Brainstorm! Come up with at least 3 choices for a topic/event/subject/person that you are interested in creating a documentary about.
Try to focus on subjects that are interesting or not-well known, or try to shed new light on a person, issue, or event that you feel people should know about. Film and talk about things that are interesting and avoid things that are boring or ordinary. Will someone other than you care about this film? Is this a compelling story? Will it make your viewers laugh and cry? Will your viewers relate to your story because they somehow experience a similar situation? Can you tell the story in a compelling, humorous, creative way that makes people think of their own relationship with the topic?


  1. Plan three acts, more commonly known as a beginning, middle and end to our story. This is the point of your documentary. Why are you telling the story and why would viewers be interested? A documentary should persuade, surprise, question, and/or challenge the audience. Try to show why an audience should feel a certain way about the people and things you're filming.
  • The beginning introduces the character(s) or topic and establishes their goal(s) or why the audience should care about the topic.
  • The middle, or second act, is the character(s) struggling to accomplish these goals and the obstacles that stand in their way, or explanation of why the audience should care about the specific topic. What is the concern, danger, urgency, etc? How do you convince the audience it is important to them through your story and explanation of events?
  • The end, resolution or conclusion - shows the growth or change of the character(s) due to the journey or possible solutions or more questions on the topic. Maybe even future problems or dangers or what it would look like if the problem is solved.

  1. Research your topic.
  • What is the key information you need to set your documentary story? What images and historical information is available? What do you need to film and prepare to set your beginning?
  • Who are the experts you can quote? Are there key actions related to your topic that you can share and explain the significance of to your viewer? What evidence can you find to support the views or sides in your documentary?
  • Be sure to keep a record of where you find your information and the source of the information. You will need to report your source in your documentary or maybe even recreate scenes based on these sources information.


Your Topic and 3 Part Plan Summary are due in Jupiter by the end of class Wednesday 3/13.