Production
Producing a Documentary
A documentary is a true story you find, shape, and fight to tell — and the process is nothing like making a scripted film. This course walks you through the whole journey: finding your subject, the styles and techniques, funding, interviews, shooting, the all-important edit, the ethics of truth, and getting your film seen.
What you'll learn
✓How to find a documentary subject and the story inside it
✓Documentary styles and techniques, and how to fund and crew your film
✓How to conduct a great interview and shoot vérité footage and B-roll
✓Finding your film in the edit, the ethics of truth, and distribution
Pairs with this tool
Filmmaker Toolbox
Run your documentary from the Filmmaker Toolbox — research notes, interview questions, shot lists, release tracking, and the evolving story outline — across the long journey from idea to finished film.
Open Filmmaker Toolbox →Course chapters
Module 1 — Foundations
I8 min
What a documentary really is — and isn't
What Makes a Documentary
II8 min
Finding a subject, and the story hiding inside it
Finding Your Subject & Story
III9 min
Vérité, interview-driven, essay — the documentary modes
Documentary Styles & Techniques
IV8 min
Research, access, and developing the project
Research & Development
Module 2 — Core Craft
V8 min
Grants, crowdfunding, and paying for a doc
Funding Your Documentary
VI8 min
The small doc crew and the gear you actually need
The Crew & Gear
VII9 min
The heart of most docs — getting real answers
The Documentary Interview
VIII8 min
Shooting vérité, B-roll, and life as it happens
Shooting Vérité & B-Roll
Module 3 — Putting It to Work
IX9 min
Where a documentary is truly written — the cut
Finding the Story in the Edit
X8 min
Truth, fairness, and your duty to your subjects
Ethics & Truth
XI8 min
Releases, archival rights, music, and fair use
Legal, Releases & Rights
XII7 min
Festivals, streamers, and getting your film seen
Distribution & Getting It Seen