Low Budgets and High Hopes (page 2)
Research, Research, Research
Knowledge of your subject pays huge dividends in other ways as well. Knowledge breeds creativity. Take the case of a documentary called Nightmail-a film made during the 1930s in Britain. The idea with this film was to explain how a train travelling between London and Scotland delivered the mail. On the surface, you couldn't find a more ordinary or less inspiring subject. The creator's knowledge of the subject, however, gave him the confidence to break away from the obvious means of presenting the information. He used strong and powerful visuals of the train, the railroad tracks, telephone lines and scenery whizzing by to build a lyrical statement. They created extraordinary visual rhythms that meshed with the factual content. By simply following an informational script, you run the risk of turning out a product that would deliver content but would lose the audience without strong visuals to back it up. Immerse yourself in a subject and you'll usually find creative ways to present it to an aud…
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