Inside My Documentary Filmmaking Process
“A Prudent Question is One-half of Wisdom”
– Francis Bacon
In every story I've worked on, one thing stays consistent: the importance of powerful questions.
Not just the ones I ask on camera, but the quiet ones that live on the fringe—curious and persistent. They appear in the earliest research, persist through the interviews, and reverberate during the edit.
Asking questions isn't just a tool for gathering information; it's a way of building trust and holding space.
I'm knee-deep in questions as I prepare for my next documentary.
Two years ago, I learned about a courageous woman and nature enthusiast on Salt Spring Island as a potential character. I let the thought sit.
At the beginning of this year, the thought shifted from my brain's storage room to the forefront.
My 40-plus years on this earth have taught me that I don't need to jump to conclusions about my thoughts. If something keeps returning to me, it's either the result of a compulsive thought habit or an idea worth exploring.
I hoped it was the latter.
No longer content to ponder which it might be, I reached out to her to see if we could examine the possibility of a film. What was the worst-case scenario? She'd say, No.
Throughout our conversations, she shared how and why she does what she does. One of our conversations happened at her home over a bowl of spelt-flour blueberry crisp. I asked her the same questions, not once or twice, but several times.
The deeper we explored the questions, the more epiphanies and realizations emerged, stripping away the layers of my perceptions to reveal her truth.
However, the story eluded me.
I was caught up in tiny details, missing the forest for the trees. Or I was looking at the obvious and not uncovering the deeper nuances.
Is there a story? This is an important question to ask ourselves before deciding whether an idea is a documentary or just an inspiring chat.
To uncover the answer, I needed to ask questions I hadn't initially thought of.
My mom was a journalist for CBC in the 1980s, so she has constantly reminded me of the basics when researching a story: Who, What, Where, When, Why and How?
I use this process as a starting point.
Then I keep re-visiting the what, how and why.
Why, why not, why now?
In other words, what has informed their thinking? What experiences have defined them and are defining them today? Could that change in the future? What is happening that is challenging their values? Why is it so essential to live the way they do?
Questions are central to every great film!
“I would rather have questions that can't be answered than answers that can't be questioned.”
―Richard Feynman
In appreciation for your being here,
Shana Lee
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