Many brilliant documentary films have been made to this day. Some among them have left a lasting impression on the minds of the audience. Here we present a few of the most impactful documentary films that are worth watching:

1. Man With a Movie Camera

Director Dziga Vertov set out to make this film with a simple intention. It was to record a day in Russia’s urban life during the beginning of Soviet rule. The Soviet citizens are shown as working with modern machinery. This silent documentary film released in 1929 is renowned for Vertov’s invention of brilliant cinematic techniques. 

They include multiple exposure, freeze frames, fast motion, match cuts, split screens, and slow motion. Upon its initial release, the film was criticized for its fast cutting and emphasis on form instead of content. However, it was named the best documentary of all time by the ‘Sight & Sound’ magazine.  

2. Grey Gardens

Released in 1975, this American documentary film shows the everyday lives of two upper-class, reclusive women. It was directed by Albert and David Maysles. The two women in the film, a mother and daughter, were both named Edith Beale. They lived in poverty at Grey Gardens, the name of their derelict mansion. 

It was located in the wealthy Georgica Pond area of New York’s East Hampton Town. The Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 2010. It was voted the 9th best documentary film of all time by the Sight & Sound magazine in 2014.

3. Crumb

This documentary film by Terry Zwigoff was released in 1995. It is about R. Crumb, the noted underground cartoonist and his family. The film shows his outlook on life. It was screened at film festivals in the year of its release and won the Documentary Prize at Sundance. 

The film was placed on the list of ten greatest films of all time by Jeffery M. Anderson. He was one of the well-known film critics who worked for the San Francisco Examiner.

4. Fahrenheit 9/11

This documentary film by Michael Moore was released in 2004. It is a critical exploration of the presidency of George W. Bush, the Iraq war, and its media coverage. The film made its debut at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and was received positively by the critics. 

It also generated great controversy, which included disputes over the accuracy of the film. Fahrenheit 9/11 was awarded the Palme d’Or, which is the highest award of the Cannes Film Festival. The film went on to become the highest-grossing documentary film of all time.

5. Woodstock: Three Days That Defined a Generation

Directed by Barak Goodman, this documentary film was released in 2019. It features never-before-seen footage of the famous 1969 Woodstock music festival. The event was held from 15th to 18th of August in 1969 on the dairy farm of Max Yasgur. The festival attracted a massive audience of more than 400,000. 

Despite the sporadic rain threatening the event, thirty-two acts were performed outdoors. This music festival became a pivotal event for the counterculture movement. It is also regarded as a defining event in the history of popular music. With this film, the director examines the social, cultural, and political impact of the event.

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It is not always easy to be a documentary filmmaker. Generally, such filmmakers carry a bigger responsibility of staying true to their vision without twisting the topic intentionally. Here are some of the rising stars from the world of documentary films:

1. Jennifer Holness

This brilliant director, producer, and writer has always enjoyed tackling issues of black people. She explores a cultural shift that’s happening today from past stereotypes of black women in ‘Subjects of Desire’. The film also shows the shifting attitudes of black girls and women of today. 

It tells the viewers how they are embracing African aesthetics, such as black skin tone and natural hairstyles. The film also says that the very things black women were ashamed of are truly wonderful and special. Subjects of Desire premiered this year at the Sundance Film Festival.

2. Chris McKim

McKim’s production credits include ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ series, ‘Freedia Got a Gun’, and ‘Out of Iraq’. His recent documentary is about the life and times of David Wojnarowicz. This documentary also showcases the socio-political atmosphere of the 1980s and the recent era. David Wojnarowicz was an AIDS activist and East Village, artist. 

The film was released in March by Kino Lorber. McKim used Wojnarowicz’s personal archives and audiotape journals for making the documentary. It received a lot of praise from film critics. ‘I Am Not Your Negro’ by Raoul Peck had a big early influence on his film.

3. Jessica Beshir

She made her debut with the feature documentary ‘Faya Dayi’, which is an ode to Harar. It is her hometown located in Ethiopia. The film has been shot in cinematic black-and-white with a layered sound design that seems otherworldly. It took 10 years to make and reveals the larger societal issues. 

Beshir is an Ethiopian Mexican based in Brooklyn. She immigrated to the United States amid political strife during her teenage years. Her film tells the story, in very human terms, of migrants in search of a better life.

4. Jonas Poher Rasmussen

He has already won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize for his documentary. Rasmussen’s greatest inspirations include ‘The Karate Kid’, ‘Waltz With Bashir’, and ‘Once Upon a Time in the West. He first met the subject of his documentary ‘Flee’ when both of them were teenagers. 

The film revolves around the harrowing life of an Afghan refugee. The subject is gay and leaves his home fearing the Mujahideen and the Taliban. He is victimized in Russia by corrupt police officials before beginning his new life in Denmark.

