A Storyflow board for planning a documentary's research phase, where you collect subjects, interview leads, archival sources, facts, and story angles in one place on an infinite canvas.
About this template
The Documentary Research template gives your pre-production a single home. Instead of scattering links across browser tabs, notes across apps, and source PDFs across folders, you pull everything onto one canvas: the central subject or question, the people you want to interview, the events on your timeline, the archival photos and footage you find, and the recurring themes you start to notice. Seeing it all at once is how the story actually surfaces.
It is built for documentary directors, producers, researchers, and journalists working on factual films, whether you are scoping a feature or a short series. Solo filmmakers can use it to keep a long investigation organized over months, and teams can invite collaborators to drop in sources and leave notes as the research grows.
The board comes with sections for the core question, subject and character notes, an interview shortlist, a source log for links and citations, a rough timeline of events, and a themes area for the threads worth following. Storyflow's AI assistant can read the active board to help you spot gaps, draft interview questions from your notes, or summarize what you have gathered so far.
How to use the Documentary Research Template
- 1
Open the template and write your documentary's core question or subject in the center block.
- 2
List the people you want to interview and add a short note on the angle each one covers.
- 3
Drop in your sources as links, images, and notes, logging archival footage, articles, and photos as you find them.
- 4
Lay out key events on the timeline section to see how the story unfolds chronologically.
- 5
Group recurring ideas in the themes area to find the threads worth building the film around.
- 6
Ask the AI assistant to review the board for gaps or draft interview questions from your notes, then invite collaborators to keep adding research.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Documentary Research template?
It is a ready-made Storyflow board for the research phase of a documentary. It gives you labeled sections for your core question, subjects, interview leads, archival sources, a timeline, and themes, so all of your pre-production research lives on one canvas instead of across tabs, folders, and notes apps.
Who is this template for?
Documentary directors, producers, researchers, and journalists working on factual films. It works for a solo filmmaker tracking a long investigation and for teams who want to gather sources and notes together before production.
How does the AI assistant help with documentary research?
Storyflow's AI assistant reads your active board, so it can summarize the sources you have collected, point out gaps in your research, or draft interview questions based on the subject notes already on the canvas. It helps you think faster, and it does not replace your own reporting or fact-checking.
Can I add my own links, images, and footage references?
Yes. You can drop links, images, and notes anywhere on the canvas and rearrange every block. Use the source log to keep articles and citations together, and add reference images or stills next to the subjects they relate to.
Is the Documentary Research template free?
Yes, you can open and use this template for free. Storyflow runs in your browser and is free to start, so you can begin organizing your research right away and invite collaborators when you are ready.
