Documentary Film: Self-Shooting and Editing Tapeless

Self-shooting is now common practice on many broadcast documentaries and short films. This 3-day course will cover most aspects of self-shooting and editing documentary for anyone who already has some basic video production knowledge.

Many directors are asked to put a rough-cut together and therefore require the shooting and editing skills to enable them to do this. On smaller-scale productions, self-shooting and editing can be cost effective and offer a level flexibility larger crews do not have. Additionally, some news and documentary subjects require intimacy or access that larger crews cannot achieve.

At the end of this course you will walk away with a 2-minute film that you can add to your portfolio.

Topics Covered

• What makes a good short documentary
• Planning for a shoot
• HD Camera Operation
• Hand held shooting
• Planning sequences
• Visual Composition
• Interviewing
• Recording sound when working alone
• Editing
• Workflow
• File management
• How to keep objectivity in the edit
• Finalising the edit
• Exporting for various media and platforms
• Problem solving and troubleshooting

Course Outcomes

By the end of this course you should be able to:

• Understand the production process
• Confidently and competently shoot documentary footage
• Work around common problems in shooting and self-editing
• Create your own complete documentary film

Who Should Attend
Filmmakers and enthusiasts wishing to develop their practice.

Level
Intermediate: You must have experience of filmmaking and editing. You should come to the idea of a film you would like to make. If you do not have this experience you may find Mobile Filmmaking: An Introduction is more suited to you.

Follow Up Courses
After you have completed this course you may want to continue your digital education with Video Editing with Apple Final Cut Pro X or enhance your filmmaking skills with DSLR Filmmaking.