ABSTRACT
The notion of creating a visual design plan might seem antithetical to the documentary's aim of representing reality. The real world provides an infinite number of visual and auditory feeds at every moment, and unlike fictional media production, the documentary process rarely takes place on a sound stage with a script and the ability to record multiple takes. Video technologies are changing and developing at breakneck pace, with everything from cell phones to high-definition cameras offering multiple frame rates and image resolutions. In the 1992 documentary Visions of Light, the subject matter is Hollywood cinematography, with stories and interviews from some of the industry's most renowned cinematographers about the process of telling stories with light. The utility of sound design in making claims to "the real" is obvious for some documentaries, such as Buena Vista Social Club, where music and musicians are the subject.
