Film Funding Blog

Twitter has officially transcended its humble origins as a medium where you let family, friends and willing strangers in on the most minute details of your life. Among other things, it’s now a forum where professionals can give advice to those who seek it.

At least that’s the case for Basil Tsiokos, the Programming Assistant for Documentary Features at the acclaimed Sundance Film Festival. He is using the popular networking site to “both gripe about (and occasionally even celebrate)” the little things documentary filmmakers do that tend to irk him, resulting in many snide comments and some useful tips in his series, “Dear Documentary Filmmakers.” Below are the “tweets” taken directly from Tsiokos’ feature on Documentary Do’s and Don’ts, which he contributed for IndieWire. Our input is mixed in, minus the snark.

“Dear Documentary Filmmakers” on Twitter: @1basil1

• Sprinkling a dozen still photos amidst three dozen talking head shots does not make for an interesting film.
  • Film, if nothing else, is a visual medium. Utilize what can be shown, and don’t just focus on what people have to say.
• Your incessant narration is driving me to drink. Shut up already and let the images tell the story.
• Having ponderous voiceover narration = bad idea. Having it delivered by inarticulate children = worse idea.
  • The key mantra in filmmaking is “show it rather than say it.” While it is sometimes necessary to convey information via spoken word, this is best used sparingly. A helpful hint: use titles instead. People are more inclined to believe what they see rather than what they hear. If you do use voice, make sure it’s clear and engaging.
• Please use subtitles instead of dubbing foreign languages with fake accents and emphatic “acting.” Please…
  • Dubbing is distracting in documentaries. Let your interview subjects tell their own stories in their own language, and then translate it with subtitles. This helps to eliminate “performance” of voice dubbers. Also consider subtitling inarticulate subjects for the sake of clarity no matter what language is being spoken.
• Next time, hire a good sound person so that I won’t have to hear background noise or dead air in every scene.
  • As emphasized above: we want to hear what your subjects are saying. Bad sound is the most tell-tale feature of an amateur film. Also, don’t forget to prioritize other technical considerations like lighting and cinematography. The most compelling subjects can be rendered ineffective by poor technique.
• Picking the right subjects to follow is so important.
  • Don’t feature too many subjects speaking about the same issue. One or two strong subjects are more effective than ten or twelve weaker voices.
• Two films in a row about the same exact topic? Really? Sigh.
• Next time, please try to have a point before making your film. Filming your search for one is not new or fun.
  • Ask yourself “Has anyone made a film about the same or similar topic already?” If so, bring something different to the topic—do your homework. Also avoid meta-films— it’s been done.

Many of these points apply to narratives as well as documentary films. Indeed, the undesirable qualities noted above are found in many conventional, high-budget, high-grossing ‘blockbusters’—but that’s a topic for another day.

For the full article in IndieWire, click HERE.