The panel consisted of award-winning filmmakers Liam Saint-Pierre, Chloe White, Marc Silver, and Gemma Atkinson, with documentary programmer and DocHouse producer Jenny Horwell moderating the discussion. 

The discussion began with an overview of techniques and inspirations from each filmmaker – and it was soon evident that the speakers did not stick to any unchangeable formula in their work.

“There is no process for when I’m making films,” Silver said, with White adding that he views himself as “more of a spontaneous filmmaker.”

Atkinson said: “I let the character dictate what direction the film goes in, rather than going into it with a big plan, which means it can go in any direction.”

“It has been quite nice to hear the others tonight, often I thought it was just me who was so haphazard!,”commented Saint-Pierre.

Great to see such a talented, eloquent bunch of documentary makers at @frontlineclub. Time I dusted off the camera. pic.twitter.com/JXSRVQbox4

— Peter Yeung (@ptr_yeung) February 15, 2016

Although there was a general consensus that the creative process should not be formulaic, three elements were highlighted for their significance at the start of a project: inspiration by way of specific characters, places, and issues.

“I like characters who are really passionate about something, and they are kind of on the edge of society,” said Saint-Pierre, as he explained how he found the shopkeeper around whom his first film centred.

Silver added: “for me, the place is a character. It’s not just the people, but also the essence of a place.”

Each of the panellists agreed that they aimed to spend as much time as possible with their subjects. Silver explained that on a five-day shoot, he would try and spend the first two days with his subjects without his camera. “I might take a stills camera, just for fun. But I’ve learnt from the past that I don’t need to over-shoot – and also I need to get past the first layer with that person and gain trust.”

However, the panel also reflected on how working with tight budgets and shorter timelines meant that the aim of spending significant time with their subjects was often unrealistic.

Horwell then moved the discussion onto one of the final stages of short documentary production: the editing process.

She asked the filmmakers to comment on their top tips for this stage, and how they avoid common mistakes.

“Hold the shot for longer than you plan. Whatever time you are holding it for, add an extra 5-10 seconds” Atkinson advised.

White agreed, and cemented the point with an extended clip from her film The Long Haul: “At the time I didn’t know that shot would be so useful, but trusting your shots and holding them for a long time, you’ll be thankful when it comes to the edit.”

Saint-Pierre added that for him “it was a matter of the character; you don’t want to turn the camera off. Often I’ve done it and then missed an amazing moment.”

The conversation did not run chronologically through the filmmaking process due to the non-linear nature of short documentary production – as Horwell had predicted – and the discussion touched on subjects including the use of ‘playful’ introductions, to how to best distribute your content online.

By Thomas Colson

On Monday 30 November, a panel of acclaimed documentary filmmakers came together to discuss the difficulties and rewards of character-driven documentary.

Beadie Finzi, one of the founding directors of non-profit film foundation BRITDOC, moderated the discussion and was joined by filmmakers Brian Hill, David Sington, and Edward Lovelace.

At the start of the discussion, the panellists elaborated on the moments at which they initially decided to pursue their latest documentary projects.

The Confessions of Thomas Quick, Hill‘s latest film which premiered this year at Sheffield Doc/Fest, tells the story of Sweden’s most notorious serial killer. Hill explained to the audience that he decided to make the documentary ten minutes after meeting Quick, who, despite having confessed to 39 “gruesome murders”, was for Hill “completely honest – or as honest as I needed him to be for the film.”

David Sington’s The Fear of Thirteen, which premiered at the 2015 BFI London Film Festival, also focuses on a convicted criminal – a man named ‘Nick’ who had spent over 20 years on death row. Sington said that the most memorable part of the film occurred just minutes into the first interview. “I realised that he wasn’t telling me about himself. He was reliving and reenacting his story… It was a performance. He was doing other voices, actions,” he said.

The performative nature of Sington’s protagonist also contributed to the documentary’s distinct format. “The film is an unusual film because it’s a monologue,” said Sington. “So he’s the only contributor, he’s really the only face you see and the only voice you hear.”

Edward Lovelace, one half of the directing pair D.A.R.Y.L., placed an entirely different type of character at the heart of his film, and enjoyed a different kind of filmmaker-subject relationship with him.

“I love him,” Lovelace said of Edwyn Collins, the singer-songwriter whose recovery from a stroke is the subject of Lovelace’s critically-acclaimed The Possibilities are Endless. While Collins’ speech seemed like it would initially be an issue, Lovelace determined that his subject’s poetic approach to his predicament would be worth waiting for, “even if it might take three years – which it did.”

The discussion also covered the issue of consent. How to frame the opportunity to a potential subject when the filmmaker has no idea how much exposure the film will enjoy? Hill said that “all you can do is be very open with people… I always tell people to think about the consequences for them.”

Ultimately, “you have to treat people like thinking adults,” Hill added.

Sington responded that this issue is often resolved in his broad approach to filmmaking. “When you’re making a film, you’re inviting somebody into the audience’s life. So I want the audience to think, ‘I’m really glad I met that person’. For that reason I only make films about people who I, in some sense, admire and like,” he said. In that sense, he added, “I would never call myself a journalist.”

The frequently blurred line between journalism and documentary filmmaking was also highlighted.

Sington said that his “obligation is to tell the truth,” “even though it can be painful” for subjects and interviewees with whom he had become close. “If you’re telling the truth, I think they recognise the truthfulness of it, even if it wasn’t very flattering.”

For Lovelace, the editing process gives documentary filmmakers a unique power. “It’s crazy what audiences believe,” he said.

Whilst he agreed that truth was the ultimate purpose of his filmmaking, he argued that you can reach it by manipulation during the editing process.

Sington agreed, and argued that “the edit is really a process of writing a screenplay from the material.”

Ultimately, Sington said, “documentary is fiction in the service of truth.”