How the BBC teaches documentary storytelling - and what it gets wrong

Hello, Nigel Levy here, and welcome to this podcast series. 

It's been created to explore the simplest yet most powerful way to create meaningful documentary stories. 

Storytelling in documentaries is something that seems to exist between drama techniques and instinct. But it is its own discipline, with specific skills and techniques that exist to take reality, something you care about, and create stories with impact.

If you get it wrong, you have documentaries that are no more than a list, a confusion of ideas that mean very little. 

This series of podcasts is designed to share the experiences of some of the world's most successful storytellers working in factual TV and documentaries. We will be exploring the processes, techniques and strategies that can take an idea and turn it into a compelling and powerful story. 

I was lucky enough to begin my time in broadcasting as a young assistant producer at the BBC. It was, in many ways, a wonderful experience. But there were many things that were never taught, and you were expected to discover for yourself. 

Specifically, once again,  storytelling. 

In this first episode, I share how I decided to work out exactly what was involved in creating great documentary stories so that I left nothing to chance.    

Are you interested in joining the DocFix program and working with Nigel?

Get started with our complimentary case study that shows you how the method is used in high-profile documentaries and to see if you are a good fit for what we do and how we work. 

Instagram: @nigel.levy.stories
Facebook: Nigel Levy - The Doc Fix

Are you interested in joining the DocFix program and working with Nigel?

Get started with our complimentary case study that shows you how the method is used in high-profile documentaries and to see if you are a good fit for what we do and how we work.

Instagram: @nigel.levy.stories
Facebook: Nigel Levy - The Doc Fix

Incidental music composed by Birger Clausen

Transcript

[00:00:00] Hello, I'm Nigel levy and welcome to The Doc Fix documentary storytelling podcast. I've created this podcast so I can pass on the kind of information I wish I had when I was starting out as a documentary filmmaker. Now, from its title, you'll understand that to me, one of the most essential skills is a skill of storytelling in factual programming.. Actually, I think it's fundamental to every single aspect of [00:00:30] making a documentary. That statement might seem self-evident maybe not. In fact. One of the goals of these podcasts is to prove to you why it's true. That said, because it is so vital doesn't mean that everyone can necessarily regularly create the kind of story they'd love to have without getting overwhelmed or confused about why their story just doesn't seem to be working. So, to clarify. Every single decision you make in designing, constructing, researching, directing - even marketing your documentary - [00:01:00] is made simpler by having a great story. 

For that reason, I think everyone who's working in this area, whether professional or amateur first-timer or not, would benefit from an improvement in their storytelling skills. I'll be talking about all sorts of ideas, techniques, and approaches. But it's all going to be based on that fundamental skill of being able to take your idea and turn it into a powerful, meaningful story. It's one of the most complex set of skills around, and that's why I love it. And why I've been obsessed with it for so [00:01:30] long. But how do you learn something so complex? I think what's often been said and what's true is that what's missing in the industry currently is mentorship. Now, it's fair to say it's a freelance world and majority of filmmakers, at whatever level, move from one company to the next and one job to the next. They do what they can and then they move on to another job. And if you're working by yourself as an individual or self-contained filmmaker, it can be even harder. 

So what this [00:02:00] freelance or self-contained lifestyle means is that many people are missing. A consistent form of mentoring. Or support. Now, I was lucky because I started out at the BBC. And you might think that's the one place where you would get all the information and skills you need. But it didn't actually have all the answers. Let me just explain why as a bit of background to what it was like at the BBC and how they taught their filmmakers. So when I started out, which was in the late eighties, I was put onto the popular science TV show [00:02:30] called Tomorrow's World. It ran for over 50 years. And it was a staple of the TV, shared yours. It was on Thursday night on BBC one, which is the main channel, just before Top of the Pops. If you're British, you'll remember it very well probably. Or ask your parents, and if you know it, the theme music would certainly take you straight back to your childhood. There's a little bit of a Proustian rush for you [00:03:00], depending on your age. 

