source material

American  

noun

1. original, authoritative, or basic materials utilized in research, as diaries or manuscripts.

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Example Sentences

Fans of the source material can’t be shocked: Act 2 of the musical is notoriously messy, burdened by the necessary “Wizard of Oz” tie-ins and songs that never soar as high as the stirring knockouts in Act 1.

From Salon

While I chose to revisit “The Matrix” before taking that film in at Cosm, I opted for a different approach with “Wonka,” and I believe one’s likelihood to embrace what Cosm is attempting will increase exponentially by one’s attachment to the source material.

From Los Angeles Times

And Fuller’s hunch proved correct — at least in the eyes of Mandy Matney, the journalist whose podcast provided source material for the series and who was an executive producer on it.

From Los Angeles Times

Total Film's Molly Edwards praised the film as an "absolute triumph", but added it "suffers slightly from thinner source material and weak new songs".

From BBC

His work argues that beauty can be found in the most mundane source material, if you pay close attention.

From The Wall Street Journal