Documentary First · Lessons Library

Lessons from the people who make documentaries

For nearly 300 conversations, the people who make documentaries have told me how they did it, and what it taught them. Here's every lesson at a glance, each linked to the moment they said it. The full lessons, explained and printable, are in the free guides.

Christian Taylor, host of Documentary First

The newest free guide: 23 Lessons from Shane O'Sullivan

Director of The Watergate Caper, on archives, story and fair use. How Shane builds a film from an archive no one has fully used, sets the movies of the era against the news, works through every clip with fair use counsel, and cuts a four-hour first cut down to 105 minutes. Every lesson has a timestamp back to the episode.

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Every lesson (60 lessons)

James L. Freedman: Charles Grodin Documentary: Comedy Star, Prison Crusader (Ep. 288)

Research

• Pick a subject with two sides · Hear it at 04:34
• Do your own research · Hear it at 12:38
• Write down your first impression of everything · Hear it at 12:38

Story and Editing

• Beginnings and endings come first, and they're the hardest · Hear it at 14:19
• Find the spine, then you can wander · Hear it at 14:19
• Ask what your subject would want to be known for · Hear it at 14:19
• Plant the payoff early · Hear it at 14:19
• The story always comes first · Hear it at 27:22
• Fix the problem, then make the fix interesting · Hear it at 27:22
• "Every single frame, every second, should have intent behind it" · Hear it at 27:22
• Don't assume your audience knows who anyone is · Hear it at 22:42
• Everything should push the story forward · Hear it at 31:04
• Test your rough cut on other filmmakers · Hear it at 35:43
• Leave TCM on with the sound off · Hear it at 49:14

Archival Footage

• Google every name in the Playbill · Hear it at 31:04
• Stretch a tiny find · Hear it at 31:04
• Be patient with damaged material · Hear it at 34:07
• Nothing replaces real home movies · Hear it at 31:04

Craft Tools

• Narrate it yourself · Hear it at 36:55

Career and Mentors

• One lucky break won't carry you · Hear it at 06:52

Interviews

• Your past films are your calling card · Hear it at 19:49
• People do it for the subject, not for you · Hear it at 19:49
• Stars want to know who else is in it · Hear it at 19:49
• Make them look good · Hear it at 19:49
• Leave the door open after a "no" · Hear it at 22:42
• Shoot in a suite, never a hotel room · Hear it at 47:09

Rights and Fair Use

• Fair use is a gray area. Make it "a little darker gray" · Hear it at 40:08
• Ask for donations, and keep asking · Hear it at 40:36
• Call in old favors · Hear it at 40:36
• When you have to pay, ask for a discount · Hear it at 40:36
• Get rights in perpetuity · Hear it at 43:05
• When nobody knows who owns it · Hear it at 43:23

Money and Funding

• Your time is free, so spend it instead of money · Hear it at 44:27
• Partner with a nonprofit · Hear it at 44:27
• Spend in one place, save in another · Hear it at 47:09

Distribution and Festivals

• Find the festival circuit that pays you · Hear it at 44:27

Life and Purpose

• Be "a dog with a bone" · Hear it at 44:27

Shane O'Sullivan: What All the President's Men Didn't Show You About Watergate (Ep. 289)

Archival Footage

• When the witnesses are gone, use the archive's interviews · Hear it at 44:12
• Go deeper into one collection than anyone has · Hear it at 47:02
• "I couldn't have made the film without the Nixon Library archivist." · Hear it at 24:30
• Embrace imperfect footage · Hear it at 25:19
• Fiction films can fill gaps in the news record · Hear it at 15:42

Story and Editing

• Let the movies of the era meet the news · Hear it at 44:51
• As your own editor, protect your first intention · Hear it at 45:05
• Write captions first; they can become the narration · Hear it at 14:52
• A narrator can be a bridge, not a guide · Hear it at 15:03
• Cast a voice with a connection to the era · Hear it at 15:28
• Put the movie version next to the testimony · Hear it at 20:49
• Let the audience find the parallels · Hear it at 10:27
• Find the presence that holds the film together · Hear it at 35:32

Research

• Start from an underutilized archive · Hear it at 46:05
• You can research an archive from far away · Hear it at 24:37

Career and Mentors

• Don't race the big series · Hear it at 47:37
• Have the confidence to stick with your approach · Hear it at 48:21

Music

• Ask the artist directly · Hear it at 03:40

Rights and Fair Use

• Work through every clip with clearance counsel · Hear it at 25:39
• Justify the length, not just the clip · Hear it at 29:06
• License some, rely on fair use for others, and work from commercial releases · Hear it at 26:30

Distribution and Festivals

• Cut to a length buyers can sell · Hear it at 26:55
• Keep the long cut · Hear it at 27:30

The full story behind each lesson is in the free guides, and in the episodes themselves. Also see DocuView Deja View, every documentary our guests recommend.