Now, when I was on the series. We had a regular audience around 13 to 15 million a week, which is a phenomenal amount of people looking back. But at the time and I was 21, it was something that was just accepted. And it was a remarkable experience working back. It was an amazing place to work at the BBC. , the show was a magazine program based in the studio, and it went out live. And it was recorded at Television Centre, which is in west London, as I say, it was an incredible place to be. Well, I turned [00:03:30] up there as a young assistant producers. One of the first things you'd see was that Television Centre was circular and there was a ring road around it. Uh, for some reason, you'd always find Doctor Who's Tardis there. And of course, you have to have a look inside, and it's huge. 

[00:03:43] And in the canteen, you'd see people dressed up as monsters or characters in period costume. Getting a tea and a sandwich. Like I said, it was a great place to be, it felt like the center of the TV world.

[00:03:54] So Tomorrow's World was a magazine program based in the studio, and it went out live. So [00:04:00] along with items in the studio, which were two or three minutes long and present a lead, there were also. A number of short films that were made alongside them and if you are an assistant producer, You'd be sent out to make one of those films every three or four weeks. So my job was pretty simple for a couple of years. I to make a three minute film while writing a studio item every month. That means research it, write it, produce it and direct it. And then onto the next one. And that's the beginning of how I learned to tell factual [00:04:30] stories. 

You were taken out with someone for your first film. A more experienced producer who supported you? But then, quite quickly, you were very much left to your own devices in a way after that first film. It was up to you to work out how to do it. And that meant having an instinct for what a good story was. In fact, in order to get on the program, that was something you had to prepare for. You had to prepare an idea for a good story. Main in the interview, they could tell whether you had a sense of what good storytelling was. 

[00:04:58] When you were on the show, you did the [00:05:00] research, and you asked for help. And so on. And you began to assemble the script. Now, by far the most challenging part of the process. I was walking into the office of the Series Editor, Richard Reisz, to talk through the script. He went through every line with you. And the main thing he focused on was logic. We didn't really talk about story, but we talked about whether the connecting ideas made sense. Why was I making that choice? What was I saying that for? Was I repeating myself? Was I being clear or that kind of [00:05:30] information? 

And those meetings could take an hour for a single three-minute film. And it could be absolutely excruciating if I wasn't prepared. So I was prepared usually. Then I'd go off and make my film. With a crew. And in those days, you got a crew from a central location at the BBC where you just order up a cinematographer and a sound person. You'd go out for a day or two. And then you'd come back and work in an edit. Of course, the editors were much more experienced than me. And I let a huge [00:06:00] amount from them. And then that would take about a week or so to edit your film. And the day after it was broadcast, every member of production and that be around 20 to 30 of us, I think, would gather in the main office.

[00:06:13] and discuss last night's show, what worked and what didn't. And the next day, you'd go into the office and start all over again. So it was pretty tough. But exciting. And it was the best education I could have received. So, to break down the elements that are involved in that kind of learning. There was the [00:06:30] community. Which is a big part of what helps you learn something. I was surrounded by a group of people with the same goals and ambitions. There were probably 10 or 15 other Assistant Producer on the show. that was more senior producers, and we'd be a gang that we'd help and support each other. At the same time. Everyone was very ambitious. It was a good community of people. And that gave you accountability. Because everyone knew what you were doing, and you said you're going to do it. So we had to do it. 

We chatted, we talked to each other. And there were other people in the [00:07:00] canteen we could talk to. So you get constant feedback, mentorship and accountability. But what was missing from that feedback and mentoring was the teaching. Of specific skills. What it took to create a great story. And for me, that was a surprising emission because no one could really articulate why you had to do things in a certain way. There were many suggestions of things that we should try. And what a, what, before you look at other people's films, you'd break it down. You just, you discuss it. And so on. [00:07:30] But storytelling as a skill was something I wasn't taught. It was really up to us to work out the why and the how. And that was where the system failed. I think. Or let's say it could have been much better. So the question is, why was teaching storytelling skills so difficult? And why is it still?

[00:07:48] Obviously, I've thought about this a lot. And I think there's an overriding belief in talent. Certainly at the BBC. If you'd managed to get into the BBC, then you had some sort of talent. And it was up to you [00:08:00] to develop it further. Uh, learn what you needed to learn. But to be honest, there was this dog-eat-dog, hyper-competitive atmosphere as well. But I mentioned. There were a lot of egos fighting for promotion, and that's not the most nurturing environment for sure. 

