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CHATER 3

KNOW YOUR SUBJECT

1. If you want to make a vibrant film, you must have a genuine understanding of your subject.

2. Background research is what you do when you immerse yourself in the material and document what you learn.

3. The types of information you will probably use are: books, articles, films, public documents, private documents, and people.

4. When you talk to people you might be:

• Gathering information

• Pre-interviewing potential interviewees

5. Watch for what I call “The Universal Matching Grant Service.”

To create a vibrant documentary, you need a genuine understanding of your subject. Only then will you be able to use the most relevant facts, find the people who tell the story best, select the ideal images, and locate the places that will give your film depth and dimensionality.

For every subject, there usually already exists a body of information, or at least bits of information, discovered and assembled by people who have studied the topic. Your job is to learn as much as you can about the subject, from their work and on your own. At every step along the way, from fundraising to attracting staff, when people sense that you’ve done your homework, they will be more open to sharing what they have to offer with you.

BACKGROUND RESEARCH

Background research involves immersing yourself in the subject of your documentary. At some point, you start to see a pattern. When you first begin, explore widely — read books, see films, surf the Internet, maybe visit museums, and, above all, ask for and listen to people’s ideas and opinions.

Research will continue throughout production, but at some point you begin to put the pieces together.

When I was doing research for Why Do These Kids Love School? I studied different approaches to progressive education. I learned that moving freely (discouraged in strict classroom settings) is an integral element to holistic learning. One scene of the film shows fourth graders stretched out reaching across a table doing math together.

That scene is both “authentic” and, at the same time, visually engaging! I was able to bring together my research (about whole body involvement and collaboration in learning), my purpose (to show this kind of education), and the footage.

When your research gives added relevance to actual footage, that synthesis gives the project vitality. If something “grabs” your interest, follow the lead. Filmmaking is a voyage of discovery — relish the search and be open to the possibilities.

How One Filmmaker’s Research Gives His Films Vitality

Ken Burns’ films are monuments to the value of background research. His Civil War documentaries are so meticulously researched that historians are said to use them as reference material. Burns does exhaustive research of actual photographs and diaries from the era he is documenting.

Burns has a small research staff that has worked together for years. I think that the quality and quantity of the background research that Burns does contributes greatly to the appeal of his films.

The Civil War (2004), Ken Burns. (A digitally re-mastered set of DVDs was released in 2004.)

You will be surprised where your investigations may lead you. While researching “light” for Radiance, I learned about Kirilian photography, which captures images of energy emanating from living objects. With some effort, I tracked down the woman who conducted the original research. In response to my inquiry, she sent me a stack of slides that showed bristling electrical energy radiating from humans and plants. She invited me to use them at no cost because she wanted them seen and used.

KINDS OF INFORMATION

With the Internet and low-cost digital media, one of the hurdles to overcome is that there is so much information. Never before have scholars and lay researchers faced this magnitude of resources. Your challenge, then, is to find the nuggets and trusted sources.

Places to which I turn when researching a film, in roughly the order that I use them, are:

The Internet

Articles

Informational interviews

Public and private documents

Books and films

I used to spend weeks on end at the library, making requests on little slips of paper. The librarians used them to find and bring out books, articles, newspapers, and microfiche. Now I do most of the initial research on the Internet.

FINDING PEOPLE AS SOURCES

Once I have done basic Internet research, I come up with a list of names of people I want to try to reach. I say “try” because some of them are essentially “unreachable.” But I try.

How do I find these people?

Once I’ve identified the people I want to reach, I go back to the Internet. I search for e-mail addresses, articles they’ve written, groups they belong to, places they’ve spoken: anything that might lead to contact information.

Sometimes it is simple, for example, if an individual publishes a newsletter with contact information. Sometimes I have to pick up the phone and start calling people.

I ask, “Do you know so and so?” or “Do you know how to reach so and so?” or “Do you know anyone who knows,” etc. Ninety percent of the time, I eventually reach the person, but not always. Finding people can be a laborious process. Be prepared for mostly hits and some misses.

Once I make contact, I either e-mail or call the person, and usually get a response. Sometimes, I need to repeat the contact several times before I get an answer. I introduce myself with as many credentials as I can put together, including my interest in that person and the subject.

If I reach the person, I ask if this is a good time to speak, or shall we make a telephone date, or if they are nearby, a time to meet. For this “informational interview” I am prepared with brief, specific questions. While the person answers these questions, I am also listening (or reading, if an e-mail) to see if this might be an appropriate interviewee for the film.

As with every other step in production, good relationships are at the heart of filmmaking. By involving other people in your searches, working together, tracing leads, and making surprise connections, you and your partners in the search will uncover treasures you never knew existed!

In one case, my relationship with a film librarian led me to some brilliant archival footage.

Twelve years ago, before I really knew about how to use the Internet for research, I immersed myself in various departments of the Library of Congress for weeks while working on From Danger to Dignity. I hoped to find facts, names and documents from the sparsely documented era of back-alley abortions. Some of what I discovered, I could now find online, but not all. Certainly not what I am about to share.

One of my regular stops every few days was the office of the film librarian, the person who tracked down the actual footage for films I found in the card catalogs. She had a personal interest in women’s rights, and, as my searches intensified, we became friends.

One morning she rose to greet me as I approached her desk. She motioned for me to follow her as she turned toward the screening booths. Without a word, she led me into a dark cubicle set aside for 35mm films.

She had pulled five reels of a 1920s silent feature. As the film ran, I watched in stunned silence. I had been looking for anything from that era that even touched on abortion when even the word was taboo. This precious silent film, the only print in existence, told the poignant story of a “damsel in distress” who had gone to an unscrupulous abortionist for an illegal abortion, and died.

