Digital Documentary Storytelling: Development and Process

This yearlong course explores the art of documentary storytelling. Synthesizing theory and practice, the course introduces the palette of documentary production styles and approaches illustrated in the works of the Maysles brothers, Newsreel Collective, Barbara Kopple, Spike Lee, Sam Pollard, Errol Morris, Werner Herzog, and Jennifer Fox, as well as in big box-office documentaries by Michael Moore, Charles Ferguson (Inside Job), and Lauren Lazin (Tupac Resurrection). Students are encouraged to experience theory as a means of empowering their own production practices. The course is designed to work both as seminar and practicum. In weekly sessions, students consider ideological, ethical, and political implications of documentary production and examine the relationship between documentary films and social change. Over the full year, students will develop, research, write treatments for, pitch, produce, direct, and edit short 10-minute documentaries. Technical labs in shooting and editing are scheduled throughout both fall and spring terms to strengthen technical production and editing skills. Production and editing exercises, as well as conceptual writing assignments, will prepare students for the tasks of putting together treatments and pitching samples and trailers for their productions. Ultimately, students are encouraged to explore the aesthetics and practices of documentary filmmaking as an avenue of self-expression: They are given the opportunity to create the short documentary they’ve always imagined.