Making a Scene in Documentary Film

This collection of iconic interviews helps demystify the documentary filmmaking process by deconstructing the most relevant and important scenes in some of today's most well-known documentary films. It offers concrete, real-world examples of the situations and decisions that filmmakers navigate. We go behind the scenes with the creators to learn the methodologies and approaches these directors, cinematographers, editors, and sound recordists have taken to bring these amazing documentaries to life. What makes a great scene? Why are they so important in the construction of a great film? The interviews included offer excellent insights from the directors of the award-winning The Truffle Hunters, My Octopus Teacher, Collective, Knock Down the House, Dick Johnson Is Dead, and Trapped; the cinematographer of RBG, Julia, and Fauci; the editor of Time; and sound recordist of Tiger King. Award-winning documentary filmmaker and esteemed Sundance advisor Maxine Trump goes in-depth with each filmmaker, asking about their creative process. Why did these scenes make such a deep impression on both the filmmakers and their audience? Was it the cinematic style, the dynamic dialogue, the magic of observational filmmaking, or a surprising turning point? This technical but creative and accessible resource is suitable for documentary filmmakers, aspiring directors, producers, editors, and cinematographers of non-fiction film. Each interview offers a fresh perspective to the emerging or professional filmmaker and audience alike.

Maxine Trump has won multiple BDA awards as a director for her work on numerous commercial projects for Network TV and agency clients. She went on to direct documentaries for Sundance, TNT, BBC, Discovery, PBS, etc. Her previous feature film Musicwood was a New York Times Critics' pick, festival award winner and played on TV and in theaters around the world. Her latest film, To Kid or Not to Kid, was released in theaters and on TV worldwide to critical acclaim. She is a Sundance Institute Advisor, a visiting lecturer at New York Film Academy, University of the Arts London and Yale, and a documentary consultant for emerging filmmakers.

Foreword; 1 - Introduction - Scenes, Styles, and Genres; 2 - Observational - Truffle Hunters; 3 - Interview-Led - Trapped; 4 - Hybrid and Performative - Dick Johnson Is Dead; 5 - Poetic and Character-Led -Time; 6 - Archive - RBG; 7 - Natural History Genre - My Octopus Teacher; 8 - Competition Genre - Knock Down the House; 9 - Investigative Genre - Collective; 10 - Crime Drama Series - Tiger King; Addendum - Film List by Style and Genre; Acknowledgments; Index