be assured that their footage will not be used against them or why should they give an interview to random students?
No matter how much research and prior contacts and appointments have been made with experts and delegates who need to be interviewed, student filmmakers are placed at a generously low priority. This is not intentional but common.
In such cases having a strong sponsored connection or presentable portfolio might help in getting in touch with people. But the foremost quality that makes people talk to the filmmakers is politeness.
Rights to use archival footages
Students face a major problem in acquiring rights to use archival footage. A professional well-known documentarian might easily get access to archival footage because of their connection and reputation.
But, students are yet to gain these qualities that make it challenging for them to get access.
In such cases, student documentarians actually have to undergo quite some trouble to gain the right to use archival footage. The reason why students face difficulty here is their inexperience and authority.
The organisation providing rights to the students has to think multiple times about how and where the footage is being used. Not to sound negative, but trusting student documentarians for the first time is challenging for authorities.
With time and experience, these tasks become easier. All the passionate students need to do is keep hustling and have patience.
Research Material
Documentary making is not very different from filmmaking. This also involves pre-production, production, and post-production stages.
While all the stages are equally important, pre-production is the foremost stage that involves research, location recce, documentary script, preparation of Master sheet, etc.
Without a proper pre-production activity, the further stages of documentary filming become more difficult especially when you are a student. Researching is not a very challenging task but without a proper plan, it might get chaotic leading to further hassles.
The best way to do research is to plan the motive of your documentary. It is important to carry the documentary synopsis when the research team is approaching locations and experts.
Digital media and archival footage are a great help in research work but sometimes with excellent communication skills your team can find out unique approaches and facts about an event. Thus, good communication skills, politeness, and an open mind can make the pre-production stage successful.
Using the right equipment
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Student documentarians may or may not have gained definite professional experience in filming especially non-scripted events. The difference between scripted and non-scripted filming defines the use of perfect equipment.
Students might make a mistake in choosing the right equipment for filming a documentary or a short film that can lead to further troubles and regrets.
This might happen due to inexperience and less knowledge. Thus, it is crucial to note that the documentary is about filming real unscripted events. This involves going into locations and areas where you might not even get the chance to place your tripod.
Thus, some vital factors to keep in mind while choosing the filming equipment involve the kind of location, assured facilities, the material to be filmed, the rough process of filming, and the budget.
Production Management
Students face enormous challenges during the filming of a documentary. As the coverage of unscripted footage is concerned, it is arduous to shoot for the first time.
If it is a crowded place, the handling of cameras, deciding the camera movements, and getting interviews from people on the spot is quite challenging. The production team has the duty to manage the entire shoot and make sure it is smooth.
Often people getting filmed might have a problem with being captured on the camera without any permission. In such cases, it is the duty of the production team to take permissions and ensure stability in the shoot so that a ruckus is not created.
A documentary might involve a number of crew members at different locations. Although, while directing a documentary or even a low budget film, it is not important to convey every shot’s details to each other, the major updates such as coverage of locations or discovery of a new approach must be conveyed to the production manager.
Conclusion
Filming documentaries is more difficult than filming a scripted film. This not only involves shooting in difficult situations but also involves being mindful of the situation and concentration on the present especially when the documentarians are students.
Every member of the crew must be mindful of what is going on behind and on camera so that they do not miss a thought or instance that must have been covered or had the potential to make the documentary better.
As students, it is natural to face tremendous challenges while making a documentary. Great artists are not born. Their greatness is because of their ability to overcome obstacles and hard work. Thus, patience, humbleness, passion, and skills are the key to success to become a successful documentarian.
Sarang Padhye just loves the process of creating content, filmmaking, and advertising. However, he’s equally passionate about sharing his 4+ years of knowledge, to visitors on his blog Miracalize Media, where he also writes about screenwriting.
Check out his Ultimate Guide on Writing TV Commercials.
