Documentarian - by Roger Nygard (Paperback)

About the Book

The Documentarian is the ultimate go-to source for making documentaries. It explains how to conceive, shoot, and sell a documentary, along with specific advice overall in how to succeed in the independent film business.

Book Synopsis

The Documentarian is the ultimate go-to source for making documentaries. It explains how to conceive, shoot, and sell a documentary, along with specific advice overall in how to succeed in the independent film business.

Review Quotes

Documentary filmmaker and TV director Nygard intersperses this anecdote-filled handbook with helpful synopses of his and others' work. Among them are Ken Burns, Charles Guggenheim, Michael Moore, Errol Morris, Frederick Wiseman, and lesser-known figures. He defines a documentary as an audiovisual communication method with a thesis and conclusion reflecting reality. With camera positioning and film cutting, an auteur presents a subjective view through a selection of a primary documentary technique: expository (with narration), unfiltered observational, or participatory (with the filmmaker's viewable inclusion). He adds reflexive, performative, poetic, and mockumentary methods to this list. The book contains hints for documentarians that are transferable to other professions: employment of agents, contracts, copyrights, lawyers, outlines, referrals, and random chance. Nygard extols film festivals, classes, websites, and social media as opportunities to promote personal brands. Nygard abundantly supplies suggestions for those in the business; casual readers will savor stories about the genre's history.

It took me over two decades to learn half the knowledge this book lays out, step-by-step, using actual experiences, to help anyone become an expert in documentary filmmaking.

The negotiation of the sale of the movie read like a nail-biter! The book is a practical manual for making and selling your first documentary, guided by a who's who list of industry expertise. A must read for any new filmmaker.

Where the f*#! was this book when I started making documentaries? Do not film one frame until you've read this book!

Whew! I jammed through this book because I NEEDED to know what I would uncover next. It's the best guide book I've seen on how to make a brilliant film.

You have all you need in this treasure trove of advice, tips, and warnings. It will save you time, money, and psychoanalysts' bills.

About the Author

Roger Nygard grew up outside Minneapolis on the shores of Lake Minnetonka. At age seven he discovered his father's 8mm camera and began making short films. He never stopped. Nygard has since directed TV series such as The Office and The Bernie Mac Show, and he has edited Emmy-nominated episodes of VEEP and Curb Your Enthusiasm. As an award-winning documentarian, Nygard has balanced humor and seriousness in films like Trekkies and The Nature of Existence. His previous book, Cut to the Monkey: A Hollywood Editor's Behind the Scenes Secrets to Making Hit Comedies, was published by Applause Books in 2021.