Documentary-Making Methodology: Step-by-Step Documentation of Life after Grey

Abstract

One of the unnoticed snares of a first-time documentary filmmaker, besides insufficient research and clear objective(s), is lack of specific knowledge of research methodology. Documentary filmmaking is a separate genre, with many sub-genres, which varies from commercial to alternative/art filmmaking. There is plenty of available literature in books and research articles that deal with separate aspects of this genre of filmmaking in terms of modes and approaches of documentary, research, preproduction, production, postproduction, and so on. However, there is hardly any academic book or article in the Bangladeshi context that comprehensively provides the step-by-step guide to documentary filmmaking, particularly through a pragmatic demonstration of a film that has been made for the purpose of emphasizing the methodology. Theory and practice may not always conform; in such case(s) overcoming unanticipated challenges that threaten an entire project is imperative. This paper endeavours to portray the step-by-step methodological journey of documentary filmmaking from the initial stage of idea generation, through research phase to pre and post production until the official screening from a first-time filmmaker’s perspective. The methodological steps are based on the making of documentary Life after Grey (2015).