The Role of a Story Backbone in Captivating Documentaries

The Last Repair Shop poster

Every documentary has a backbone, the key story element that provides structure to the rest of the film. A good film will then deepen that backbone by humanizing it with a personal story. Let’s see how The Last Repair Shop does these two things.

The Story Backbone

At first glance, a film about instruments and repair is very topical. Last Repair Shop organizes its story by instrument (first strings, then brass, and so on), and starts each section with the supervisor reading repair notes. He acts as the story guide who smoothly transitions from one instrument to the next.

The language of the film, how it will move through the story, is established when it gets to the second category, Brass. Setting this story language is helpful in keeping the audience engaged because now they know what to expect. If they have history with an instrument, they are now waiting for it to show up.

Humanizing the story

How do you personalize instruments? The Last Repair Shop starts with a child with her instrument. What does she feel about it? What does it mean for her to be able to play? Hearing these stories show the value and emotional weight of the instruments to a specific student, not just in the abstract.

The film then gets to the true heart of the story. Each section is a look into the history of the person doing the repairs. As Dana repairs stringed instruments, he shares his history of coming out in the 70s. Paty’s journey as a repairperson coincides with her immigration from Mexico and the struggle to reach the American dream.

In focusing on the stories of the people doing the repairs, The Last Repair Shop shows the power of documentaries: that every person has a story worth telling.

Tips for your films

1. No matter how topical your film is, look for the personal story.

While information about a topic can influence minds, personal stories change hearts. People care about people, so always look for an individual’s story to be an example of the film’s topic.

2. Find the person who can lead you through the story.

Often you’ll have an interview that is just stellar. They are great on camera, personal, and explain the topic in a clear and concise way. Can they be your documentary’s guide? What would it look like to structure your film around them?

Look for a clear story backbone and a personal story. It will make your documentary stronger and have more impact.