If you want to make the best documentary feature film out there, let NEEDaFIXER guide you on your way. We specialise in creating video content with an impact that gets a response and tells stories.

• Don’t think about making a documentary, think about making a feature film, something that will captivate your audience and tell your story. And don’t think about the bigger picture i.e. what you hope to achieve with the film, focus instead on making the best documentary film you can make.
  
  
• Don’t rehash what’s already been done before unless you can add a new twist or a new dimension to it. Audiences crave what they haven’t seen before, so tell them things they don’t already know. Take them to places they’ve never been. Introduce them to people they’ve never met. Open their eyes to the world around them and show them things they’ve never seen before.
  
  
• Don’t use your documentary as a platform to lecture your audience. The old adage – ‘show don’t tell’ rings very true here. You won’t have a captive audience if you spend an hour and a half preaching to them.
  
  
• Don’t be boring. You don’t have to make a serious documentary about a serious subject. Yes, treat it with the due respect it deserves, but there’s no reason why you can’t inject humour into a serious subject to make it easier to digest.
  
  
• Don’t be afraid to take risks and push boundaries, it’s the only way you’re going to reach real success. Many innovative documentaries that take creative risks have been nominated for prestigious awards, highlighting the industry’s recognition of creative excellence.
  
  
• Don’t be afraid to inject your personality into your documentary. It’s your production, it’s your story you’re telling at the end of the day.
  
  
• Don’t be afraid to get emotional with what you’re filming. If you want your audience to react to what you’re showing them, give them something to react to. If you find yourself cracking up whilst filming, or crying whilst recording a harrowing sequence, the odds are that’s what your audience is going to do. If you find it dull, guess what….
  
  
• Don’t forget that less is ALWAYS more. In post-production when you’re video editing, cut, cut and cut some more. Don’t find three separate ways to rehash the same point. Make your point and move on, otherwise, you run the risk of falling foul of point number 3 here – lecturing your audience. Don’t be that documentary filmmaker. Trust that your audience is intelligent and can figure out what you’re trying to say – cut your words, cut your scenes.
  
  
• Don’t underestimate the value of sound. Invest in great sound recording equipment and make sure you have the best sound production team you can afford. Sound has the capacity to make your story or break your story. Don’t create a hard-hitting documentary then waste it with poor quality audio.
  
  
• Don’t go it alone. Draw on the expertise and experience of a documentary production film company like NEEDaFIXER.