The librarian had observed my diligent efforts, and decided to pitch in and help.

I encourage you to nurture collegial relationships, not only for interviews and fundraising, but while doing research as well. Some of your most valuable results will come when you team up in your efforts.

When you set out to find information from other people, first ask yourself these questions: “Who knows about this subject?” and then “Who cares about this subject?”, finding out who shares your interest.

The answers to these two questions will point you toward people who probably have information you don’t. They may live down the street or across the country. Sometimes you find people through referrals or word of mouth, sometimes on the Internet. You may decide to advertise in a newspaper to find people who worked at a certain company, or participated in a certain project. There is no one way to do this.

When you search for people, you will be looking for several categories.

People with Experience

Talk to people who have interacted with the material in some way or who know the characters in your film. Memories and stories add breadth and depth to a documentary.

Finding People

Documentary filmmaker David L. Brown found subjects for his film Surfing for Life by doing intense networking within the “mature” surfing community in Hawaii. He soon found several men who were still surfing in their seventies, eighties and nineties, but it took him nine months (with their help) to find three women who were still surfing after the age of fifty-five.

Surfing for Life (1999), David L. Brown.

In my series Seeds of Hope, I wanted to find commercial sex workers in Ethiopia. The only way to reach them and get interviews was through social workers in NGOs (non-governmental organizations) who had spent time building trust with them. We patiently communicated with one person after another, until we were finally successful. The result were hard-won, courageous interviews with sex workers, women who wanted to do whatever they could to prevent the spread of AIDS. They knew their lives were on the line, and decided that sharing their stories was a contribution they wanted to make.

People Who Study the Subject

Scholars may be excellent resources, but don’t limit your search to professionals. Look for people who have made it their business or for whom it is their avocation or hobby to learn about the subject. Seek out collectors, fans, or even fanatics who may have boxes full of clippings, photographs, and other treasures.

Experts

In every field there are several people who know more about the subject than anyone else. If you arrange a meeting (by telephone, through the Internet, or in person) with any of these people, do as much research as possible before you talk to them.

A few of the people you talk to while doing research may become interviewees and/or advisors. Interesting documentaries often integrate informational interviews with more personal stories.

Gatekeepers

It may be difficult for a filmmaker to gain access to some experts (or an exclusive community) without first talking to a “gatekeeper,” whose job it is to screen out most people who want to reach “their boss.” Often gatekeepers are the only way to reach “well-protected” individuals.

For the film Moment by Moment, we had to call the assistant of a famous spinal cord injury doctor seven times before we could finally get through to his office.

Once we spoke with his assistant, and explained how the film would benefit spinal cord injury patients, it took another half dozen conversations before we succeeded in getting a riveting interview with the doctor. Winning over gatekeepers underscores the importance of building trust. The best approach is to present your project yourself. Self-promotion is an integral part of successful filmmaking, from research through distribution and publicity.

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

Research can be a thrilling adventure, but it sometimes becomes a chore. One of the challenges of doing research is keeping up your interest. When you search endlessly for obscure facts, or have to plow through reams of densely written reports, research can become tedious. One of the ways to reduce the tedium and stress is to have a good information management system.

Creating an information management system that works for you is essential. If you don’t have a good filing system, information quickly accumulates in piles, and soon you won’t know what you have or where to find it.

A Simple Filing System

I use “file boxes” to start. I assign each project to a plastic crate and file each piece in a folder in the box as I go. If I can, I take the appropriate box with me when I do research on a particular subject. When others help with research, I can hand them the box. When we get information from the Internet, we download that, print out that and file it. Sometimes I ask people to e-mail concise summaries of their research, which I print and add to the box. Newspaper clippings, important lists — they all go into the box.

A Contact Database

You may talk to hundreds of people during the time that it takes to make your film. From the very first conversation, build a contact database to keep track of people — on paper, on 3x5 index cards, and/or on your computer.

Each person with whom you talk about the film should become part of a growing community. Some will have an interest in you and some in the film; some may offer connections for interviews; some may be potential donors; some may want a DVD when the project is done; some you may invite to feedback screenings or to the premiere. Some will help you promote the film when it is complete, or lend their support in other ways. Your network of connections is a treasure trove.

Frequently, you’ll want to contact someone a second time to follow up on a conversation. Having an e-mail address or a phone number is necessary. (I am so sorry when I neglect to make a note and file or enter it, and need to reach someone again.)

Categories

Whether your database is electronic or on file cards, divide your contacts into categories so you can sort the names into groups.

For people who might be more important to the project, include more information than just the person’s contact information. You might want to include notes of conversations, mutual connections, affiliations, and perhaps what they’ve published.

Every time you contact someone — whether by phone, e-mail, or in person — try to add a note to that person’s file.

THE UNIVERSAL MATCHING GRANT SERVICE

There is a meta-benefit to doing good research. Once you “pay the entry fee” by doing your homework, reaching out to various communities, and organizing what you discover, you enhance the possibilities for connections between events and people. While some of these convergences may seem coincidental, others appear to be beyond chance. Many filmmakers feel they’ve entered a world of synchronicity. A string of uncanny coincidences may unfold as you shoot and edit your film. I experience this on every project. These moments more than outweigh the labor it takes to keep the project moving forward.

KEY POINTS

To create a vibrant film, you need a genuine understanding of your subject.

Background research is the process of immersing yourself in the subject of your documentary.

Research continues throughout production.

The kinds of resources you will use while doing background research include conversations, the Internet, books, articles, films, public documents, private documents, and more.

Finding and talking to people is the one of the most fruitful parts of doing research.

Set up a simple data management system at the beginning of your research.

When you “pay your entry fee” by doing your homework, a Universal Matching Grant service seems to operate to help you reach your goal.