Documentary Filmmaking: Best Tips to Get You Started by Matt Harris
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Wedio teamed up with Matt Harris – director and producer of Rom Boys – to give you the best tips to get you started.
Documentary Filmmaking:
Best Tips to Get You Started by Matt Harris
A collaboration with
Matt Harris
Documentary Filmmaking:
Best Tips by Matt Harris
Interested in documentary filmmaking? Check out tips of Matt Harris – a director, and a producer of Rom Boys.
Trailer
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Intro
1
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Making a documentary
34
Filming interviews
120
B-roll
187
Prep stage
248
Camera equipment
404
Tips & tricks
502
Level up
586
Mistakes to avoid
635
Inspiration
761
Ending & credits
900
Meet Matt
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What you’ll learn
Shoot a lot of b-roll, especially in slo-mo which can get you out of many tricky situations in the post.
Don’t underestimate the power of social media and film festivals when it comes to distribution.
Use a color check passport, great for color balancing, especially if you have two camera setups.
Create a database of people who you’d like to interview and spend a lot of time on research.
Using two sources of audio is key – a shotgun and a lav microphone.
When interviewing your subject, cover the red light on your camera…
Masterclass Chapters
Matt Harris introduces you to the world of documentary filmmaking. He describes creating a documentary, the importance of research, and making relationships. Last but not least, he will give you some tips and tricks.
Making a documentary
Matt explains how to create one by clarifying the different process that comes into play. He describes the pre-production, production, and post-production phases.
Filming interviews
Matt describes how he prepared an interview before being filmed.
Shooting b-roll for documentaries
He explains how he shoots and chooses b-roll footage. He describes how he did it for the documentary Rom Boys, which he directed, shot, produced, and edited.
Preparation for a documentary
Matt then tells us how he prepares the filming by taking the example of Rom Boys. For it, he knew that there was a community of skateboarders who had gone to this skate park for 40 years. Preparing relationships with these people for this documentary was then crucial.
Camera equipment
Matt lists which materials he has used, starting with cameras. He then continues with microphones, lights, drones, etc.
Tips & tricks
Then Matt gives some tricks on installing a better ambiance for the interviewees, some tips he feels are necessary and worth knowing.
Getting better
The best documentaries can shift stories from one to the other without making the viewer lose track. Having or creating compelling characters is the key to keeping the audience engaged.
Mistakes to avoid
Matt describes which mistakes are crucial to avoid while shooting a documentary. For example, he says that most of the time, things are unpredictable, so you should be prepared for the shooting, which sometimes gets longer and longer.
Finding inspiration
Before wrapping up, Matt shares his influence and hero: Ridley Scott. He reaches to have the same mindset as Ridley Scott. It means making a low-budget film by respecting all the deadlines.
About Your Instructor
Matt Harris
Director and filmmaker
London, United Kingdom
“Be nice to people on your way up because you'll meet them on your way down.”
Matt Harris is a UK-based award-winning DOP and director. He is specialized in high-end documentary and branded content.
He has more than 20 years of experience in both photography and film. He has worked around the globe with TV companies in the UK, the US, and Europe. He started as an underwater photographer living in the Marshall Islands.
His work focused on branded content and corporate promos. But also high-quality documentaries and narrative and music videos in recent years.
His first feature-length doc – Rom Boys: 40 Years of Rad, which he produced, directed, shot, and edited - was picked up by 1091 Pictures and is currently rated Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, with a score of 100%.
He also won the best feature documentary at the 2020 Paris Surf and Skate Film Festival. He is also a semi-finalist for best cinematography in the documentary category at the NY Cinematographers awards in 2021.
If you enjoyed this masterclass, check out our documentary filmmaking guide, where you can download a free e-book to help you get started!
