Documentary Foundation

This documentary filmmaking course will provide students with all the practical information they need to get their first documentary made. It will focus on the difficulties that first time documentary filmmakers are up against and provide strategies that will enable the first timer to get to the finish line. It will also offer strategies for thinking through a documentary film career, with an emphasis on a multidisciplinary approach and offer new strategies for making, presenting and distributing in new formats.
Participants should apply for the course with a project in-development, as the week will be used for one-to-one consultations and group work designed to move your project forward.

DAY ONE: OVERVIEW OF DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING AND DOCUMENTARY NEW MEDIA INITIATIVES IN EUROPE

Comprehensive overview of the documentary film industry

This lecture will highlight leading documentary film festivals, broadcasters, funding bodies, filmmaker's collectives, and a host of other indispensable resource reference points. It is designed to situate the filmmaker in a broader European context and leave new filmmakers with a documentary "family" that will support them years after this course has finished.

An overview of European New Media Initiatives

Here we offer a focus on new media projects that combine filmmaking and social action. Discussion will include the challenges involved in working with non-governmental organisations, non-political organisations and community initatives.

Screening: a selection of short hard-hitting advocacy films

DAY TWO: DEVELOPMENT - FROM IDEA TO REALITY

FROM IDEA TO REALITY

• Researching "the story"
• Producing and Conceptualising
• Script writing
• Defining your audience
• Finding your KEY team
• Strategising the lifeline of your project from development to post-production

• Group introduction of any projects in development

THE PAPERWORK

The Treatment and the Electronic Press Kit all form an indispensable part of the film's backbone. Practical exercises and sample treatments will be handed out. This workshop will carefully highlight connections between the paperwork and how to present and pitch the project for funding.

CONCEPTUALISING THE BUDGET

This workshop will focus on the thinking that goes into decisions about crew size, camera format, sound set up, length of shoot, post production, etc... The emphasis will be on offering guiding principles to ensure you still have enough money to edit and finish the film once you have shot it. The workshop will highlight the relationship between means and goals/ aesthetics and content.

DAY THREE: THE PRODUCTION

This workshop will highlight different aspects of managing any documentary production. It includes: advice about recces, how to find the best crew for your project, what to look for and how to interview, preparing location permits, release forms, insurance, copyright and fair use, etc...
It will also give practical information about pay structures and unions in the industry. Also included are tips to best manage the expectations of your team and keep the tension to a minimum. Secondly, tips on managing the schedule to make sure that you stay within your budget and on time. Case studies will be used to explain different production strategies. This workshop will highlight all the things NOT to do.
Individual project consultations with screenings of short documentaries in the afternoon.

DAY FOUR: DIRECTING

This workshop will offer an overview of the documentary filming and editing process. We will use footage from finished films as well as uncut material to offer students a better understanding of how a documentary is put together.

FILMING THE STORY

• Shot list or filming plan

• The audience

• Filming a sequence: the anatomy of how shots fit together

• Filming an interview

• Filming discreetly

• Filming ethically

• Filming safely

POST PRODUCTION

• Viewing, logging and transcribing footage

• Preparing a paper edit and script

• Producing an assembly cut of the video

• Creating a rough cut

• Feedback

• Creating a fine cut

• The On-line

• Mastering your film

DAY FIVE: PITCHING AND DISTRIBUTING YOUR PROJECT

The last day will focus on pitching projects: techniques for presenting and pitching in both informal and formal environments. Each student will be given the opportunity to pitch his or her project to the group and get feedback.
We will then focus on how to put your film into the world. Exhibition, distribution and broadcast strategies will be discussed with a range of case studies from traditional television documentaries, documentaries for theatrical
Finally, we will offer strategies for thinking through a documentary film career, with an emphasis on a multidisciplinary approach and offer new strategies for making, presenting and distributing in new formats.