[00:08:14] If you're lucky to work out techniques and ideas and things that work for you and your storytelling, you'd survive and you'd flourish. But there was a lot of searching on your own that needed to be done. A lot of people gave up. They were struggling to bring an idea to life. And they often felt it was their own [00:08:30] fault. Perhaps it was, but I think it was their right and mine to be shown how story worked. That it wasn't just a magical gift. But couldn't be taught. Now, I don't know why I thought it wasn't a magical gift. But in my nature, I'm quite analytical, and I wanted to understand. Why? Some of my films worked so well, and others didn't, and were flat. 

And also, I wanted to understand why films that other people made worked, [00:09:00] whether in our departments run the wider channels. We're in the world at large. Why did some feel meaningful to me? Why did that shot work? Why did that moment make me feel something? Why did one interview question move a story forward? Why did some commentary or voiceover feel completely redundant and even take something away from the story? So I continued to look for answers, and I looked everywhere for answers. I went into drama because drama is one of the few places [00:09:30] where people have actually spent. A lot of time. Trying to understand why stories work. So, I did a drama directing course that the BBC allowed me to go on. And by the way, it was allowing me to go on. It was a struggle to get onto. You had to demand to do it. 

But eventually, they'll let me do it. And then, maybe after seven or eight years, I left the BBC. And started investigating for myself. I even left TV for a while to work in the theatre. As an assistant director, [00:10:00] unexplored drama directing there. Because as I say, drama is one of the few places where it's, where storytelling has been written about in codafide. And there are ideas in there that I thought could be applied to factual storytelling. I spent a small fortune on every book and course, and seminar I could. I made every kind of program. I made films about arts and science, on biography and history and music and natural history. I did specialist factual programs. I worked in Asia and all over South Korea, Hong Kong, China, [00:10:30] Malaysia for a bit. And I think the experience of seeing how other people did things was what I was really after at the same time. Making sure. I made films that matter to me. Eventually, I directed a romantic comedy in Hollywood and made. Feature-length documentary for the cinema and TV. And as time progressed, I worked with some of the biggest names. This is over. 20 25, 30 years. 

I've worked with Oscar winners, and I've worked on some of the biggest documentary series. [00:11:00] Around. Probably the biggest, most recent one for me was Formula One Drive to Survive on Netflix, which was a great success. I worked on the first season of that on the storytelling. As the story editor, which actually mirrored the job that Richard Rice did for me when I was working at the BBC all those years ago. And what I was always trying to do for myself was to refine. And bring this knowledge together in a system, into a process. In a way that I felt had never been done before. 

[00:11:29] And underneath it [00:11:30] all, I wanted to include the explanation of why. Why it works so that you can create a specific process. That anyone could use. And go through a specific set of skills and steps. That you could use to become the best possible documentary storyteller. And I'm going to go into more detail in these podcasts and in conversations with other filmmakers. But my process has been refined into a series of steps that I believe. Everyone needs to tackle in order to create a powerful. Meaningful documentary. And [00:12:00] that's what my doc fix program is about, or my way of mentoring others in a system. That's specifically designed as a framework. To take any idea. Uh, consistently built powerful, meaningful stories. 

[00:12:14] So, starting from the ground up, you need to create the foundations of your story. Because without being a hundred per cent certain of the argument that your story's making. Then, every time you try to add a new incident or scene to your film. It will start wobbling. The story [00:12:30] will start falling apart. You'll be making a documentary more dramatic. Without knowing what, you're traumatizing, and it's a disastrous approach. It means your audience will sense it themselves when they watch it and ask themselves. What is this story really about? It'll feel superficial. And if you don't know what it's about, they won't either. And he lost them. And the next stage, you have to tackle the second step. Is to reinforce the themes behind your idea. 

