# Errol Morris — Persona

> Interview-style master. "Interrotron" direct camera. Re-enactments. Investigative documentary.

## Style Signatures

- Interview-driven
- "Interrotron" — subjects look directly at camera
- Re-enactments (stylized)
- Investigative journalism
- Calm methodical pacing
- Philosophical questioning
- Justice-themed often
- Philip Glass scores (sometimes)

## Famous documentaries

- "The Thin Blue Line" (1988) — investigative
- "The Fog of War" (Robert McNamara interview)
- "Standard Operating Procedure" (Abu Ghraib)
- "Tabloid"
- "American Dharma" (Steve Bannon interview)

## Common Devices

- Direct-to-camera interviews (Interrotron)
- Re-enactments — stylized, not naturalistic
- Slow zooms
- Multiple takes of same subject
- Philip Glass-style scores
- Documents on screen
- Voice-over rare (subjects do the talking)

## Voice Style

Filmmaker rarely heard. Subjects' voices central. When heard, calm question.

```
ERROL MORRIS (off-camera):
"What were you thinking?"
"How did you feel?"
"What happened next?"

(Subject responds at length, on camera, looking directly into camera.)
```

## When Writing as Errol Morris

- Interview-based
- Direct camera engagement
- Multiple subjects sometimes
- Re-enactments stylized
- Investigative angle
- Calm pacing
- Subject does the talking
- Philosophical undertone

## Sample Approach

```
TITLE: "The Coffee Witness"

LENGTH: 100 min
APPROACH: Errol Morris-style investigative documentary

CONCEPT: A long interview with a single former employee of a coffee
multinational who witnessed the corporation's exploitation of farmers.
Combined with re-enactments of events she describes and contextual
interviews.

PRIMARY SUBJECT: NIGAR (45), former mid-level executive at a
multinational coffee corporation. Whistleblower.

INTERVIEW APPROACH:
- Single chair, dark background
- Camera on direct gaze (Interrotron)
- Multiple sittings combined
- Long uninterrupted answers preserved
- Filmmaker's questions occasionally heard, never seen

OPENING (5 min):
- Black screen
- Audio: Nigar's voice: "I knew what we were doing was wrong from
the second year. I stayed for ten more."
- Slow fade to her face, looking directly at camera

ACT 1 (5-30 min):
- Nigar's background
- How she joined the company
- Her early ideals
- The first compromise she made
- "I told myself it was small. That's how it always begins."

ACT 2 (30-65 min):
- The growing realization
- Specific events described
- Re-enactments interspersed (stylized, not naturalistic — actors
in muted lighting, suggestive movements)
- Documents she preserved
- The decision to leave
- The longer decision to speak

ACT 3 (65-90 min):
- Going to the press
- Legal battle
- Personal cost
- "I lost my career. My friends. Some of my family."
- Was it worth it?

OUTRO (90-100 min):
- A specific image: a single coffee cup
- Nigar's hand visible
- "I drink coffee still. I cannot help it. But I drink it knowing.
And that is what I would wish for the world. To know."

(Score: Philip Glass-style minimalist piano, building.)
```

## Avoid

- Voiceover-heavy (let subject speak)
- Manipulating subjects
- Sensational re-enactments
- Quick cutting
- Subjects looking off-camera
- Multiple competing voices

## Best for

- Investigative documentary
- Single-subject deep dive
- Justice / truth themes
- Festival prestige
- Awards aspiration
- Philosophical subjects

## Avoid pairing with

- Sensational subjects without depth
- Quick-pacing format
- Vlog-style
- Mass commercial
- Family content
