Producing the Documentary Film: The Role of a Scriptwriter

Abstract

The art of filmmaking is an exciting and glamourous venture which has also grown to become a highly industrialized and mechanized medium. As a pervasive medium, film combines both aural and visual components to create an illusion of reality that influences the  thinking and behavioural patterns of viewers. The documentary film is employed for purposes far more than entertainment as it also  serves as one of the most powerful instruments for social influence in the world. This paper examines the artistic and aesthetic  considerations in film production with a particular emphasis on the script. The film script is generally known to be a blue print from which  a film is made. It contains a detailed statement of action, dialogue, artistic and mechanical directions that provides the basis for production. This paper examines the difference between a fiction and non-fiction film script. Whereas in most cases the writer‘s ideas are complete in almost every detail for the making of a fiction film, some documentary films however, allow the filmmaker some latitude to  deal with the unpredictable and the uncontrollable. Three principal stages in script development are examined carefully and methodically  to enable the reader gain insight into the importance and dynamics of a good documentary script. This paper advocates  that whether a documentary film is meant to promote the corporate image of an organization, government propaganda, educational/  instructional or even a newsreel, a thorough research and a well-structured script is a sine qua non as it is the basic foundation upon  which the entire film would be sustained.