The Four Ingredients of Documentary Film

[@chrismcphee2060]

Griffin...Thank you so much for sharing this with us. I purchased your 1-hr workshop, and it was awesome. It's definitely worth the money and more. You gave us some valuable information, and some practical insight on how to shoot a documentary. I especially enjoyed the info that you provided about "the elements of a story". I was clueless until now. Now I have a guide to help me develop a story that would be interesting for the viewer. You dropped a ton of knowledge in 60 minutes. Equipment insight...was awesome, which I purchased the PEDCO grip. I seem to always have too much gear, so I like your concept of the back pack. I am minimizing my travel kit ASAP!! Now it's time to get to shooting. Once again thanks Griffin!! ATTENTION: If you are an aspiring film maker, and you want to shoot documentaries...don't waste your time watching countless youtube videos. Pay the $5, purchase Griffin's 1-hr workshop, and get to shooting your documentary." That's just my two cents!! #SniperEye #24WITHGBM

[@riparianstudios]

Ohhhh man I've been out of the TV news thing for like 15 years. It's nice to remember these terms. "Nat sound pops," "SOTs," etc. :) Kinda warm blanket-y. There are so many folks on KZbin who are really pushing the edges and doing really flashy stuff, but it ALWAYS returns to fundamentals. You could do a bunch of flashy things, but if you don't have the right ingredients to tell your story, you're out of luck.

[@GriffinHammond]

That's exactly right, Kit.

[@heyjustj]

Sound is something I absolutely need to work on in my projects. The visuals are obvious and so I think about them more, but thinking about the audio doesn't come to mind naturally for me and always makes such a HUGE difference in immersing the viewer into the video. I often make a shot list to make sure I have all the coverage I need and this video has inspired me to start making a sounds list now.

[@genjii931]

A good exercise is to go outside with a mic and audio recorder and just record sounds. When you're focused on that and nothing else, it trains you to 'look' at sound in a very different way. You'll find yourself wanting to build up a library of your own sounds. The elevator in my old apartment building made the most impressive sound when the brakes came on when it stopped at a floor. I just *had* to get that recorded!

[@chrisfeatherstone9691]

Very cool! I just did my first short video where I recorded natural sounds with a zoom xy mic and layered it in over the footage. I made several mistakes but I’m pretty proud of it for being one of my first. It’s called “The Artist and the Pier”. I’ve been learning a lot from you guys. I actually found you through Hand Cut and was extremely inspired by that.

[@s.combis2866]

Thank you. I badly need this one. You have no idea how this meant much to me. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@LuckyDogProductions]

Great video guys! I am teaching high school kids Doc film making this week, and this helped me know I am covering the right things with out getting to heavy into detail. The school is restricted to iMovie, so the kids can not get to detailed or have control over the video, but they are getting to actually make something in the process. I am focusing more on crafting / finding the STORY as opposed to what tools you are using to make it. Thanks again.

[@DeutschlandReformen]

very valuable information again, therefore, the quality of audio is very important...thanks

[@Jazzywho]

Great video! Thank you!

[@LeeBailes]

Nice. Thanks for sharing. Have signed up for the class.

[@atilla1950]

Great content Griffin. I learn a lot from your videos.

[@DroiMedia]

Shirt idea ["People seem to like my voice" - Griffin Hammond]

[@williepadin]

I did take the class! It was pretty good! I recommend it!

[@GriffinHammond]

Thank you Willie!

[@garygallardo2036]

I appreciate Griffin Hammond

[@mozinoz_digital]

Nice lighting for a classroom!

[@genjii931]

In a film school class they showed us 2 versions of the same clip - one with great visual quality and crap audio, and one with crap visual quality and great audio. The one with crap audio quality was unwatchable. I think the most annoying thing in the world is wind noise on an otherwise great or interesting video. And it's made especially worse because it's so easy and cheap to prevent.

[@GriffinHammond]

Yeah, visuals are certainly important, but I believe good audio is a faster way to prove to the audience that your work is professional-quality. They may have to see a few shots to decide if you have a good eye, but half a second of sound can signal a lot about your credibility as a creator.

[@zoniyakhan7478]

Hey also make a video on what is a feature film and what is the difference between a documentary and a feature film

[@GriffinHammond]

In film, "feature" simply means "full-length." Most film festivals consider a "short" film under 40 minutes. A "feature" is longer, but usually 75 minutes or more. A "documentary" is a nonfiction film. Fictional stories are called "narrative." Narrative films and documentaries can each be short or feature-length. That creates four distinct film categories at most film festivals.

[@Mthw7]

This may be a dumb question. When you interview your subjects in Hand-Cut, do you have them turn off any music that would be playing in the bar? I would feel uncomfortable asking them to do that during business hours with guests there, assuming you interviewed them during business hours. Thanks!

[@PeteWoronowski]

Great video thank you! Cheers, Pete

[@benwilmarth6799]

Griffin, have you thought about making a masterclass about documentary filmaking?

[@GriffinHammond]

I do have essentially that at griffinhammond.com/class

[@MsXboxpro720]

Keep the good work up

[@lunnastreet1811]

Can I get a link to the film you showed the class?

[@DrICrowX]

Please, just answer the simple question: “what are the 4 elements necessary for a documentary film?”

[@floatingdoor]

Hope this is ok to comment here but if anyone is in need of background music for a project I’d be more than happy to help.

[@افلاموثائقية-ه1ز]

Thank you very much. I want to sell a documentary film that I have prepared how to record the

[@TankBuilders]

One tip would be not to wear a silly hat indoors. Second might be not to start with “hey, what’s up guys”.

[@Brenden_Hayles]

first good morning Nick and Griffin

[@GriffinHammond]

Good morning!

[@alexmaddock]

I hope your films aren't as boring as your shirt.

[@GriffinHammond]

If shirt excitement is what you're seeking in a podcast or a documentary short film, I'm sorry to say my work won't satisfy you.

[@acevalerio6130]

@@GriffinHammond Your content is really good i needed this.

[@Malay435]

If you wanted to play a clip you recorded before, why didn’t you just played it from the beginning. Why all the drama where you and other guy are creating more time to make video little longer. Whats the point of you and other guy started conversation and you just played a clip. And thats it. Clip cut abruptly and video ends.