Today I read a (now oldish) post by Daniel Nemet-Nejat in which he asks “why does it seem that more filmmakers are attracted to making documentaries”? He answers this question by saying that they are cheaper to produce than narrative, which I’d agree with although I’d add the caveat that while people assume they don’t cost anything if you have a digital camera and a laptop, it’s simply not so - good docs cost money to make and it’s an industry that relies heavily on the passion and willingness of doc makers to sacrifice themselves to get projects made….rant, rant, rant…

But, moving on, reason #2 is “the rules are there are no rules” because Hollywood movies are “formula” and docs aren’t - I don’t think this is correct. Hollywood films rely on 3-act structure as do docs. Just because Hollywood would prefer to put money into Excorcist III than take a chance on something more original, we can’t make blanket statements like fiction = formula, docs = original. Since docs are being made very independently, they aren’t a class of films that conform to certain norms - they get bought after they are made and the artist has had free reign to create (largely).

Effective storytelling, at least according to people who study ’story’ such as Joseph Campbell, tell us again and again that the hero’s journey satisfies something deep within the human psyche so while the details change, all stories are the same at their roots and that means whether they are crafted from nonfiction or fiction material. One of the problems docs have faced is moving beyond their social-issue-eat-your-peas perception with general audiences.

His last point is “it is a form that invites you to make a personal film.” Perhaps, but so few personal films actually make the leap to commercially popular - sure Michael Moore and Morgan Spurlock, but the other films he cites are not personal (meaning the filmmaker as part of the story) but they are initimate. That’s just good storytelling again.

I don’t mean to be contrary to Daniel’s opinions because I think that the premise that gives rise to his musings are important, but I think that understanding the rise in doc popularity, finding ways to keep it that way and how to divert more production dollars into the genre are worth exploring.