I want to make a documentary

October 15, 2023 4:24 AM

I have video footage and photographs that I want to use to make a documentary about a certain part of my life. It's a personal project and I don't have any intention to release the resulting film, but I would like to make it as well as I possibly can. I envisage working on this documentary to be my hobby for the next few years.

I don't have any experience in video editing beyond very basic photoshop. I'm willing to spend time following online courses, reading books etc. to help me make the most of the material I have to hand.
What resources would you recommend to help me make my little movie?

posted by roolya_boolya to Media & Arts (5 answers total)

DaVinci Resolve is a professional editing and post-production suite that is not only user-friendly and powerful, it has a completely free version that's remarkably feature-rich and has literally everything you need to cut a feature-length documentary.

Better yet, there's a series of online training videos and books available, covering everything from beginning editing to color grading and motion graphics.

(There's also a paid version that adds support for high-end video specs like 8K and HDR and more advanced special effects, but those are things you're unlikely to need for an independent documentary. If you're wondering why such a powerful and professional tool is free, it's there to provide support for and/or to try to get you to into owner Blackmagicdesign's ecosystem of professional cameras and editing panels. That said, it works just fine with existing footage from elsewhere.)
posted by eschatfische at 6:33 AM on October 15, 2023 [4 favorites]

Software wise, sounds like you're familiar with Photoshop and maybe have Adobe licenses. So Adobe Premier seems like an easy option for editing your video. There are a ton of videos on YouTube, but if you have access to Lynda/LinkedIn Learning through work or the local library they have a bunch of excellent content.

You might read In the Blink of an Eye: A Perspective on Film Editing by Walter Murch to get a bit more information about the philosophy of editing.
posted by gregr at 7:43 AM on October 15, 2023 [2 favorites]

See if anybody offers film classes. Adult Ed., local college or uni, even on online class. Your town probably has a community video channel where you could volunteer and learn a lot of the basic technical skills.
posted by theora55 at 9:42 AM on October 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

More than any other tech, get quality mic's and audio equipment. What ever the video looks like, clear sound will make it seem professional.
posted by sammyo at 9:45 AM on October 15, 2023 [3 favorites]

I like Corel Video Studio. It's not as expensive as Premier but still can do a lot of amazing stuff.
posted by JJ86 at 7:52 PM on October 16, 2023