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HENLEY COLLEGE UAL CREATIVE MEDIA PRODUCTION
How do Visual
Techniques help
storytelling in
documentaries?
SUBMITTED BY:
ABI JUDKINS
JANUARY 19, 2024

How do Visual Techniques help storytelling in documentaries?
This essay explores how visual techniques help storytelling in

documentaries. I will look at cinematography, editing, graphics and
animation, and interviews. It looks at the literature which will help inform
my practice and how I will approach my final major project, as for me
these areas are the most important aspects to consider when putting a
documentary together. I’ve looked at examples of why certain strategies
work well, examining feedback from filmmakers through blogs, books,
and articles, to help clarify if this is the case.
Cinematography
The American film director Reed Morano once said, “a lot of

cinematography is intuition. It is an art not a formula”. This means it is
subjective and needs to adapt to suit the topic which it is covering. When
producing Planet Earth (2006) producers wanted to make the
documentary distinct and impressive. They did this by having shots that
had never been filmed before, for example, aerial footage of a snow
leopard in pursuit of a wild goat on a near-vertical mountain slope in
Pakistan. At the time, this was unique and is still an element that they use
today. I find this strategy impressive as it engages the audience and
makes them see what it is like first hand in a scenario that they have
never experienced before.
A recent blog on Yellow Brick explained the ten essential tips for film
appreciation. One of these tips focuses on cinematography. They
recommend when making a film, documentarians should pay attention to
how cinematography effects mood and tone.
in agreement with Yellow Brick, Ken Burns (2021) explains how he used a
range of cinematic techniques in his documentary The Civil War (1990)
which is about the Civil War and the effects it had on America . This is
clearly an emotive film that requires a lot of detail in order to create
emotion in the viewer. I found it interesting to see how he did this. He
starts with a wide shot, transitions to a live flyover and then to handheld
footage from a solider. He chose to use this experimental style to help
the audience feel what it would have been like.
Visuals
Editing of visuals is crucial to help a documentary flow. As the world-

renowned director, Martin Scorsese explains:
“When you’re a documentary film editor, you’re given a bunch of

materialand you have to try and find a line, a plot, a structure, and pull-
out people’s characters,”
This quote reveals that editing can be quite complicated, so should be

given lots of time and attention. I believe that it also shows how editing is
an important part of the production process as the majority of the
storyline is made after filming. It is highlighting how editing can really
change the character and story.
A good example of documentary

editing is the Midnight Traveller
(2019). This was shot on a
smartphone, documenting Hassan
Fazili and his family fleeing from
Afghanistan. The documentary has
many quick short cuts which is clever,
as it reflects the desperation that
they have to leave their country. I think the use of smartphone footage is
powerful as it puts the audience in their shoes to feel the fear that they
would have in that moment.
Some people may think that the use of smartphone footage is poor
quality, however I feel that in this style of documentary, it adds
authenticity and is an impactful way to portray the story.
In contrast, a documentary that aims to evoke a softer emotion in the

viewer requires a different visual strategy. Director RaMell Ross created
the documentary, Hale County, This Morning This Evening (2018) which
was about the Alabama blackbelt community. Journalist, Nikki Baughan
(2019) highlights how Ross uses editing techniques to represent life. She
explains how in the documentary, the footage has contrasting speeds but
specifically longer shots on insects or slow drives. He does this to
embody both big and small moments of life.
I would like to consider this when I am doing my own work and recognise
that it is important to appreciate the larger moments of storytelling but
also include the smaller moments of the topic as they are just as
necessary.
The use of colour, animation and graphics
The use of colour is also very important as that reflects the tone of the
documentary and how the audience should be feeling about the scene.
Research into colour psychology shows that blue resembles cool and
calm feelings, whereas red has more passion and aggressive thoughts
attached to it.
Animation and graphics have been used in documentary making for many
years, with the first animated documentary called Lusitania (1918). This is
impressive as animations are still a big part of what we use today in
documentary making.
In Sebastian Solberg’s blog where he discusses Powerful Documentary
Visual Storytelling Techniques, he explains that graphics are a creative
way of supporting an interviewees’ story if there is no footage from the
live event. In addition, he also writes that graphics are used to make a
story more interesting and sometimes provides more information on the
topic than is being said.
For example, in the documentary

Take Your Pills (2018), drawings and
graphics are used to show the
different drugs the interviewee took
as they talk about their experience. I
think this is effective because it
helps you visualise what is being
said but also makes the situation
feel more like it is a true story.
On its own, graphics can have an impact. However when you add
animation to a graphic it have an even bigger impact. In Ari Folman’s
documentary Waltz with Bashir (2008), he illustrates his experiences as a
young Israeli solider during the war in 1982. Noel Murray (2017), an
independent documentary maker, commented on this and explains how
the drawings are heavy on shadows and changing in textures. He then
points out how this shows the writers slipperiness of memory. This shows
that even lighting in animation is important, in this example, the use of
shadows. However, I feel as a viewer, the changing in textures can be a
big confusing and distracting if not done well.
Interviewing
Documentarians use interviews to gather more in-depth information

about a topic from experts or interviewees who have experienced
something first hand.
Through interviewing you can discover different perspectives and
capture stories that are not normally heard.
Lighting is an important consideration in interviews. This is because it

