How does a film build connection with viewers?
A documentary usually has two parts: the character we follow, and the topic to be explained.
The topic and the information to explain is important. This needs to be laid out strategically, to lead the viewer in understanding it and going deeper into how the topic works.
The character is vital to keep the viewer engaged in the technical details. The emotion, the journey, seeing that topic through a real person's eyes—that's what keeps us wanting to learn more.
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A good example of this is Inequality for All directed by Jacob Kornbluth.
The film discusses income equality across the United States, as seen by professor and former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich. Kornbluth uses lectures by Reich, which aren’t necessarily the most exciting.
To provide a personal connection, Kornbluth also includes stories of people struggling with low income. These verité-style sections get us out of the literal classroom and into the houses and lives of every-day people.
On one hand, the film is incredibly academic. The filmmakers knew stats and lectures would become boring, so they found stories that illustrate the stats.
When I edited Nefarious: Merchant of Souls, we did the same thing. The director shot a global view of sex trafficking, a topic at the time that people were just starting to learn about. We looked at multiple countries and regions around the world, but we also knew the film couldn’t just be stats.
To connect the topic to character, each section featured reenactment footage of a real story as well as firsthand interviews of the women who it actually happened to.
On top of that, we used the director’s personal story as the overall framing. How did he encounter trafficking? What were his thoughts and experiences as they chased down a pedophile in Thailand? The director gave us a personal through-line for the film, and he was the audience’s proxy through whom they could learn about trafficking in the same way he did.
In the most impactful documentaries, the topic and the character go hand in hand. We can say all the stats in the world, but at the end of the day people care about people.
Tips
Be clear on the steps needed to understand the topic.
Every topic has expanding layers of details. Find the easiest to follow progression that leads the viewer into a deeper understanding of the intricacies.Be clear on the moments and scenes needed to show the journey of the character(s) and connect the viewers to them.
No person is a monolith. We all have quirks, things that make us laugh and cry, and things that matter deeply to us. Identify the scenes that show these things to your viewers and the moments that show the character's journey with the topic.
By having a firm grasp on what each element needs when you shoot and edit, your film can clearly explain the important topic and connect viewers with the emotional story of a character impacted by that topic.
Need help finding the personal story in your documentary? Let's chat.