Since 1995, documentaries have consistently done poorly at the box office; only the genre dark comedies have done worse. But why is this? Documentaries are an incredible genre that take so much time and dedication to create. They can be informational, heartwarming and tell an incredible true story.
When I was flying back to Pittsburgh from California after Thanksgiving, I watched this documentary on MAX (HBO) called “David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived.” It was about Daniel Radcliffe’s stunt double when he was playing Harry Potter and it was absolutely incredible. I laughed, I cried — it was an entire journey. Watching it made me wonder how people could possibly find documentaries boring.
I suppose it depends on which documentaries you are watching. Watching a two hour movie about the migration patterns of wild geese might not be everyone’s cup of tea. However, I do believe that there is a documentary out there for everyone. And there are documentaries about as many topics that you could think of. I’ve seen documentaries on serial killers, animals, actors, restaurants, inventors, and so many more. You name it, and there’s probably a documentary about it.
I also think people probably think that documentaries are easy to make. I have to admit that until I began making my own, I felt this way too. I thought that I could just follow people around with a camera and get a compelling story that would essentially edit itself. This is not an accurate depiction of what it’s like. For my Intro to Film Production course, I’ve been making a documentary about what it’s like to be a Vocal Performance major. I’ve had to convince over seventeen professors to let me not only sit in on their class, but film it as well. I’ve had to schedule interviews, and find equipment. I’ve had to navigate filming in lighting that is outside of my control and on top of all that, I’ve had to find the compelling story that lies beneath the daily monotony. Then of course there’s the part where I have to figure out how to edit all my random footage together so that the heartfelt story I found comes across to an audience that doesn’t have the background knowledge that I do. Documentaries are a lot of work and the effort required to make them seems to be unrecognized by a lot of moviegoers.
All that is to say, filming a documentary is not a joke. It takes a lot of creativity, planning and people skills. I firmly believe that it’s not something every filmmaker can or should do. However, these are stories that deserve to be told and that deserve an audience. Hopefully in the future, people will be more inclined to watch a documentary and support these incredibly talented filmmakers who are telling real stories.
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