Producing an effective documentary that is both informative and entertaining towards the public takes great amount of work when elaborating the structure and content of the film. You see, in my perspective the image of a documentary stood as an endless and boring movie commonly used as a source of information rather than personal interest. The reason this occurred was due to my lack of knowledge towards these films, I had never quite experienced an "entertaining" documentary that caught my attention in need of knowing more. I was stranded in a biased mentality.
As I watched and analyzed the documentary, I noticed how effectively the producer managed to hook its audience since the very start; first giving an insight of the general idea and later delving into first hand experiences. The purpose of this documentary was to help raise awareness regarding dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan; honestly, this topic wasn't my greatest interest, yet it successfully won my attention. The purposeful introduction of dolphins in the film hooks the viewer in a way that allows them to "fall in love" with these creatures, generating a sense of emotion since the very start. Initiating the documentary with vague knowledge about these mammals, I had already begun to comprehend and cherish the value certain dolphins bring into our society, and how it is truly important to guard their species around the world.
This long, but meaningful introduction is an essential step in reaching out to your audience, making sure they are fully aware and interested in the message you wish to deliver.
Analyzing the purposeful structure and content of this film allowed me to realize that in order to create a meaningful documentary, the main focus is on the way the message is delivered, rather than the content it itself. Taking this in much consideration, I began to more or less have a clear image of how to structure and produce a film that will create an impact within my audience, leaving with them a significant emotion.
Now, entering the stage of planning and structuring our documentary project, it is safe to say that I have clear understanding of how to appropriately apply these concepts when constructing my film. Balancing out narrators, including purposeful B-rolls, and outlining a series of impacting scenarios, are all significant factors that will allow my message to purposefully reach a wide range of viewers. In-taking this overall knowledge of story based documentaries, I can assertively admit my prior ignorance towards the significance of these films and how having a biased mentality when judging them truly limited my interests.
Following and managing these essentials steps will hopefully guide me in producing an original film that will impact others and bring value into the society we live in.