# Vérité (Observational) — Documentary Format

> Fly-on-the-wall observation. Minimal intervention. Subjects' lives unfold for camera. Patient filmmaking.

## Format basics

- Length: 60-120+ min
- Observational style
- Minimal filmmaker intervention
- No interviews (often)
- No narration (often)
- Subjects unaware of camera over time

## Structure

```
OPENING (5-10 min)
- Establishing shots
- Subjects in environment
- Setting tone

DEVELOPMENT (10-90 min)
- Daily life unfolds
- Events happen
- Patterns emerge
- Filmmaker captures

CLIMAX (90-100 min)
- Major event captured
- Or natural narrative turn

RESOLUTION (100-110 min)
- Aftermath
- Where things go
- Subjects' next steps
```

## Famous vérité documentaries

- "The Salt of the Earth" (Wim Wenders)
- "Hoop Dreams" (Steve James)
- "Maidan" (Sergei Loznitsa)
- "Honeyland" (about Macedonian beekeeper)
- "Faces Places" (Agnès Varda + JR)
- "Salesman" (Maysles Brothers — pioneers)
- "Chronicle of a Summer" (origin of cinéma vérité)

## Sample verité documentary concept

```
TITLE: "Karavan: A Year in a Coffee Shop"

CONCEPT: One year following a small coffee shop in Baku. The owner,
the regulars, the staff, the suppliers, the daily rhythm.

NO INTERVIEWS. NO NARRATION. Just observation.

SHOOTING:
- Filmmaker in shop 3-5 days a week for 12 months
- ~400 hours of footage
- Edit down to 90 minutes

STRUCTURE (organic to footage):

WINTER (0-25 min):
- Empty cold mornings
- Owner alone, prepping
- Few customers
- Specific regulars
- Small interactions

SPRING (25-50 min):
- Activity picks up
- New customers
- Owner's young assistant arrives
- A specific regular reveals (through observation) they're going
through divorce

SUMMER (50-75 min):
- Busy hours
- Tourists mixed with regulars
- Wedding party uses the shop
- The divorcing customer doesn't return

FALL (75-90 min):
- Routine resumes
- Owner reflects (visible through behavior)
- A new regular: she resembles the one who left
- Last shot: they begin to make eye contact at the same hour daily

NO INTERVIEWS. The story emerges through patient observation.
```

## Key principles

### Patient filmmaking
- Long shoots (months to years)
- Many hours captured
- Wait for moments
- Edit ruthlessly

### Trust with subjects
- Build over time
- Subjects forget camera
- Real behavior captured
- Ethics paramount

### Show, don't tell
- Visual storytelling
- No narrator explaining
- Audience interprets

### Find the narrative
- Story emerges in editing
- Patterns become visible
- Themes unfold

### Invisible presence
- Camera unobtrusive
- Filmmaker doesn't intervene
- Subjects' lives primary

## Sub-types

### Pure observational
- Strict no-intervention
- Subjects unaware

### Subject-aware
- Subjects know but filmmaker minimal
- Subject occasionally addresses

### Long-term
- Years of footage
- Generational scope

### Single event
- Specific moment / week
- Concentrated observation

## When to use

- Story requires intimate access
- Subjects compelling to observe
- Long-term commitment possible
- Patient audience (festival)
- Subject can't articulate self (children, animals, traditions)

## Common mistakes

- Forcing dramatic moments
- Interviewing (defeats verité)
- Manipulating subjects
- Not enough footage (need MORE than you think)
- Sensationalism
- Too short shoot

## Production realities

- Long shoots (months to years)
- Significant footage (100s-1000s of hours)
- Heavy editing
- Trust-building with subjects
- Permissions / releases
- Privacy protection

## Distribution

- Festival circuit (Sundance, Cannes Doc, IDFA)
- Streaming (Netflix, HBO doc)
- Theatrical (rare)
- Awards aspiration (Oscars Documentary)
