Episode 146 | Wearing Every Hat: Surviving as a One-Person Crew | With Dandan Liu

Episode Summary

What does it really take to make a documentary when you’re the entire crew?

Working as a one-person crew can offer documentary filmmakers an extraordinary kind of freedom. With less equipment and a smaller footprint, we can move quickly, respond to unexpected moments, and sometimes build a level of intimacy with our subjects that would be difficult with a larger production. But that freedom comes with responsibility: directing, shooting, recording sound, managing gear, following the story, and remaining present enough to notice what’s actually unfolding in front of us.

In this episode of The Documentary Life, Chris G. Parkhurst is joined by filmmaker and educator Dandan Liu for a thoughtful exploration of the realities of solo documentary filmmaking. Drawing from her own minimalist approach, Dandan discusses why she prefers working with a lighter footprint, how solo filmmaking can create greater intimacy with subjects, the pressure of carrying every production role yourself, what happens when creative independence becomes isolation, and why working alone doesn’t mean working without collaboration or outside perspective.

Ultimately, Dandan argues that minimalist filmmaking isn’t simply about carrying less gear or making production easier. It’s a philosophy built around story, relationships, presence, and trusting your own creative voice. A one-person crew won’t be right for every documentary, but when the story allows it, working smaller can sometimes help us get closer—to our subjects, to unexpected moments, and to the story that is actually trying to reveal itself.

In This Episode

• Why working as a one-person crew can create greater intimacy with documentary subjects
• The freedom—and responsibility—that comes with carrying every production role yourself
• How minimalist filmmaking allows filmmakers to respond quickly to unexpected moments
• Staying present while simultaneously directing, shooting, recording sound, and following the story
• What happens when the independence of working solo begins to feel like isolation
• Maintaining perspective, seeking feedback, and collaborating even when you make films alone
• Why story, relationships, and creative instinct matter more than the size of your crew or camera package
• How to know when a one-person crew is—or isn’t—the right approach for your documentary

Chapters

00:00 – Wearing every hat as a one-person documentary crew

00:49 – Nepal, impermanence, and learning to pay attention

08:27 – Why working smaller can bring us closer to the story

09:17 – Dandan Liu’s unlikely path from science to documentary filmmaking

17:43 – How Dandan became a solo documentary filmmaker

21:19 – Why a larger crew led her back to minimalist filmmaking

24:27 – The hidden pressure of being the only filmmaker in the room

28:12 – Staying open to the story when you’re working alone

30:09 – When creative independence becomes isolation

32:32 – Consent, responsibility, and collaborating with your subjects

34:16 – Why minimalist filmmaking is about more than carrying less gear

36:31 – Common misconceptions about one-person documentary crews

39:26 – Trusting your creative voice and embracing the unexpected

41:49 – Teaching a more minimalist, heart-driven approach to filmmaking

46:15 – Dandan’s documentary course and resources for filmmakers

Featured Guest

Dandan Liu is a documentary filmmaker, educator, and creative guide whose work is rooted in a minimalist, heart-driven approach to nonfiction storytelling. After beginning her career in science, Dandan stepped away from the laboratory and spent several years living in contemplative communities around the world, including a 14th-century Zen monastery in Japan. It was during this period of exploration that she picked up her first camera and began making documentaries, eventually discovering an approach built around small crews, simple equipment, intimacy with subjects, and the freedom to respond to stories as they unfold.

Today, Dandan teaches documentary filmmaking to students around the world, with courses covering the filmmaking process from pre-production through editing, color grading, and audio. At the heart of her teaching is the belief that compelling documentary filmmaking depends less on expensive equipment or large crews than on the filmmaker’s eye, relationships, creative voice, and ability to remain present with the story.

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Watch the full conversation here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFerzbwNOjU

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Quotes from the Episode

"Pay attention while you're there. Not simply because paying attention will make your documentary better, but because you don't know if you'll ever stand there again." — Chris G. Parkhurst

"The smaller the crew, the more responsibility we carry. But sometimes carrying less is what allows us to pay closer attention to what's right in front of us." — Chris G. Parkhurst

"You have less weight that you have to carry physically, but there's a lot more pressure for you to just be on it." — Dandan Liu

"I really believe that I'm actually not the creator, I'm the receiver of the story." — Dandan Liu

"It's not the equipment that matters, it's really the eye and the heart behind the story. It's your relationships, it's the authenticity that you bring in as a filmmaker." — Dandan Liu

"You don't want to limit yourself and the possibilities of your story by being too attached to your preconceived notions of how it was...