And that's because when people watch a [00:13:00] story when they come to the end of your documentary, They don't often talk about the subject matter. They talk about what the subject matter means to them. That's the heart and soul of your story. And that has to be designed intentionally by you. Everything here. Or everything in my program is about you all through your story, you being in control of what you're saying. And the third step after you've done that is the structuring of your story. And that means when you've completed those early steps when you have that foundation. It [00:13:30] becomes much, much easier. To design your story from beginning to end to deliver the meaning to your audience. You can come up with the opening scenes the climax. The acts, dramatic instances, multiple storylines. Subtext. All those things that can often cause problems. If you haven't done that early work. So, it's no longer a question of trial and error. 

[00:13:53] It should now be perfectly clear to you that this is the best way to tell your story. And finally, you decorate your story. [00:14:00] And that means you're using all those dramatic techniques that you love. All those ideas you've seen in other stories, your inspiration, your own unique taste. And you can be free to make your documentaries as engaging as possible. You may love a gritty handheld style, being down and dirty with your subject. You might want to use elaborate drone shots. Steady cams and more cinematic approach. And you can work on the tone and the mood and the style and so on. You can meet as original as you like an original [00:14:30] voice. Among a huge sea of imitators. So those are the steps, the four simple steps you have to go through to create a great documentary story. And this system, this process, gives me something I can rely on. So that now that I work on the kind of projects that have very tight deadlines and big budgets, There's great expectations for them. And I use these techniques, this process because I cannot afford to fail. The series of the film I'm making cannot afford to fail.[00:15:00] 

[00:15:00] So when you developed your idea from the ground up, You develop your narrative in a way that means it's incredibly robust. It can support all these ideas that you have. There's a place for your instinct and your inspiration, and your creativity. And any of these ideas that you have won't break or destroy your story; they'll just make it stronger and more powerful. More fun. A more meaningful. An analogy I've often used is taken from architecture.. If you're trying to create a spectacular building. [00:15:30] In an architectural sense, you really have to know what the foundations can support and what the tensile strength. Of concrete and steel, and then you can bend and lean your building and all sorts of directions. And when it comes. To all that fun stuff, the entertaining, the dramatizing of your idea. Of decorating your building to make it engaging. The building will support it. You know that it will stand up. But if you don't get it right, you'll just have a very expensive pile of rubble. 

[00:15:59] I know [00:16:00] that metaphor became very mixed in the middle, but I hope you get the point. And in this series, I'll talk to you about some of the techniques, some of the key things you have to be doing when you're creating your documentary story, the key things that will stop you spending far too long and far too much money going round around in circles. You could spend far too long filming material because you're not sure. Whether you need it or not, you could spend far too long in the edit. Repeating yourself, going over things again and again. Because you're not sure of the story you want to tell. [00:16:30] You love your idea. But you're just not sure how to tell it. 

[00:16:34] The audience's job is to respond and react to your film. You have to be the author. That's what your job is. 

[00:16:42] So, to summarize, those are the steps you have to go through to create a meaningful story. When you're the author of a piece, you're creating a meaningful idea. You've got something to say, and you're saying it. In a way that your audience get what you want to say. They're never going to ask what's this film about.[00:17:00] And you'll be able to do it in an exciting, engaging way. Whatever the subject matter you're working with. 

[00:17:07] So, I hope you found this chat useful. If you're a first-time filmmaker or even a professional already in the industry, and you want to save some time, go through that process yourself and learning how to do it. There's a case study you can sign up to that goes into some detail on how I've used the system. In some of the TV shows documentaries I've been involved with. There's a lot of information there. I'm sure you'll find useful. And you can apply it [00:17:30] directly to your ideas and projects. 

[00:17:32] And if you really want to move quickly, of course, we can work together. If you'd like. All the links you need are in the notes below. If you've any questions do let me know. You can send me an email to Nigel at the doc. fix.com. And I'd be happy to hear from you and help you in any way I can. And the last thing, if you're enjoying this podcast and you want to support the show so that we can make it completely free. You can do a couple of things. Firstly, you can share it with someone. That's one way to support it. Uh, number two, you could take some time to leave a [00:18:00] review for the show on iTunes or Spotify. Or have you listen to podcasts? So that's what I've got for you today on this episode, have a great day, and I'll talk to you soon.