How to Become a Great Documentary Storyteller

Documentary Film Essentials Course (formerly The Documentary Academy): https://empowerednarrative.thinkific.com/courses/documentaryfilmessentials

The Documentary Life Podcast: https://empowerednarrative.org/thedocumentarylife/

The Documentary Life is a show that sets out to inspire and inform you on how to best live and lead your own documentary life.

Storytelling is always at the heart of any kind of documentary journey. And for today’s episode of the podcast, we will explore 5 Ways to Tell Someone’s Story, followed by a shared conversation with, Stephen Most, who has been working in documentary for 40+ years and he has had a hand in the writing and/or producing of four documentary films that were nominated for an Academy Award. Stephen has just released his new book, Stories Make the World: Reflections on Storytelling and the Art of the Documentary.

Topics Discussed

how & why storytelling is an essential part of the human experience
how doc filmmaking gives extraordinary access to the world’s most intimate stories
importance of truly listening to our subjects + their stories during the interview
why interviewing with a sound recorder might sometimes work better than on-camera

Ways to Tell The Story

Some of the ways, as we discuss in this episode, in which you can tell someone’s story in your documentary film:

archival photos/footage
testimonials
find the details
become the explorer
silence is okay

Related Resources

Watch the trailers for Stephen Most’s documentary films:

° Nature’s Orchestra

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdqBUXyZPF4

° River of Renewal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq7kYfkaQ10

° Oil on Ice

https://vimeo.com/43694943

Watch the trailer for Stephen Most’s book:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJqlsqnykSs

Own a copy of Stories Make The World

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