ENCOUNTERS PRODUCTION
“It feels like documentaries are at a creative stage where there’s enough money, without having too much input,” Cragg continues. “We’re given a lot of creative freedom and really it’s up to having a good story, which is tough. It’s up to our ability and imagination.” Encounters is now on Netflix REAL LIFE Each character in Encounters is a real person rather than an actor, with their performance completely organic, helping to maintain a naturalistic tone
More than that, though, cinematic documentaries like Encounters have a story and structure, much like a scripted film would. “Rather than just doing a sit-down interview, we’re breaking down a character and saying, ‘Where are the story beats of that character? How would we depict this, tonally, in a scripted film?’” describes Cragg. “I’m always looking for amazing stories.” Each ‘character’ is a real person – not an actor – but “we create a space,” explains Cragg. “The performance is
completely natural – that’s not being massaged too much – but what we’re doing around it is like what a fictional movie would do. Hopefully the viewer feels that it’s completely real, but it’s all created to get the right mood and tone.” Studios like Netflix and Amblin are showing an increased interest in cinematic documentaries due to their growing commercial success. “The documentaries are competing with the dramas in the numbers,” states Cragg. “Lots of people are picking up on this.
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