Documentary & Unscripted Pitch Essentials

A nonfiction film or series that uses real people, events, evidence or observation to make an authored account.

A broad television category covering nonfiction programming, including documentary, specialist factual and factual entertainment.

An industry umbrella for television not primarily produced from a fully scripted dramatic screenplay.

A nonfiction project document explaining the subject, story path, access, approach, evidence, ethics, team and status.

A nonfiction or factual document explaining story construction, access, point of view, form and anticipated story movement.

A short audiovisual pitch piece designed to make a project, person, world or format feel immediate and compelling.

Evidence showing that promised access is real, current and sufficiently specific.

A sample created to prove a specific uncertain part of a proposed larger project can work.

Real events or behaviour filmed as they happen rather than staged as scripted scenes.

A documentary approach that follows people and events as they unfold, relying heavily on sustained access and filmed behaviour.

A documentary mode in which the filmmaker or presenter visibly interacts with subjects and events.

A documentary mode that explains or argues through narration, evidence and organised information.

A documentary whose maker or presenter has an overt, organising point of view or method.

A documentary whose momentum comes primarily from the choices, relationships and changing circumstances of real participants.

Existing photographs, recordings, documents or footage used as source material.

The main causal line that holds the story together from setup through resolution.

Someone who participates in a factual show by appearing, speaking, providing material or granting access.

A real person whose involvement and experience form part of a nonfiction or unscripted production.

A real person, group, place or institution mainly observed or explored by a nonfiction work.

Agreement given after someone understands what participation may involve and how material may be used.

Consent checked again as circumstances, understanding or the project change.

A document granting particular permissions concerning a person's recorded contribution and its use.

A responsibility to take reasonable steps to protect participants and workers from foreseeable harm.

Policies and actions meant to protect children and adults at risk from abuse, exploitation or avoidable harm.

Real permission and practical ability to film the people, places or material the project needs.

Access granted on terms that restrict equivalent access for competing productions.

The filmmakers are allowed to stay close to the people or place for a long time.

A local expert who helps the production work safely and properly in an unfamiliar place.

A team member who finds, verifies and organises information, contributors, archive and story material.

The process of verifying factual claims, names, dates, quotations, records and context.

Material supporting or challenging a factual claim.

A person, record or material that supplies information for reporting or research.

Checking that old material can legally be used and getting the right permission.

A tracker showing what archive you want, where it came from and whether it is cleared.

A transcript that tells you exactly where each line appears in the footage.

The paperwork showing who owns the rights and how they passed from one person or company to another.

A set of limited copyright exceptions in various legal regions for particular purposes and conditions.

A qualified legal person checks what could create rights or legal trouble.

Insurance covering certain legal risks such as defamation, privacy or copyright claims.

The producer's ability and responsibility to make editorial decisions without improper control by participants, funders or access providers.

A detailed manual meant to help another production reproduce a television format while preserving its core identity and rules.

A recognisable recurring element or rule that contributes to a show format's identity.

An unscripted format in which participants compete under stated rules for progression, status or a prize.

A competition format in which participants leave the show through recurring elimination decisions.

Unscripted television built around real participants whose behaviour is filmed within natural, facilitated or designed situations.

Unscripted programming that combines real-world material with an overt entertainment format or accessible popular treatment.

The capacity of a format's mechanics and casting logic to generate meaningfully varied episodes.

The recurring mechanism that reliably generates new episode stories.

A producer who researches, shapes and pitches new shows or formats before production.

A senior producer responsible for the editorial and practical delivery of an unscripted or factual series.

An unscripted producer who identifies and shapes story from participant behaviour, interviews and filmed material.

A producer who works in post to build story, structure and clarity from recorded material.

A producer working on location to manage story, interviews, access and practical editorial decisions.

A factual role combining producing and directing responsibilities.

A chosen quote or moment taken from footage where picture and sound are linked.

A text-based assembly of selected interview and actuality material before or alongside picture editing.