"Moore" Over and Make Way for Ale Duque

Michael Moore: documentary filmmaker, author, activist, super woke

As an avid consumer of documentaries, I like to think I’ve learned a thing or two about this art form simply  just from viewing. As a creator however, I’ve only ever made one documentary, it was a collaborative effort, and if we’re being honest, it definitely had a lot of issues; but that's okay, nothing is perfect the first time, or ever really, and now at least I have the experience of attempting to create a documentary and I know what went wrong the first time and what I need to improve on this time around. For additional tips of what to consider and keep in mind while creating my documentary, I took to the internet and found Michael Moore’s 13 Rules for Making Documentary Films. I absolutely adore Michael Moore and his films (not to mention he is one of my favorite twitter follows), so of course I eagerly read what he had to say and as always, he had some pretty insightful advice.

Editor's Note: Moore’s documentaries usually strive to inform about and expose some dark truth, serving as a scathing commentary on our society. His advice was also specifically catered for documentary “films”. There are some discrepancies between these characteristics and the ones particular to my documentary since mine is looking to be more lighthearted and explorative and is being made as an excerpt from a TV documentary, so needless to say I took some of Moore’s words with a grain of salt, adjusting them for my specific goals.

1. “We are not documentarians, we are filmmakers.”

Moore makes an excellent point which although I knew in the back of my mind, it was not something I ever really thought about. When one examines what a documentary really is, it is a form of art, a form of cinema that is striving to tell a story. One could say the same for a movie, or in my case, a TV show. Moore points out that although many documentarians may look down on films and the aspiration of “entertaining” audiences, because they somehow see their project as more serious or professional, this is exactly what their goal should be! No one wants to go see a didactic documentary where he feels he is being scolded or lectured; no! Audiences want to be entertained and there is nothing wrong in a serious documentary doing this while still being effective and getting its message across. As Moore says, “ You’ve chosen this art form — the cinema, this incredible, wonderful art form, to tell your story. You didn’t have to do that.”

2. “[The audience] doesn’t care whether you make them cry, whether you make them laugh, whether you even challenge them to think…”

This goes back to the no lecturing thing, as well as not making your documentary something the audience already knows. In other words, make your audience FEEL something!!! It’s what any good and successful work of art does. I also love the idea of making my audience think. Seeing as my documentary is about a theater competition (pretty nerdy stuff in the eyes of many) my target audience is mainly young adults to adults in the artistic community, but overall this community in general; however, for anyone not already appreciative of the arts that may stumble across my production, I want them to be able to see and understand how art affects communities and relationships and for them to be able to begin thinking of art and theater as a much bigger concept than they already see it. Same goes for theater fans who may only see this craft on a shallow level.

3. “Make you films personal”

If you make your film personal, chances are your unique personality will shine through and it will be different than what anyone has seen before, thus peaking interest in your production. This is definitely a goal, especially since my documentary topic is something so close and personal to me and the community I surround myself with. I want it to be seen how much I care about this topic, that way, perhaps my passion will extend to others. From an artistic point of view, as I keep creating, it would also be cool to develop a personal style and touch that could be evident in all of my productions, making them undoubtedly mine.

4. “ Less is more. You already know that one.”

It’s true. I already know that; you, whoever is reading this, already knows that. This one is obvious and goes without explanation. Nevertheless, it’s an important reminder because whether it is in writing, filming, editing, whatever, this always seems to be a problem (why do I do these things to myself?).

5. “Sound is more important than picture”

“Sound carries the story.” This might seem a bit hyperbolic, but just think about it. In an example that Moore gives, if in a film at the movie theater, the projection is a bit shaky and glitchy at times, people might question it, even complain, but at the end of the day, no one will really say much. However, if at this same theater, the image is squeaky clean, but the sound keeps going in and out, or worse, it’s completely inaudible, RIOTS WILL ERUPT! Because without sound, without dialogue to explain and advance the story, without diegetic sound to remind you of the realness of the piece, without music to help insight emotion, the piece of film being seen is nothing. This is an extremely important tip because in my amaeture career as an editor, sound is the component I have the least experience with and honestly, am most afraid of; but soon, that’s gonna change!!!

With these ideas in mind, coming directly from a well established individual in the industry (alliteration alert) who I greatly respect, I feel even more ready and prepared to make my debut in the documentary world. Make way for documentary filmmaker TV show maker, Ale Duque.