Documentary screenplays operate under fundamentally different rules than fiction. Narration
must be factual. Interview subjects must be real and properly identified. Visual direction
must guide an editor working with real footage, not a cinematographer staging fiction. This
skill audits documentary scripts against these requirements.

## Key Points

- Statistics without sourcing: "Over 40% of Americans..." — source?
- Historical claims without attribution: "In 1847, the city was destroyed..." — per whom?
- Characterizations presented as fact: "She was the most talented surgeon of her era"
- Cause-and-effect claims without evidence: "This decision led directly to the crisis"
- Observable facts: "The sun rises over the valley" (visual description)
- Statements introduced with attribution: "According to Dr. Smith..."
- Clearly labeled opinion: "Critics argued that..."
- Fabricated quotes attributed to real living or historical people
- Reenactments not clearly labeled as reenactments
- Composite characters presented as real individuals
- Narration that presents speculation as established fact
- Interview questions designed to entrap or mislead subjects

Documentary Script Checker

Documentary screenplays operate under fundamentally different rules than fiction. Narration must be factual. Interview subjects must be real and properly identified. Visual direction must guide an editor working with real footage, not a cinematographer staging fiction. This skill audits documentary scripts against these requirements.

When to Use

Use when the user submits a documentary screenplay or asks to "check my documentary script", "review my doc", "audit my documentary", or when the declared format is DOC. Also use for hybrid formats (docudrama, mockumentary) with adjusted rules.

Documentary Sub-Formats

Six sub-formats exist: Expository (narrator-driven argument; Planet Earth, 13th), Observational (no narration, camera follows subjects; Hoop Dreams), Participatory (filmmaker present; Super Size Me), Poetic (mood/imagery over argument; Koyaanisqatsi), Performative (personal essay; Sans Soleil), Reflexive (about filmmaking itself). Identify the sub-format before auditing — rules differ significantly.

Check 1: Narration Quality

Factual Attribution

Every factual claim in narration must be attributable to a source. Documentary narration is not fiction — it makes claims about the real world.

Flag:

• Statistics without sourcing: "Over 40% of Americans..." — source?
• Historical claims without attribution: "In 1847, the city was destroyed..." — per whom?
• Characterizations presented as fact: "She was the most talented surgeon of her era"
• Cause-and-effect claims without evidence: "This decision led directly to the crisis"

Do not flag:

• Observable facts: "The sun rises over the valley" (visual description)
• Statements introduced with attribution: "According to Dr. Smith..."
• Clearly labeled opinion: "Critics argued that..."

No Editorializing

Flag narration that tells the audience what to think: "Tragically...", "The shocking truth...", "Anyone could see..." — these are editorial. Narration should present facts and let the audience draw conclusions. Exception: participatory and poetic sub-formats allow the filmmaker's perspective.

No Fabricated Quotes

Never put words in a real person's mouth. Flag fabricated inner monologue ("Lincoln thought to himself..."), speculative dialogue ("She probably said..."), and paraphrased quotes presented as direct quotes. All quotes must be sourced.

Check 2: Interview Setups

Every interview segment must include proper setup information for the editor and audience.

Required Elements

Each interview must include: subject's full name, title/credential/relationship to the story, location, and basic visual setup direction. Flag responses that sound scripted rather than conversational, leading questions (unless deliberately confrontational), and interview segments with no visual cutaway direction between quotes.

Check 3: B-Roll Directions

B-roll is the visual footage that plays over narration and between interviews. Flag: narration running 3+ lines with no visual direction, interview responses with no cutaway direction, and transitions with no visual bridge.

Flag vague B-roll: "B-ROLL: The city" (which city? what aspect?). B-roll must be specific enough for a camera crew or stock footage researcher to execute without guessing.

Use correct labels by type: B-ROLL: (original footage), ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE: (historical), STILL: / PHOTO: (photographs), GRAPHIC: (animations/maps), SCREEN: (screen recordings), REENACTMENT: (staged recreations).

Check 4: Archival Footage Cues

Archival footage must be precisely identified so the production team can source and license it.

Each archival cue must include: description, source/rights holder, approximate date, and any licensing notes. Flag: footage without source identification, footage that may not exist or be licensable, reenactments presented as archival (ethical violation), and unlabeled archival mixed with original footage.

Check 5: Structural Conventions

Expository: Opening/hook/thesis (5-10%), Evidence/exploration (60-70%), Complication that adds nuance (10-15%), Resolution/synthesis (10-15%).

Observational: Establishment through observed behavior (15-20%), Rising action through events (50-60%), Crisis/turning point (15%), Resolution or open ending (10-15%).

Participatory: Filmmaker's entry (10-15%), Investigation/interaction (60-70%), Revelation/confrontation (15%), Reflection/conclusion (10%).

Flag: Observational doc with heavy narration, expository doc with no thesis, participatory doc where the filmmaker is absent, any doc with a manufactured climax.

Check 6: Ethical Red Flags

Documentary scripts must not cross ethical lines. Flag:

• Fabricated quotes attributed to real living or historical people
• Reenactments not clearly labeled as reenactments
• Composite characters presented as real individuals
• Narration that presents speculation as established fact
• Interview questions designed to entrap or mislead subjects
• Footage used out of context to misrepresent events

Output Format

Present findings in tables per check category (Narration, Interview Setups, B-Roll, Archival Footage, Structure, Ethics) with columns appropriate to each: Page, Issue, Severity, Fix. End with a summary count of issues per category.

Anti-Patterns

• Applying fiction rules to documentary. Documentary narration is not "on-the-nose dialogue." It is informational by design. Do not penalize clear, factual narration.
• Demanding narration in observational docs. Observational documentaries work through footage selection and editing, not narration. No narration is correct for this format.
• Ignoring the ethical dimension. Documentary is non-fiction. Errors of fact or attribution are not style issues — they are ethical issues. Treat them as critical.
• Over-scripting. Documentary scripts are often working documents that evolve during production. They are less polished than fiction scripts by design. Flag structural and factual issues, not prose style.