How nature documentaries are fake

This is a short must-watch video for anyone trying to improve their case studies.

It starts with the premise that sound in nature documentaries is ‘fake’ (for obvious reasons) but quickly goes into a deeper discussion about editing reality in general. A pure documentary on nature could be extremely boring, hence the producers create a story and edit the raw material.

You can call it ‘fake’ but it’s the essence of storytelling.

What does it all have to do with our work? Well, just replace animals with your ideas and you’ll understand how to best showcase your campaigns.

In a nature documentary generally the animals are the protagonists. There will be tensions, goals, motivations carefully exposed at the start and the documentary becomes the story unfold. Same goes for your campaign. What sets the story in motion? How does the hero (your idea) save the day? What obstacles did it have to face (and overcome) to reach a climatic ending?

The rules of storytelling are always the same, whether it’s a blockbuster movie, a documentary, a book or your case study. Follow them and you’ll grab people’s attention. Ignore them and you’ll be ignored.

“Would you be annoyed if I didn’t show the ending?”

The litmus test: If I stop your case study half way, would I care to watch the end? This is what most judges do. After 30 seconds, they’re into it or they have switched off.

For more great and short tips on filmmaking that you could easily apply to your case studies check DSLR Guide Channel on Vimeo, found through this article on LifeHacker: The Tricks Nature Documentaries Use To Draw You In.

DSLR Guide Channel on Vimeo

LifeHacker article: The Tricks Nature Documentaries Use To Draw You In