Discover what makes a feature documentary compelling.Explore the creative and narrative principles of the feature documentary and how it differs from the short and episodic forms. Consider how character, desire, conflict, relationships, themes and change can sustain a story over a longer duration.Examine how filmmakers create narrative momentum without knowing how real-life events will unfold. Explore the relationship between the filmmaker's intention and the discoveries that emerge through filming and editing.Consider how feature documentaries build emotional engagement, develop complex characters and connect individual experiences to wider human questions.We also explore how your film sits in an industry which has many opportunities of funding locally and world-wide. You will understand how the sessions in the course will help you access these opportunities in the right points throughout your films schedule.

Discover what your film is about and why you want to make it.Explore how an initial idea can develop into a compelling feature documentary premise. Begin with your curiosity, interests and questions, and investigate how these can connect with a character's life, experiences and circumstances.Explore what contributors you are looking for and what themes and worlds they could represent.Establish a directorial intention that communicates why the story matters, what you want to explore and how you want the audience to experience the film. Consider how this intention may develop when you find your contributors.

From premise to character: Developing a story that can sustain a feature-length documentary.Explore how to identify and work with potential contributors whose experiences, relationships and circumstances connect with the film's premise. Through research, observation and conversations, deepen your understanding of their world, what matters to them and the stories that may emerge from their experiences.Consider how to build a relationship with contributors based on listening, trust and ethical responsibility. Rather than forcing a character to fit a predetermined premise, remain open to how their perspective, choices and lived experiences might challenge your assumptions and reshape the direction of the film.Explore how a character's motivations, relationships, challenges and circumstances can generate story over time. Identify potential conflicts, turning points, decisions and events that could sustain a feature-length narrative, while recognising the uncertainty inherent in filming real life.Begin developing the story's central question, potential narrative arc and creative approach. Consider how the character's world, the film's themes and the director's perspective can inform its visual and sound language, alongside practical considerations such as access, filming opportunities and the realities of following a story over time.

Explore your character on camera and bring your prepared visual language into practice.Move from developing the documentary treatment to exploring the character and their world through filming. Consider how to build trust and create the conditions for meaningful moments to emerge on camera, while remaining attentive to the contributor's perspective, behaviour, relationships and environment.Put your prepared visual and sound approach into practice. Explore how framing, camera movement, distance, duration, composition and sound can communicate character, atmosphere and theme. Consider how your directorial choices influence the audience's experience of the person on screen, and how to remain open to what you discover rather than trying to make the contributor fit your original premise.Begin filming exploratory scenes that allow you to observe the character in their world. Reflect on what you are learning about the person, their circumstances and the potential story. Consider which situations, relationships and activities might offer opportunities for further filming, and how your understanding of the character may challenge or develop your initial ideas.

Film, review, reflect and refine: Discover the story in your material.Explore how to film scenes with a clear intention while remaining responsive to the unpredictability of real life. Identify what you want to explore through each scene, what you hope to learn about the character and what the audience might discover. Consider how actions, behaviour, relationships, decisions and moments of change can reveal character and generate story without forcing events or outcomes.Learn to use editing software as a tool for reflection and discovery throughout production. Review and organise your footage to identify meaningful moments, emerging themes, unexpected developments and potential narrative threads. Ask what the material reveals about the character, what remains unclear and which assumptions in your original premise may need to be reconsidered.Use these discoveries to inform your next filming decisions. Identify gaps in the material, potential scenes to pursue and new questions to explore. Return to filming with a clearer intention, adapting your approach in response to what you have learned. Consider how the footage might begin to communicate the film's premise, character and visual identity to an audience.Bring these explorations together by developing and producing a short teaser for your feature documentary. Use the teaser-making process to explore how image, sound, character and narrative can communicate the film's central idea and creative potential. Reflect on what the teaser reveals about the project, then revise your treatment to incorporate your discoveries and clarify the direction of the film.

From discovery to decision: Identify what the film still needs.Building on the discoveries made through filming, editing and producing the teaser, evaluate the material you have and assess what is still needed to complete the film. Consider your revised treatment and emerging character story to identify what is working, what remains unresolved and which aspects of the story need further exploration.Consider what you still need to understand about your character, their relationships and circumstances. Identify the key scenes, events, decisions and changes that need to be captured to develop the character's journey and bring the film's themes and central questions to a satisfying conclusion. Distinguish between scenes that are essential to the story, opportunities that could deepen it and material that may no longer be necessary.Develop a clear strategy for the remaining filming. Consider which situations and relationships to follow, which questions to explore and what opportunities you need to pursue. Assess practical constraints, access, anticipated events and the unpredictability of real life. Recognise that the story may continue to evolve, and that the purpose of a filming plan is to guide decisions rather than prescribe outcomes.Use writing, logging and a step outline to map the material you have, identify gaps in the emerging narrative and prioritise the scenes and events you need to pursue next. Establish a focused and realistic plan for completing production, while remaining open to new discoveries that may change the direction of the film.

Making sense of it all and tell the story inside your material.Explore how the editing process can reveal a story that may not have been fully apparent during filming. Learn how to review and select material, identify significant scenes and character developments, and explore the emotional and narrative connections between events.Consider how an assembly and an editing script can help you understand the material and identify potential structures. Explore how the film may change as you discover new meanings, relationships and patterns through editing.Learn to work with an editor, communicate your directorial intentions and remain open to new perspectives on the story.

Shape how the audience experiences and feels the story.Explore how dialogue, natural sound, atmosphere, silence and music can deepen character, create emotion and establish the world of the film. Consider how sound can reveal aspects of the story that images alone cannot communicate.Investigate how music can support or complicate the audience's relationship with a character without simply telling them what to feel. Explore working with composers, sound designers and sound mixers, and consider how sound design, mixing and visual refinement contribute to the film's identity.Learn how to prepare and evaluate a rough-cut screening, gathering feedback that helps identify strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for refinement.

Turn the rough cut into a coherent and compelling documentary.Bring together the creative, narrative and practical learning from the course to refine the film towards its final form. Evaluate the documentary as a whole, considering character, story, structure, pacing, themes, image, sound and music.Explore how to respond to feedback, distinguish between useful criticism and changes that may undermine the film's intention, and make informed decisions about the final edit.Consider the finishing process, including picture and sound refinement, accessibility and preparing the film to be experienced by an audience.