Documentary Notes From "Becoming Led Zeppelin"

April 4, 2025

This week I caught the documentary screening of Becoming Led Zeppelin (2025) at the wonderful Tryon Theater (Tryon, NC). The film follows the band’s members from their childhood in post-war England, into their teen years playing as session musicians, forming the band, and up to the release of their second album. It’s a good ride, and an inspiring story for any musician or artist.

What made this a special screening was the director talkback after the lights came up. Attendees asked a pretty standard array of questions, but director Bernard MacMahon and producer Allison McGourty provided thoughtful answers to each comment, and a wealth of insight into their process for documentary filmmaking.

For my own notes and perhaps the interest of other documentary filmmakers, here are a few highlights from the discussion:

The film is built on the team’s one-on-one interviews with band members Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones, and a sourced audio recording of the late John Bonham. The interviews are intimate, very personable, and relaxed. The filmmakers remarked that they only visit once for an interview, and they typically bring artifacts, photos, and footage to show their subject during the conversation. The result is a very lucid and “present” storytelling from each band member. In fact, there are moments in the film where we see a band member watching footage we’ve both just seen for the first time. We also see band members listening, with us, to the Bonham audio recordings. The team uses this technique to great effect.
Although the three musicians are the only interviews on camera, the filmmakers conducted approximately 175 “background interviews” while producing the film. Many of those conversations took place before even approaching the band, as the filmmakers believe in doing a great deal of research and scripting before contacting their subject. This included tracking down friends from the school yard, session musicians, and a 92-year-old priest. MacMahon says this is critical not just to verify your subject’s claims, but also to determine where a seemingly small casual remark may actually be of great importance.
Ending the story at the 1969 release of Led Zeppelin II was a deliberate choice. MacMahon says origin stories, childhoods, and influences are unique and diverse, but the post-fame stories from any career often begin to sound similar to everyone else’s. The filmmakers feel the origin stories are more interesting, more useful, and more likely to provide inspiration to young people.
Naturally, the film utilizes heaps of archival material including documents, footage, and of course, audio. McGourty’s passion for audio fidelity and both filmmakers’ standards for high-quality visuals meant that the typical digital file provided from an archivist would not work for the film. Instead of relying on existing digitized archives, which might be 15 years old, the team obtained uncut film reels of concert performances, original studio tapes, and more. The filmmakers then transferred materials according to their own very high standards. One obvious benefit is an incredible sound mix, another is the ability to assemble high-quality concert footage from many new angles.
Regarding their choice to play entire music numbers, the filmmakers likened the structure to a musical. Thanks to having obtained original footage from multiple camera angles, they were able to seamlessly integrate the band’s performances into freshly-edited sequences that match the pace and tone of the overall film and meet the audience’s expectations for a contemporary performance film. Evidently, much of that footage has never been distributed before, which is a great asset to the film as well.
Perhaps my favorite anecdote: when the team reached out to Jimmy Page, he reportedly saw their film American Epic (2017), enjoyed it, and owns a personal copy. This established the team’s credibility and trust, and undoubtedly opened the door to ‘yes’.

One final word of inspiration:

There is a story early in the film, where the band explains the benefits of having produced Led Zeppelin I on their own. With the help of their manager keeping the studio at bay, the band retained the creative control necessary to experiment and create their groundbreaking sound. Amazingly, the musicians gave similar space to the documentary filmmakers: according to MacMahon, the band “didn’t touch a frame.”

Photo by Claus Grünstäudl on Unsplash

Documentary Notes From "Becoming Led Zeppelin"

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