The way her head twisted up at me when she said “WHAT?” was as if I told I was not really Muslim. Or that I was going to leave and join a Buddhist monastery and had asked her if she wanted to come.
It was like:
“what? What? WHAT? WHAAAT?”
Of course she tells it differently.
But after she said yes and we started talking about the project she immediately threw me questions that I had not thought about and which were critical to the film.
I won’t pretend that I am not a newbie. I’ve only done two films before this and they were works of fiction. This one was going to be a true story. Even though I hadn’t done any documentaries, I have wide experience doing articles on intricate social issues.
The principle is the same if you’re approaching a story in print or in video form.
Why should this story be told? And why should anyone bother reading/viewing it? I had answered these two questions but there was a third question that I hadn’t thought about but which she did.
“What kind of impression do you want to leave on the audience?”
When I’m writing for print its in 2-D. Now that the story is in 3-D there is an extra emotional dimension that you as the storyteller has to consider.
With print, you can influence how your reader feels because they have no other choice but to take what you say as the accurate representation of the story you are telling.
If you say the “man looked remorseful” then they have to take your word for it. They have no other way of independently checking it out.
With film, your subjects can be seen by the viewers themselves. They don’t need you to tell them whether someone is sad, happy or honest. They will see it for themselves. If you try to hide or manipulate your subjects, the viewer can see that too.
So the challenge is how to tell a story and leave your reader/viewer with an
impression that is true to the story. As opposed to them getting an impression that they think you conned them into.
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