Science story telling in TV documentaries

Authors

  • David Dugan Co-founder, chief executive officer Windfall films

Keywords:

science, television, popularization, documentary films, story-telling strategies

Abstract

The three letters, DNA, have taken on a new meaning and significance over the past 60 years – not just in biology – but in everyday life. This paper analyzes a number of different approaches to unraveling stories about life sciences on television. Some are playful, some feature conflict, some pose riddles, some tackle big questions and some feature unusual timelines; but they all follow a strong narrative. Drawing on clips from films I have directed or produced that feature DNA as a theme, I will illustrate a variety of techniques (visual and structural) to television story telling. Finding the right narrative is critical to most documentaries, yet even more for films about science, because scientific topics can become dry and devoid of emotional engagement. There is no shortage of enthralling science stories to tell. The challenge is to find interesting ways to bringing them to life.

Keywords: science, television, popularization, documentary films, story-telling strategies

Downloads

Issue

Vol. 7 (2014)

Section

Dossier: Science on Television

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