What Makes a Great Documentary

Documentaries commonly are known for its long, boring, and factual qualities. Many are quick to judge as they pass one up airing on television, or even Netflix. As they are fact based films, they can also be very intriguing to watch and learn loads of information about various topics.
   In the documentary world, there are countless films that are loaded with information paneling black and white historic pictures playing with the occasional interview here there. This is what comes to mind when most people are on the topic of documentaries. But, if we take time to explore the amazing documentaries out in the film world we can pick out the qualities that make a documentary enjoying to the viewer.
     We can start by exploring what well known film makers do in order to make their documentaries interesting to all different viewers. Alex Gibney, a master in the documentary world, discusses his beliefs on what he feels is the most important thing that goes into a good documentary during an interview. "You have to put it together in a way that makes it compelling viewing for people who’re going to come to see it. And, hopefully, there’s enough of the author, too, sometimes in indirect ways, that makes the documentary interesting" (Alex Gibney). Alex brings up a few great point that all  film makers need to take into play, as they tend to forget the different types of audiences viewing this film. Many films are clearly made directly towards women, some to men. This is not the best view point to go about, as you would like to have as many viewers as possible. Documentaries are easy to lose interest in, so it is important to include different aspects to keep the viewer intrigued. From the start of the film, making sure you have a strong captivating hook is key to grabbing you viewer in immediately. Throughout the film, adding the right music is a critical part in adding to your documentary experience. We all know listening to an orchestra is not the ideal music to any viewer, but keep in mind you must still stay on topic with your song choice as it is easy to pick a your favorite song on the top 100 list.
         These are just a few of the unlimited things that go into making a great documentary. Going into the start process of making my documentary, my goal is to make sure to keep the interest level up of my audience while keeping the viewers very informed on my topic. Picking out the best features in a good documentary has now put me on track to begin!