The Art of the Documentary: Fifteen Conversations with Leading Directors, Cinematographers, Editors, and Producers, Second Edition

Directing

Respectfully Collaborating

In the world of mainstream features, film directors select and harness the crew, live through endless revisions of the script, foster ingratiating relationships with pricey talent, scout and scrutinize locations, and oversee the design of extravagant costumes, makeup, and sets—all to create the illusion of a cinematic reality. Documentary directors arrive on the “scene” of their participants’ everyday life (with or without their micro-crew) with far less fanfare. For most, the less conspicuous they are, the better. Because of the importance of the personal relationship between documentary directors and their subjects, the director may appear indistinguishable from the film subject’s family or friends during ...