How to be the Next Michael Moore

How can I be the next great documentarian?

Here's a start:

• Keep your eyes and ears open.

There are so many unexplored topics out there, some that you have never considered. Listen all of the time and hear others' stories.

• Pick a subject you're passionate about and find its story.

You might want to make a documentary about music, but what's the story? It could be a look into the trials and tribulations of the music scene in Seattle, or an investigation into the effects of digitalization on record (LP) sales in the US. Even though documentaries aren't fiction doesn't mean they don't have stories.

• Go with the flow.

If your topic doesn't work out, flow with it. If you're making a doc about birds in Cambodia, but you can't find any birds, don't fight it! Reality is moody and unforseeable: find another angle and go with it.

• Keep your equipment handy.

Always have your equipment by your side, and always be shooting interviews and b-roll. You may find a whole other story within interviews and other material you never saw coming.

That's just the scraping of the surface of great documentary creation. I encourage you to find other information about filmmaking classes on TeachStreet.