How to Film Dynamic Documentary Scenes (FULL BREAKDOWN)

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One of the key differences between a documentary filmmaker and a videographer is that a documentary filmmaker knows how to cover scenes. In this video I am going to go over what a scene is, how it differs from BRoll, and then I am going to bring you into my Adobe Premiere editing timeline to show you what very few filmmakers will – the raw, unedited footage I film that becomes a dynamic scene.

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VÉRITÉ DOCUMENTARY RECOMMENDATIONS (this list is curated by ‪@matt-porwoll‬, who has taught me a ton about this style of filmmaker. Go check out his video on verite filmmaking to learn more about the style!)

Primary (1960) - Robert Drew
Don’t Look Back (1967) - D.A. Pennebaker
Titicut Follies (1967) - Frederick Wiseman
Salesman (1969) - Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin
Gimme Shelter (1970) - Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin
Grey Gardens (1975) - Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Ellen Hovde, Muffie Meyer
Welfare (1975) - Frederick Wiseman
Harlan County, U.S.A (1976) - Barbara Kopple
Paris is Burning (1990) - Jennie Livingston
The War Room (1993) - D.A. Pennebaker, Chris Hegedus
Hoop Dreams (1994) - Steve James
Born into Brothels (2004) - Ross Kauffman, Zana Briski
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (2004) - Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky
Boys of Baraka (2005) - Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady
Murderball (2005) - Henry Alex Rubin, Dana Adam Shapiro
Street Fight (2005) - Marshall Curry
Iraq in Fragments (2006) - James Longley
Jesus Camp (2006) - Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady
Hell and Back Again (2011) - Danfung Dennis
The Queen of Versailles (2014) - Lauren Greenfield
Cartel Land (2015) - Matthew Heineman
Western (2015) - Bill Ross, Turner Ross
Weiner (2016) - Josh Kriegman, Elyse Steinberg
City of Ghosts (2017) - Matthew Heineman
The Trade (2018) - Matthew Heineman
Flint Town (2018) - Zackary Canepari, Drea Cooper, Jessica Dimmock
All That Breathes (2022) - Shaunak Sen

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WHO AM I?
If we haven’t met yet before - Hey 👋 I'm Austin Meyer and I am a documentary filmmaker based in Berkeley, California. I'm a National Geographic Explorer and my work has been featured by HBO, Hulu, Apple TV, The New York Times, National Geographic, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and PBS among others. Through my videos here on this channel, and my podcast called The Austin Meyer Podcast, I share skills, mindsets, and lessons to help you become a better documentary filmmaker and build the life full of creativity that you aspire towards.

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⌚️Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
0:36 - The Value & Limitations of BRoll
1:53 - What Is A Scene?
4:08 - Scene 1 Case Study
14:51 - Scene 2 Case Study
30:10 - Final Thoughts

#documentaryfilmmaking #documentary #filmmaking