5. Samantha Stark

Her debut feature ‘Framing Britney Spears’ evoked reactions from an array of stars. Among them was her ex-boyfriend, Justin Timberlake. For nine years, Stark had been making short documentaries for the Times. Her focus at the time was on people and outsiders who were misunderstood. 

Her film brought the movement trending as #FreeBritney into the public realm. It also started a widespread conversation about the misogynistic treatment of Britney Spears by the media. The film received a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and was praised in The Independent, UK.

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These are generally used for getting the intended quality of lighting. Roger Deakins, one of the renowned cinematographers in Hollywood is famous for using ‘Cove Light’. It involves using a bleached muslin line having a length of about 80 feet on an entire room. This is used to create a wrapping light for the subjects, which produces the effect he wants.

Making soft lighting effective

Soft lighting has been used for a long, but there’s no proper metric to know how soft the light is. There’s no real metric that would help in knowing how to get the right softness levels. It would really depend on the size of the source of light and its relative distance from the subject. This can be understood from an example. 

In this example, the actor’s head and shoulders are being filmed in a 3×3 foot area. One can produce a soft light by placing a 3×3-foot light about 3 feet away from the actor. Now, the same effect can be produced in the case of a mid-shot of two actors sitting around a table. The space is broadened to a 5×5-foot area, which would need a 5×5-foot light 5 feet away.

A 5×5-foot source 10 feet away or a 10×10-foot source 20 feet away can still produce the intended effect. This happens to owe to the inverse square law. According to this law, the light would be 1/4 as bright every time the distance is doubled from it. If the cinematographer wants a very soft light, he or she can place a 10×10 source 5 feet away. 

Distance from the subject

This is exactly what Roger Deakins does while using his Cove Light. He rented more than twenty 20k lights to illuminate the windows about 40 feet away from the two characters. This was for a scene in the movie, Unbroken. This produced a soft light without making it look like an artificially lit scene.

Having been used in photography for since long, this metric is gradually being used in mainstream cinematography. The giant diffusion frames are not used on the sets of films to get the softest possible light. They are used to light up a group of people or a house while maintaining certain evenness of light. 

In Zero Dark Thirty, cinematographer Greig Frasier had used a massive crane-mounted rig to light the Bin Laden raid. Despite the large size of the source, only a part of the compound was lit. Close-ups can be easily lit with soft lighting sources as the light can be taken closer to the subject. 

Wider areas are harder to light as the source of lighting has to be kept out of the frame. Lighting up tracking shots is even harder owing to the distance covered by them.

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The competition is tough and you’ll need to put in a lot of effort. However, in no way does this mean that it’s impossible. You can certainly make your film stand out from the other documentaries. This can be done in 5 steps:

1. Do intense research

Almost all the well-made short documentary films start with a good amount of research. Intense research acts as a foundation for any form of documentary. It helps you in discovering the points for the plot and in building the narrative. Research also helps you in planning your film in the right manner and shaping it according to your vision. Simply put, great research creates a great film.

2. Create an outline

It won’t be wrong to say that you can make or break your short documentary film with your outline. While a good script is a secret behind brilliant narrative films, it is outlined in the case of great documentaries. An outline often acts as a guiding light during the production stage.

A detailed outline keeps your film on course even when things start changing rapidly. It helps you break down your film into well-crafted scenes. Moreover, you know how effective your research has been when you create the outline for your film.

3. Dig deeper with your story

Most first-time documentary filmmakers make the mistake of just going ahead with a superficial story. Some create a film based on something that looks interesting on the surface. Let’s take an example. You decide to make a documentary on a homeless guy in your neighbourhood who creates amazing jewellery with beads.

This develops a great interest in you to make a short documentary on him. Your research and outline your film and are ready for the shoot. You make the film, do all the required editing and feel that you’ve made a good film. It may look great but would lack depth.

Now, if you had dug deeper, you might’ve found that your subject has a reason for what he’s doing. He does that to be able to sell the jewellery and find a small home with the money. This deeper storyline can add a lot of value to your documentary film and connect well with the audience.

4. Invest well in sound design

One of the important aspects overlooked while making documentary films is sound design. This is more than just a voiceover or an interview. Your audience will be immersed in your story if your film has good sound. With the help and excellent sound design, you can connect well with the characters. It makes the storytelling process more effective.

5. Make it short and crisp

It is important to keep trimming your short documentary film until it only has the most essential parts. These are the parts that would make the story effective and engaging. Many of the feature-length documentary filmmakers trim down about 99% of the original shoot.

This is how they reach their final edit. Most of the clips that were removed must have been their favourites. Yet, these filmmakers didn’t include them, knowing that they’ll not serve the story.

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