Part 1
You and Your Ideas
An Organized Story with a Meaning
Characters Trying to Get, Do, or Accomplish
A Story That Means to Act on Its Audience
Documentary Intentions and Ingredients
The Objectivity Myth and Fairness
Documentary Is a Subjective Construct
Clarification, Not Simplification
The “Contract,” Film Openings, and Talking to Your Audience
Art, Individuality, and Point of View
CHAPTER 2 DEFINING YOUR ARTISTIC IDENTITY
Project 2-2: The Self-Inventory
Project 2-3: Using Dreams to Find Your Preoccupations
Project 2-5: What Is the Family Drama?
Project 2-6: Summarizing Your Goals
Finding Your Artistic Identity
Progress and the Artistic Process
Privacy and Competition Issues
CHAPTER 3 DEVELOPING YOUR STORY IDEAS
Social Science and Social History
Locating the Story Pressures and Raising the Stakes
Using the Medium to Stir Feelings
Testing for Cinematic Qualities
Subject-Driven Versus Character-Driven Films
CHAPTER 4 PROPOSING AND PITCHING A SHORT DOCUMENTARY
Project 4-1: Developing a Brief Working Hypothesis
Project 4-2: Pitching a Subject
Expanding the Pitch to a Proposal
Part 1 deals with the director’s role as prime mover and source of film ideas, with the need for the self-knowledge to know what truly energizes you for the long haul, and with developing a plan for a short film.