Here’s How Documentaries Differ From Traditional Films

“The thing about a documentary is that there is a sense of voyeurism. You’re watching things unfold in ‘real time’ that normally you wouldn’t be able to see,” says filmmaker Justin Simien who produced a four-part docu-series Hollywood Black about Black cinema and artists.

“In film structure, there’s an expectation that you read into everything, and that’s a big part of how you pull an audience through the ebb and the flow of a narrative arc and  try to get them to piece together what is happening in between the words.” This is how most narrative films work. There is text and subtext and audiences can interpret the film in a deeply personal manner.

"In a documentary, everything’s up front. You’re stating directly what you’re trying to say."

The creative challenges in a documentary format don’t focus as much on hooking the audience so that they’re constantly anticipating what comes next in a story. Narrative arcs are delivered in a very direct way to convey a distinct point of view. These are delivered through interviews where people talk directly into the camera and express a deeply personal point of view. These viewpoints are reinforced through voiceover, stills, and film clips in the form of a discussion.

Justin Simien’s background is in narrative film with hit movies including Dear White People and Bad Hair. Hollywood Black is his first foray into documentary filmmaking and discovering his new canvas brought him joy.

Slip In The Subtext

Justin Simien recognizes that the narrative differences between movies and documentaries aren’t always so clear cut. He realizes that not everything in a documentary needs to explicitly stated. Simien believes there is space for the audience to identify and form different points of view for themselves based on what’s been discussed.

It’s just as important to raise questions as it is to answer them in the documentary space.

“I’m an artist who loves to work in the dialectic. I really hate easy answers. I hate simple depictions of the truth,” he remarks.

In so doing, he acknowledges that documentaries can have multiple (even opposing) viewpoints surrounding a particular theme. Points of view needn’t be confined to those of the main character. Documentaries don’t necessarily even need a main character. They need a main topic – in this case Black cinema in Hollywood Black.

Simien’s key goal in Hollywood Black is to “create space for conversation.” He simply wants to present the stories of these artist and allow the audience to ask how they feel about them and their legacy.

“The conversation might not always move the narrative forward, but the process of discussion has inherent value. I don’t necessarily want to draw any sweeping conclusions about the subject.”

Observing Reality

In some respects, documentary filmmaking is the ultimate Reality TV. Unlike many films, not every shot in a documentary can be planned. “You gather as much footage as you can and you edit it into a coherent narrative.”

“You have to let the subject unfold. You are at the mercy of who agrees to give an interview. You’re at the mercy of your own limits, just in terms of what you are able to research and capture. There’s so much of it that’s just out of your control. And you just have to make peace with that,” he concludes.

“I’ve always been a big believer in collaboration and allowing for inspiration or the thing that you plan to breathe a little bit. You really aren’t ever quite sure how the whole thing is going to turn out. You really are finding it cut after cut, even after you’ve already gathered all the footage.”

Justin Simien relishes moments of grand discovery in his creative process. He recalls cases of discovering the essence of the entire series in a later episode where he’ll have to go back and recut previous episodes based on this new revelation.

“It’s in constant flux and you’re just trying to hold tight to the core tenets of what you’re trying to discover in the piece. But also need to deliver something that feels like you’ve landed somewhere.”

A documentary needs a point. It can’t simply be a collection of interviews strung together.