Thinking about documentary

As I need to start planning ideas for my documentary film I will be making in a group, I wanted to write down some initial thoughts I've been having regarding this just so I've got something to work from.

Key points I want to focus on:

• Keep it focused - develop a really detailed idea that has a lot of footage to work with, making sure you stick to a clear theme so there isn't any confusion in what you are trying to portray
• Consent and comfortable - making sure that the contributors are comfortable with what you want to film, and aware of what you will be speaking to them about; this avoids the awkwardness of them misunderstanding what you are expecting, and makes them more comfortable with talking on camera knowing the limitations
• Professionalism - keeping yourself organised and having a clear outlook on what you want to achieve with your documentary
• Clean editing - having an understanding of how you want the film to come together as a whole, adding to the professionalism
• Understanding the audience - making sure the footage is interesting and engaging for an audience, always relating back to the original idea and title to keep people wanting to watch more, making all ideas to the point
• Interesting and individual - adding my own personal touch to keep it original and different to the work of others, but also making sure the footage is interesting and doesn't go off in a different direction that isn't totally relevant
• Confidence -  having the confidence to try new things, approach people and having faith in my own ideas so that I am not afraid to try things out, or don't shut ideas down too quickly, trial and error, things can always be eliminated during the editing process

I have watched a lot of documentaries by Louis Theroux, so I want to do some further research into his work and why it inspires me, as I take a lot from his style of filming and the personal level he reaches with the people he interacts with.

I also want to discuss my ideas with my group and see how we can all develop our individual points into one documentary we'd all be happy to make.

I am mainly thinking about working with students, as I feel it's easier to get an insight into their lives and reach them on a more personal level, being a first year myself. There are also a lot of ideas regarding the student lifestyle which would be interesting to document. I have also been thinking a lot about the immediate idea of being a first year, and the struggles that come with it, which would be engaging for an audience that are wanting to go to university, or for other students to look back on and remember the struggles and memories they made in their first year.