A documentary filmmaker shoots a street scene in Kampala, Uganda, where community members have gathered around a sculpture made from plastic waste

Documentary Craft

Your Presence Is Already Part of the Story

A film crew doesn’t just record a story. Sometimes it changes one. The ethics of documentary filmmaking include what your presence sets in motion before you ever press record.

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Documentary filmmakers in conversation during pre-production research

Documentary Craft

Your Documentary Doesn’t Start With a Problem. It Starts With a Solution.

Most documentary filmmakers start with what’s wrong with the world. That’s the wrong starting point. Here’s the distinction that changes everything about how you find a story.

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Filming at a weaving cooperative, Guatemala

Changemakers

Why We Focus On Changemakers

Every community has people doing the hard, necessary work that rarely gets documented. This is who we go looking for on every trip.

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Filming solar projects, Nepal

Responsible Travel

How We Travel

Most people want their travels to mean something. Tourism as usual rarely delivers that. At Actuality Abroad, we travel differently.

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Filming an interview, Costa Rica

Documentary Outreach

Collaboration in the Documentary Outreach

Filmmaking is always a team effort. On the Documentary Outreach, collaboration goes further than working with a crew.

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Filming at a local café, Guatemala

Documentary Outreach

The Documentary Outreach Production Schedule

Documentary filmmaking does not happen in a classroom. It happens in the field, in real time, with real people.

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Approaching the temple, Cambodia 2018

Documentary Outreach

The Most Valuable Lessons You Will Learn in Four Weeks

Making a documentary is not just about picking up a camera. It is about learning how to think, plan, and create like a documentary storyteller.

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