ABSTRACT
Learn the creative and technical essentials of documentary filmmaking with Documentary Voice & Vision. This comprehensive work combines clear, up-to-date technical information, production techniques and gear descriptions with an understanding of how technical choices can create meaning and serve a director’s creative vision. Drawing on the authors’ years of experience as documentary filmmakers, and on interviews with a range of working professionals in the field, the book offers concrete and thoughtful guidance through all stages of production, from finding and researching ideas to production, editing and distribution. Documentary Voice & Vision will help students and aspiring filmmakers think though research and story structure, ethics, legal issues and aesthetics, as well as techniques from camera handling to lighting, sound recording and editing. The book explores a full range of production styles, from expository to impressionistic to observational, and provides an overview of contemporary distribution options.
Documentary Voice & Vision is a companion text to Mick Hurbis-Cherrier’s Voice & Vision: A Creative Approach to Narrative Film and DV Production, and employs a similar style and approach to that classic text. This text is written from the perspective of documentary filmmakers, and includes myriad examples from the world of non-fiction filmmaking. A robust companion website featuring additional resources and interactive figures accompanies the book.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part 1|60 pages
Developing Your Documentary
chapter Chapter 1|14 pages
Finding and Developing Ideas
chapter Chapter 2|12 pages
Documentary Styles
chapter Chapter 3|12 pages
Structuring the Documentary
chapter Chapter 4|10 pages
The Documentary Proposal
chapter Chapter 5|10 pages
Documentary Ethics and Legal Issues
part 2|206 pages
Production
chapter Chapter 6|20 pages
Planning the Shoot
chapter Chapter 7|24 pages
Organizing Cinematic Time and Space
chapter Chapter 8|30 pages
The Digital Video System
chapter Chapter 9|16 pages
The Lens
chapter Chapter 10|12 pages
Camera Support
chapter Chapter 11|20 pages
Basic Lighting for Documentary
chapter Chapter 12|20 pages
Lighting and Exposure—Beyond the Basics
chapter Chapter 13|22 pages
Sound Basics and Equipment
chapter Chapter 14|16 pages
Location Sound Techniques
chapter Chapter 15|12 pages
Interviewing and Working with Subjects
chapter Chapter 16|12 pages
Production Procedures, Etiquette, and Safety
part 3|122 pages
Postproduction