Why I Love Working on Documentaries

One of my favorite types of projects to work on are documentaries. At this point, I’ve filmed quite a few, including docuseries for TV and streaming platforms as well as independent feature-length documentaries. These are some of the most interesting and exciting jobs I get to be a part of.

What I really enjoy about documentary work is the chance to help tell a story. There’s something special about working on content that is made to inform or entertain, not just promote a product. It feels meaningful, and I like being part of something that people are going to sit down and watch with genuine interest.

I also appreciate the extra creative freedom I get on documentary shoots. On the surface, documentaries can look similar to corporate work since both often involve interviews and B-roll. But there are key differences. One of the biggest is how I get to approach lighting. On a corporate shoot, the goal is usually clean, even lighting with minimal shadows. For a documentary, especially true crime projects, I am often asked to create a more dramatic look. I have done interviews where one side of the subject’s face is almost completely in shadow, and it helps set the tone in a powerful way.

I really enjoyed working on a documentary about imagination for a European documentary channel called Arte. The team encouraged me to get creative with the B-roll, so I brought along prisms and lens filters and shot through them. The footage came out looking surreal and dreamlike, which is not something I typically get to experiment with on commercial shoots. Another thing I love about working on documentaries is the people I get to meet and film, including some very well-known names. One of the biggest was an interview I shot with Tyler Perry for a true crime documentary series. We filmed inside his studio, and I brought along my motorized slider to get some smooth, moving shots during the interview. It was a great opportunity and one of the more memorable shoots I’ve been a part of.

After all these years, I have filmed probably thousands of interviews. At this point, it is second nature. And while the technical side of shooting interviews may be similar to corporate work, documentary interviews always feel more exciting to me. There is more energy, more curiosity, and more room to create something that feels real.

This is the first time I have put into words how much I love working on documentaries. Hopefully putting this out into the universe will lead to even more of these projects in the future.