sets the tone and highlights what needs to be focused on. For example, a
recent observation of a news broadcast on ITV (January 2024), made me
reflect and consider the importance of lighting. As you can see in figure 2,
the light on the subject is too harsh and it washes the interviewee out. In
my opinion and based on the guide written by B. Baynes from
Georgetown University (2023), a more appropriate use of lighting would
have been a less harsh main light positioned much further away from the
subject as well as a back light to give depth in the shot.
In comparison, a good example would be the documentary 13th (2016) a

prison documentary analysing the criminalisation of African Americans.
All of their interviews have simple backgrounds and did not leave much
space in front of the interviewee which was helpful to the viewer.
Where you position your interviews is also an important consideration as

it is recommended to have an attractive background that supports the
theme of topic. Such as the way the director Gabriela Cowperthwaite
directed Blackfish, a 2013 documentary which details the consequences
of keeping orcas in captivity. Jones (2015) reflected on this
documentary. He explains that the interviews had a rule of thirds style
framing, and that the camera kept quite close to the subject throughout.
The rule of thirds, explains, and outlines the key points of interest within
the frame.
Furthermore, when an interviewee explains a point that was important or
vital to the storyline, the shots became closer, to make what was said
feel more dramatic. I like his observation and had not looked at it this
way before. This is something I am going to make sure I incorporate when
I come to planning my final project.
In summary, it is clear that visual techniques are of key importance when

trying to tell a story within documentaries. I feel focus needs to be given
towards cinematography, as the camera angles and how you frame a shot
can be the make or break with how a scene is executed. I also feel that if
the cinematography is not great, it affects every other element in the
production which then lets down the whole piece. I need it to help create
atmosphere and emotions within a documentary.
While I have learnt that cinematography is one of the most important

aspects, I must not forget the significance of the smaller, more covert
moments that the research has highlighted to me.
On reflection, looking at the above aspects in this essay, I can now look at
my past work and evaluate where improvements could have been made.
When I think about my Final Major Project, I will consider the topic it is on
and how editing, graphics, interviews, and cinematography are
appropriately chosen to insure that the story comes across in the best
way.
Bibliography
Adams, B. (2009). When Documentaries Get Graphic: Animation Meets Actuality. [online]
International Documentary Association. Available at:
https://www.documentary.org/feature/when-documentaries-get-graphic-animation-meets-
actuality#:~:text=The%20use%20of%20animation%20and [Accessed 18 Jan. 2024].
Baughan, N. (2019). In praise of the undersung art of documentary editing. [online] BFI.
Available at: https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/praise-undersung-art-documentary-editing.
Baynes, B. (2023). Guides: Documentary Video Production: Lighting Interviews. [online]

guides.library.georgetown.edu. Available at: https://guides.library.georgetown.edu/c.php?
g=75854&p=491499.
Bird, M. (2019). 100 Ideas That Changed Art. London: Laurence King Publishing.
C & I Studios. (2023). The Art of Documentary Interviewing: Strategies and Techniques | C&I
Studios. [online] Available at: https://c-istudios.com/the-art-of-documentary-interviewing-
strategies-and-techniques/.
CITIZENFOUR. (n.d.). About. [online] Available at:

https://citizenfourfilm.com/about#:~:text=CITIZENFOUR%20places%20you%20in%20the
[Accessed 18 Jan. 2024].
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Approaches. [online] Available at: https://www.factualamerica.com/filmmaking/documentary-
interview-styles.
FERRANTI , A. (2018a). The Doc Life: Choosing the Right Equipment for Nonfiction Film.
[online] Film Independent. Available at: https://www.filmindependent.org/blog/doc-life-
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Hightower Allen, E. (2021a). The Outside Story Behind the Documentary ‘Blackfish’. [online]
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blackfish-tilikum-killer-whale/.
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[online] Available at: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/filmmaker-ken-burnss-top-tips-for-
documentary-cinematography.
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[online] Independent Lens. Available at: https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/great-
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HENLEY COLLEGE UAL CREATIVE MEDIA PRODUCTION

JANUARY 19, 2024

This essay explores how visual techniques help storytelling in

The American film director Reed Morano once said, “a lot of

Editing of visuals is crucial to help a documentary flow. As the world-

“When you’re a documentary film editor, you’re given a bunch of

This quote reveals that editing can be quite complicated, so should be

A good example of documentary

In contrast, a documentary that aims to evoke a softer emotion in the

The use of colour, animation and graphics

For example, in the documentary

Documentarians use interviews to gather more in-depth information

Lighting is an important consideration in interviews. This is because it

In comparison, a good example would be the documentary 13th (2016) a

Where you position your interviews is also an important consideration as

In summary, it is clear that visual techniques are of key importance when

While I have learnt that cinematography is one of the most important

Baynes, B. (2023). Guides: Documentary Video Production: Lighting Interviews. [online]

CITIZENFOUR. (n.d.). About. [online] Available at:

Foundation, F. (2015a). CITIZENFOUR: Filmmaking as an act of justice. [online] Ford

Madman Films (2014a). CITIZENFOUR - Official Trailer. YouTube. Available at:

Nicholson-Lord, D. (2006a). Planet Earth. Random House.

oscopelabs (2019a). Midnight Traveler - Official Trailer - Oscilloscope Laboratories HD.

Solberg, S. (n.d.). 5 Rules of Composition (For Filmmakers). [online]

Solberg, S. (n.d.). 7 Steps to shooting cinematic interviews. [online] www.docfilmacademy.com.

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