Structural lessons from Downton abbey

I was reminded of the powerful effect of the form of the interlocking narrative while watching the final episode of Downton  Abbey  last night, which separated the household , sending the upstairs family on a holiday in Scotland  while leaving the downstairs staff to their own dramas back at Downton.



Another instructive note from the Downton episode, watch the way the scenes get shorter after the initial longer chapters as the drama unfolds.

Link to episode 7

It is a form that Fronline in its documentary work has a employed many times over the years, no where more effectively than in our series of Presidential candidate biographies ,  The Choice

This form for doing the biographies was invented by the first producer  of the Choice in a1988 , Sherry Jones, and it proved so effective , that we've stuck with the form ever since.

The great trick in implementing this form, assuming you have  two compelling narratives, is where you link the stories, and how you can structure each chapter in the film to conclude successfully AND provide a leaping off point for the second narrative .  Check out how producer/director Michael Kirk solved these problems in The  Choice  2012.

Link to The Choice 2012

Another classic doc  in this form is American Experience's Two Days in October based on the David Maraniss book, They Marched into Sunlight. 

Two Days in October website