TECHNIQUE DOCUMENTARIES
D ocumentary filmmaking isn’t news reporting, and it isn’t reality TV. This film genre is as much about visual storytelling as any narrative project might be, its truth ultimately told through the eyes of the director and DOP – and the kit they choose. Some filmmakers, like Ellena Wood ( The Ripper , Louis Theroux: Talking to Anorexia ), gravitate towards documentaries, while others stumble upon them unintentionally. It’s ‘a strong instinct that people have it wrong’ that Wood says draws her in. “I feel there are things I can show people about something they think they know. My job is to figure out what the story could actually be – and what the film could look like.” EXPLORING CULT PSYCHOLOGY Wood’s latest documentary project, Inside the Cult of the Jesus Army , details the rise and fall of Northamptonshire’s religious cult dubbed the Jesus Army, and follows former members as they navigate life after leaving. Directing the two-part series, Wood called on former collaborator Matthias Pilz to handle the doc’s cinematography. “It helps when you’re shooting to know how the other thinks and have trust when things get tricky,” she describes. Together, Wood and Pilz developed a visual sensibility that blends English countryside idyll with eerie natural imagery. Using an ARRI camera with vintage Canon K35 zoom lenses, Pilz honoured the series’ historical context while employing visual tricks, like slow zooms, for a hypnotic effect. “You’re being pulled into the spell of this place; it’s luring you in,” says Wood. “It adds tension and a kind of beauty as well. We were particular about the lenses, look and atmosphere that we wanted to create.” Many of Jesus Army ’s main events took place in the seventies and eighties, forcing Wood to scour archival material for clues as to what happened and why. “We discovered more as we went along,” she recalls. “I had to find a visual palette that gave the same vibe. I wanted people to feel like they’re in that world.” The series then combines this retrospection with an observational and present-tense approach. “When it comes to retrospective filmmaking, you get to stand back and think about how you
We speak to three documentary filmmakers about storytelling, exposing the ‘truth’ and choosing the right kit for the job
WORDS KATIE KASPERSON
catalyst for people finally being ready to start talking,” she explains, and her aim was to invite as many perspectives as possible. “You’re being careful to factually document what happened, but then you’re allowing people to tell their own truth.” By maintaining the essence of those conversations in the edit, “I don’t have any control over the conclusion audiences come to,” Wood claims, “and I think that’s how it should be. Nowadays, everything is so black and white. The truth is often in the middle.”
want to tell the story, and it’s much more crafted,” Wood reveals. Jesus Army begins with the backstory, but much of it unfolds in real time, adding a sense of urgency and authenticity. “There’s processing going on; it’s not just someone telling me something that happened ages ago. They are coming to some quite big realisations in the moment.” The Jesus Army officially ended in 2019, around the time Wood began eyeing the project. “That was a huge
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