The first step in this assignment is coming together as a group to decide upon the argument you would like to make (or the story you would like to tell) in your documentary. From now on, all of your film editing and shooting should be motivated by the need to make your message in the film coherent, legible, and fun to watch. So before doing anything else, your group needs to be on the same page about what you’re going to say with the documentary.
Once you’ve done this, create a rough storyboard for your documentary. Using note cards, Powerpoint or just a piece of paper (whatever works for you), map out the shots in your film in the order you expect them to appear in the final film.
Don’t worry if it doesn’t all fit together perfectly. You have plenty of time to do another visit to your neighborhood (perhaps during spring break) and fill specific gaps by shooting a bit more b-roll or doing another interview or two. The point is to figure out what those gaps are, and to begin to think about how the different pieces of your film will fit together.
