Everything I’ve learned about film and video over the past five weeks now needs to come together for a documentary. Most projects of this type take weeks, or event months, to plan and execute. From setting up interviews to shooting b-roll and cutaways, even a short documentary can be a huge undertaking. I’ve got two weeks!

With this in mind, I’ve decided to make a “mockumentary” instead. A mockumentary is a genre of film making that showcases fictional events in the style of a documentary. Usually presented as comedy, it’s basically a fake documentary. But, because it uses the conventions of a typical documentary — like interviews and voiceover narration — I’ll be able to practice everything I’ve watched and read. Here’s a summary of what I’ve recently learned, and how I plan to leverage these lessons while executing my mockumentary.

Reading & Writing

The Bare Bones Camera Course for Film and Video, by Tom Schroeppel 

Chapter 7: Lighting
While it’s been said that audio can kill a good video, I think it’s safe to say that lighting has the potential to painfully hurt one. That’s because lighting is such a powerful tool to set the mood. Chapter 7 describes the lighting techniques used by professional filmmakers to avoid common mistakes. First, it’s important to understand that good exterior lighting isn’t easy to achieve, and it’s even more difficult to control. That’s because the sun is constantly moving, and any lighting angle above 45 degrees create a harsh shadow. The solution? Reflectors and fill lights. Each come with their own set of pros and cons. Reflectors can be made from anything — from poster board to a piece of canvas — but are dependent on available light. Artificial light, on the other hand, needs electricity. Either option can be used to brighten areas of shadow, and that’s their primary objective.

The next obvious situation includes interior lighting. Here, the author reviews the three basic types of lights: focusing quartz, broads, and soft lights. The focusing quartz is probably the most popular and can range from spot to flood. Unfortunately, the focusing quartz creates a hard, direct light. Broads, on the other hand, are designed to create wide, even lighting over a large area. Last, soft lights provide a convenient option that can be used anywhere without having to bounce it off anything.

The basic lighting setup starts with a key light, also called the “main” light. It forms the basis for the classic setup — no other light should be brighter than the key light. The fill light should be on the opposite side of the subject and is used to partially fill in the shadows. The backlight falls on the subject’s head and shoulders and helps to create a rim of light to separate the subject from the background. Last, when appropriate, a background light can be used to bring the rest of the scene up into the same range of illumination. Obviously, there are many situations that call for other lighting setups. In any circumstance, Schroeppel recommends turning on one light at a time and seeing what it does.

Chapter 9: Doing It
Planning and shooting a sequence is the culmination of everything Schroeppel has generously outlined for us in The Bare Bones Camera Course for Film and Video. Chapter 9 is all about putting the lessons to practice. In his words, “for relatively short sequences, your best bet is to shoot the whole thing all the way through in a wider shot, then repeat it in a medium shot, and again in a closeup. Then shoot your cutaways.” For an amateur videographer, this was relatively eye-opening. It makes too much sense! Having recently struggled to create a short sequence, I realized this process would have helped immensely.

Schroeppel goes on to explain that shooting scripts and storyboards are also essential. In addition to providing a guide for the filmmaker, scripts and storyboards allow actors, interviewees, directors, and editors to visualize each scene in the context of the final product. Ultimately, there will be times when filming must take place out of sequence. These important references ensure a cohesive storyline. When everybody knows what they’re doing, and why, shooting a sequence can be a relatively joyful experience.

With these chapters under my belt, I began to search for relevant examples of short documentaries. Here’s what I found.

Research to Inform

Dayna looks back on her journey [Aimovig Stories]
While this video is undoubtedly an advertisement for a medicine used to prevent migraines in adults, director Julian West does a great job of capturing the subject’s story. Once you get past all the disclaimers, it’s actually a short documentary. It shows how Danya, a migraine sufferer, is able to overcome migraines and focus on life with her family. Told through the lens of Danya’s first-person interview, most of the footage is B-roll of everyday interactions on the farm. Danya goes from making honey, to feeding her horses, to teaching her kids to flip on the trampoline. The sequence flows naturally from medium shots, to cutaways and closeups. J-cuts and L-cuts are used throughout, and the dialogue perfectly aligns with her story. One great example happens as she says, “when you have your own bees, and you’re putting in your own work, it just makes it that much sweeter.” Just as the line ends, the video cuts to b-roll of her pouring some fresh honey into a jar. Despite this a being pharmaceutical ad, authentic storytelling doesn’t get much sweeter than that!

Female Eagle Scout
This “60 Second Doc” opens with an establishing shot of Lily Morse, one of the first female Eagle Scouts, chopping wood in her backyard. It immediately provides the viewer with a sense of place, specifically Montana. The dialogue introduces the topic of scouting. Closeup shots capture the action of chopping, while Lily’s voiceover clearly explains her story. I like that the interview isn’t shown until after the establishing shots. The interview is then used to emphasize a powerful line, “I don’t really care about your opinion.” What a great cut! More closeups show Lily starting a fire as younger girls look up, both physically and metaphorically, to her. Cutaways are used to visually breakup the narrative, add variety, and help maintain rhythm without breaking continuity. The use of J‑cuts and L‑cuts ensures the dialogue flows seamlessly. Altogether, the combination of multiple angles, smooth editing, and genuine storytelling creates a documentary that feels both polished and deeply personal, in only 60 seconds.

A Look Back: DogTown and Z-Boys
This short video is a bit existential — it’s a documentary about a documentary. DogTown and Z-Boys is a 2001 film by Stacy Peralta that documents the 1970’s birth of skateboarding culture in California. A Look Back reflects on the success of the film, and highlights the effects it had on everybody featured, including the director. Through interviews, it does a great job of capturing the many different characters’ reactions and opinions of the film, which are primarily positive. The video includes a lot of b-roll, vintage footage, and stills from the 1970’s, which help to tie the dialogue to the stories. The Ken Burns effect is use confidently on old photographs. Overall, this documentary is well produced — the interviews are perfectly lit, the dialogue is crisp and clear, and the background music adds excitement to the video. If you’re into skateboarding, it’s definitely an interesting watch.

To make it stronger, I think the video could use more b-roll footage of the subjects in their contemporary settings. If you watched the original film, you’ve most likely seen the skateboarding footage. In my opinion, what would add more interest to A Look Back is, ironically, a closer look at what everybody is into today. Perhaps a few closeups of the skateboard designers working on something new, or of Tony Alva playing music. Those types of shots would help to show an evolution of each character’s development and create a more authentic story. 

Create

The first step to creating my own mockumentary was completing a creative brief. I needed to get the idea down on paper, and this is where I developed the concept. Based on a fear of growing too big, the tongue-in-cheek narrative will show my unique approach to handling more business by hiring a “small staff.” My mockumentary will follow the growth of my agency through short interviews with two new hires — my own seven-year-old daughter and eight-year-old son.

I’ve outlined the general questions that I think may result in humorous answers from my own kids. However, I’ll need to adjust on-the-fly based on our conversation. While many of the lines have been scripted, the hope is to capture some off-the-cuff moments that add a layer of organic authenticity.

Because my office space is somewhat small, I needed to get creative with the interview setup. I used the 3-point lighting approach and can gain a little more backlighting with the windows if necessary. I plan to shoot my own interview and narration with the same setup. Then, all of the lighting will need to be taken down and setup for cutaways and b-roll. Some of those scenes will take place in the same room, while the office meeting scene will take place in the adjacent room. Like most documentaries, some of the magic is going to take place during editing. This plan will ensure I get enough footage to tell a complete, and hopefully funny, story.

See the complete interview setup, creative brief, and script below: