If you’re pursuing filmmaking and you want to start shooting documentary-style films, this video will give you what you need to make sure you get cinematic shots and can tell a compelling story.

Mark Bone has produced some incredible documentaries. He had CNN as a client. He uses high-end professional gear to shoot, but if you’re just starting, most of the filters he mentions can be done with a smartphone if that’s what you’ve got. 

A haze (smoke/mist) machine can be quite a large tool to carry around, but it surely pays off if you look at the shots he gets while in the forest or when he’s interviewing the man in the motorcycle garage. The haze adds character and even mystery. I could even say it draws the viewer in more because it seems like we can feel the dust in the room. 

The filters he uses with his matte box are available for individual lens threads, and you can even get them for your phone too. If you want that anamorphic lens flares or if you want to soften the sharpness of digital video, you can do it with filters. 

He takes notes during the interview and writes down important parts of it that he can show visually. I don’t think you’ll be great at it the first time, but it will get better the more experience you have. Shoot your b-roll with purpose. Complement what’s said in the interview. 

I enjoy learning from successful filmmakers. Mark Bone is certainly one of them.