The Documentary Filmmaking Master Class


Book Description

"A realist with a sense of humor, Chasse is both stringent and encouraging as she covers every aspect of creating a successful production." —Booklist starred review How to Make and Distribute a Documentary without Losing Your Mind or Going Broke Documentary filmmaking requires more than just a passion for the subject, whether it be one’s personal story or that of someone else, a historical event or a startling discovery, a political movement or a heinous crime. Making a documentary and getting it in front of an audience requires determination, careful planning, money, and a strong production team. With over thirty years of experience in filmmaking, author Betsy Chasse mentors readers every step of the way with a down-to-earth approach and invaluable advice. Chapters cover topics such as: Choosing a Subject Developing a Business Plan Securing Financial Backing Assembling a Production Team Nailing Interviews and Shooting B-Roll Getting through Post-Production Distributing and Marketing the Film Both novices and experienced filmmakers will benefit from this all-inclusive guide. With the right knowledge, persistence, and The Documentary Filmmaking Master Class in their camera bags, readers will not only turn their visions into reality, they’ll be able to share the results with others and navigate the process with confidence.




Making Documentary Films and Videos


Book Description

Outlines each step in creating documentaries, from conception to final film, and offers advice on capturing human behavior and recreating past events, with advice on how to get started in the field, a section on researching and developing a project, and current resources.




Get Close


Book Description

A refreshing new practical approach to documentary filmmaking, Get Close: Lean Team Documentary Filmmaking equips new and veteran filmmakers with the knowhow to make artistically rewarding documentaries for less money, less hassle, and less time. Author and veteran filmmaker Rustin Thompson shows that by stripping away, sidestepping, or reassessing the entrenched industry hurdles-long waits for funding, the unwieldy crews, the unnecessary gear, the gauntlet of film festivals, pitch forums, and distribution networks-filmmakers can move quickly from idea to execution to finished film. Throughout the book, Thompson demystifies and de-clutters the way docs are produced today, illustrating the use of a few simple and accessible tools and techniques while still engaging with the aesthetic possibilities of the medium, its creative opportunities and its satisfying rewards of giving back to the world. Using the essential lessons in Get Close, filmmakers will learn to eliminate physical and financial barriers between themselves and their subject matter, ultimately leading them to tell more artful, illuminating stories and find the joy in documentary filmmaking.




The Documentary Moviemaking Course


Book Description

A practical step-by-step course showing how you can begin making your first documentary movies, from researching and defining your theme, style, and the treatment that will drive your film, to organizing the production and, ultimately, getting it seen by a wider audience.




Documentary Filmmaking


Book Description

Documentary Filmmaking: A Contemporary Field Guide, Second Edition, is a skills-oriented, step-by-step guide to creating documentary films, from the initial idea phase to distribution. Thoroughly updated to highlight the effects of technological advances and social media, this compact handbook offers something for all types of students: documentary recommendations (for the film buff); illustrations, examples, and commentary from working documentary makers, producers, editors, and distributors (for the more grounded, visual learner); the latest trends in Internet video (for the more "techie" documentarian); and practical financial tips, fundraising ideas, and legal considerations (for the more idealistic-and not always realistic-visionary).




Docufictions


Book Description

Through most of the 20th century, the distinction between the fictional narrative film and the documentary was vigorously maintained. The documentary tradition developed side by side with, but in the shadow of, the more commercially successful feature film. In the latter part of the century, however, the two forms merged on occasion, and mockumentaries (fictional works in a documentary format) and docudramas (reality-based works in a fictional format) became part of the film and television landscape. The 18 essays here examine the relationships between narrative fiction films and documentary filmmaking, focusing on how each influenced the other and how the two were merged in such diverse films and shows as Citizen Kane, M*A*S*H, This Is Spinal Tap, and Destination Moon. Topics include the docudrama in early cinema, the industrial film as faux documentary, the fear evoked in 1950s science fiction films, the selling of "reality" in mockumentaries, and reality television and documentary forms. The essays provide a foundation for significant rethinking of film history and criticism, offering the first significant discussion of two emerging and increasingly important genres. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.




The Documentary Filmmaker's Roadmap


Book Description

The Documentary Filmmaker’s Roadmap is a concise and practical guide to making a feature-length documentary film—from funding to production to distribution, exhibition and marketing. Using her award-winning film Musicwood—a New York Times Critics’ Pick—as a case study, director Maxine Trump guides the reader through the complex lifecycle of the documentary Film. Her interviews with lawyers, funders, distributors, TV executives and festival programmers provide a behind-the-scenes look that will assist readers on their own filmmaking journey. Written from the perspective of a successful documentary filmmaker, the book covers mistakes made and lessons learned, a discussion on the documentary genre, crowdfunding, pre-production through post, test screenings, the festival circuit distribution, legal pitfalls, fair use and more. Perfect for documentary filmmaking students and aspiring filmmakers alike, this book emphasizes the skills needed to succeed in a competitive production market. An appendix includes useful web links for further study, a list of films for recommended viewing and sample release forms. This concise guide is ideal for the classroom or as a quick reference out in the field, at a budget meeting or in the editing room.




Documentary Filmmaking for Archaeologists


Book Description

Documentary filmmaker Peter Pepe and historical archaeologist Joseph W. Zarzynski provide a concise guide to filmmaking designed to help archaeologists navigate the unfamiliar world of documentary film. They offer a step-by-step description of the process of making a documentary, everything from initial pitches to production companies to final cuts in the editing. Using examples from their own award-winning documentaries, they focus on the needs of the archaeologist: Where do you fit in the project? What is expected of you? How can you help your documentarian partner? The authors provide guidance on finding funding, establishing budgets, writing scripts, interviewing, and numerous other tasks required to produce and distribute a film. Whether you intend to sell a special to National Geographic or churn out a brief clip to run at the local museum, read this book before you start.







Memory, Place and Autobiography


Book Description

There has been a significant growth in autobiographical documentary films in recent years. This innovative book proposes that the filmmaker in her dual role as maker and subject may act as a cultural guide in an exploration of the social world. It argues that, in the cinematic mediation of memory, the mimetic approach in the construction of documentary films may not be feasible, and memory may instead be evoked elliptically through hybrid strategies such as critical realism and fictional enactment. Recognizing that identity is formed by history and what ‘goes on’ in the world, the book charts the historical trajectory of the British independent filmmaking movement from the mid-1970s to the present growth of new online distribution outlets and new media through digital technologies and social media.