A Working Hypothesis - How to decide on a Concept

As I have progressed with my research into Creating a documentary, the book Introduction to Documentary Production has referred me back to one of my original points of reference: Directing the Documentary by Michael Rabiger:

"What will the film be about and what do you want to say in it? What is your point of view? How do you want to represent your subject and what story do you want to tell? You must have what Michael Rabiger, in his definitive text Directing the Documentary, calls a 'working hypothesis'."

A working hypothesis builds towards uncovering the statement that the film will produce. This starts by the director understanding their own point of view, and how this will be shown within the film. The document also raises the question of how the audience is to feel, and how the style is to be defined by the subject and point of view.

According to Rabiger, the working hypothesis is one of the first documents to be completed in order to understand the film - it is a document that makes the creator assess every aspect of the film to make sure each aspect is controlled and aimed in a specific direction for a specific purpose. Once the director understands their motivation, and how this will be expressed in the film - these findings can be translated into a proposal document, which will also include a documentary style treatment.