What is needed to create a documentary??

Question

What are Five criteria that must be met in order to produce a high-quality documentary??

Answer 1

It must attempt to tell the truth – that includes providing multiple perspectives on the topic or event. Like the nine blind men and the elephant metaphor, it takes more that one perspective to provide the “whole” truth.
It must appear to do so by present only factual evidence – a good documentary starts with rigorous, in-depth research – the author is dedicated to NOT inventing but building understanding and perspective by the art of arranging the facts into a pattern of understanding.
It must not attempt to re-create or distort the truth – taking poetic license (imaginative interpretation), constructing intentional bias or developing a singular perspective threatens the credibility of a good documentary moving into more fiction or slanted truth than fact.
It must be objective – that doesn’t mean you can’t have a strong and overt point-of-view – in fact a personal reflection of how the topic matters and connects either to individuals, communities or humanity is essential in order to push the body of information beyond summary reporting -- but these embedded perspectives must be ethically grounded in accuracy.

It must present all factual evidence in its original context and form – an abundant amount of primary sources needs to be incorporated, documented and credited as part of the product – this builds credibility for the documentary.

Answer 2

You need a strong story line. That should carry your viewers attention from beginning to the end without them saying this is so boring. For example Roger Moore does this well. He picks interesting, nationally known stories for his documentary. The best one I have ever seen was "Harlan County USA" about the coal miners in Kentucky and the hatred involved between the striking workers and the mine owners. Okay, once you decided on a strong story line, you are going to need good quality cameras. You should have a camera person as well as a reporter in front of the camera to interview people. Also you are going to need a sharp eye for images. Not only does the story line carry your story also the images carries your story. Once all the filming is finished, you are going to need editing talent. You might have filmed five hours, but you want your documentary to be only 45 minutes, so you're going to have to snip in the right places while making sure your story flows smoothly. The final criteria is to get folks to watch it. You need sales experience for this. Maybe your local library will be willing to let your use a big room for viewing. Or you could show it on local cable television.