Documentary film can encompass anything from Robert Flaherty's pioneering ethnography Nanook of the North to Michael Moore's anti-Iraq War polemic... Fahrenheit 9/11, from Dziga Vertov's artful Soviet propaganda piece Man with a Movie Camera to Luc Jacquet's heart-tugging wildlife epic March of the Penguins. In this concise, crisply written guide, Patricia Aufderheide takes readers along the diverse paths of documentary history and charts the lively, often fierce debates among filmmakers and scholars about the best ways to represent reality and to tell the truths worth telling.Beginning with an overview of the central issues of documentary filmmaking--its definitions and purposes, its forms and founders--Aufderheide focuses on several of its key subgenres, including public affairs films, government propaganda (particularly the works produced during World War II), historical documentaries, and nature films. Her thematic approach allows readers to enter the subject matter through the kinds of films that first attracted them to documentaries, and it permits her to make connections between eras, as well as revealing the ongoing nature of documentary's core controversies involving objectivity, advocacy, and bias. Interwoven throughout are discussions of the ethical and practical considerations that arise with every aspect of documentary production. A particularly useful feature of the book is an appended list of "100 great documentaries" that anyone with a serious interest in the genre should see.Drawing on the author's four decades of experience as a film scholar and critic, this book is the perfect introduction not just for teachers and students but also for all thoughtful filmgoers and for those who aspire to make documentaries themselves.About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam.

Documentary Film Classics offers close readings on a number of major films, such as Nanook of the North, Land Without Bread, Night and Fog, Chronicle of... a Summer and Don't Look Back. Spanning the history of the documentary film tradition, William Rothman analyzes the philosophical and historical issues and themes implicit in these works. Designed to guide film students through the "texts" of a wide range of documentaries, his readings also focus on the achievements of these works as films per se.

A complete guide to all phases of documentary production, this is an essential handbook for student filmmakers and professional documentarians alike.... Written in clear, concise language and geared for easy reference, the text provides a progression of real-world learning skills, including project organization and production design. Also itemized is the necessary production equipment, with technical information refined for universal comprehension of the equipment and its application. Featured are exclusive interviews with several award-winning film and television documentarians, who explain in detail how they have conceived, planned, produced and directed their documentaries. Among the interviewees are Deborah Oppenheimer (Into the Arms of Strangers), Arnold Shapiro (Scared Straight!), Connie Bottinelli (Forensic Files) and Paul Gallagher (Behind the Music). The filmography lists every documentary cited in the handbook, with relevant and related websites.

A filmmaker takes readers behind the lens in a series of candid interviews with creators of some of the most influential documentaries of our time.... Filmmakers, film students, documentary makers for film and television, and lovers of pop culture will hear, in the filmmakers’ own words, the challenges and triumphs faced in making documentaries. Firsthand knowledge is shared on such topics as how the documentary process differs from making fictional films, storytelling technique, ethical boundaries, funding, film festivals, and much more. Industry leaders and award-winning filmmakers interviewed include: Ross McElwee, Albert Maysles, Susan Froemke, Bruce Sinofsky, Liz Garbus, DA Pennebaker, Chris Hedegus, Allie Light and Nick Broomfield. This reference provides insight into some of the most potent and best-known documentary work done in recent years.

Documentary Filmmaking: A Contemporary Field Guide is a skills-oriented, step-by-step portable guide to creating documentary films, from the initial... idea phase to postproduction processes and distribution. An indispensable resource on site or in the studio, this compact handbook offers something for all types of students: documentary recommendations (for the film buff); illustrations and examples from working documentary makers, producers, editors, and distributors (for the more grounded, visual learner); the latest trends in Internet video and other forms of new media (for the more "techie" documentarian); and even practical financial tips, fundraising ideas, and legal considerations (for the more idealistic--and not always realistic--visionary).Organized by the chronological structure of documentary film creation, the book opens with ideas, motives, access, and preproduction questions. It then moves on to research, crew considerations, legal issues, production planning, film shoots, and interviewing issues, before wrapping up with postproduction organization, publicity, distribution, and festivals.Offering a strong focus on practical advice and ethics, Documentary Filmmaking is an ideal text for undergraduate- and graduate-level documentary film courses.FEATURES· Step-by-step information for producing documentaries, including many useful checklists· Detailed hands-on advice and class-tested instructional organization backed by the authors' combined forty years of teaching experience--and by their combined sixty years of independent documentary work· An up-to-date and careful look at the latest distribution market structure and innovative media for distribution· Brief structure and compact size that encourages portability· Unique chapters covering Internet video, the use of music, and publicity and distribution

If you want to learn from the leading lights of today's revolution in documentary filmmaking Maxine Baker has written the guide you need to own. You'll... discover the many different and innovative approaches to documentary form and style arising from the use of innovative new technology. A tribute to the mavericks of creativity, inside you will find interviews and advice from groundbreaking documentary makers from the UK, USA and Europe as well as extensive listings of useful worldwide contacts and organisations. Any and every fan of the documentary will experience anew the passion and wonder of the Factual Film.Published review:"This is a must-have insight into modern documentary; the principles that govern it and the conventions it often breaks. It deserves a place on the shelves of film commissioners, film students and documentary consumers as prominent as the place these documentary filmmakers have carved for themselves on our screens." - www.shootingpeople.org

Documentary Media: History, Theory, Practice facilitates the study of documentary media, its changing forms, and diverse social functions. Fox... provides balanced  and accessible coverage of the  historical, critical, and the practical aspects of documentary media without mandating specialized skills sets in students or access to costly technology.   For practitioners and students alike, Documentary Media lays out fundamental concepts and production processes needed to contribute to the contemporary production of non-fiction media in the digital age. Each chapter engages students by challenging traditional assumptions about documentary form and function, posing critical and creative questions, and offering historical and contemporary examples. Additionally, each chapter closes with an “Into Practice” section that assists readers in applying the chapter’s concepts. Fox aims to help the student establish a complete treatment, aesthetic plan, and pre-production strategy for their own documentary project.  

Dave Saunders’ spirited introduction to documentary covers its history, cultural context and development, and the approaches, controversies and... functions pertaining to non-fiction filmmaking. Saunders examines the many methods by which documentary conveys meaning, whilst exploring its differing societal purposes. After a historical consideration of international documentary production, the author examines the impact of recent technological developments on the production, distribution and viewing of non-fiction. In addition, he explores the increasingly hazy distinctions between factual and dramatic formats, discussing ‘reality television’, the ‘docu-drama’, and less orthodox approaches including animated and fantastical representations of reality. Documentary encompasses a broad range of academic discourse around non-fiction filmmaking, introducing readers to the key filmmakers, major scholars, central debates and critical ideas relating to the form. This wide-ranging guidebook features global releases from the 1920s through to 2009, and includes films such as: Nanook of the North (1922) The Man with the Movie Camera (1929) Night Mail (1936) Night and Fog (1955) Primary (1960) Roger and Me (1989) Tarnation (2003) My Winnipeg (2006) Sicko (2007) Waltz With Bashir (2008) Say My Name (2009) Anvil: The Story of Anvil (2009)

Documentary productions encompass remarkable representations of surprising realities. How do documentaries achieve their ends? What types of... documentaries are there? What factors are implicated in their production? Such questions animate this engaging study. Documentary Screens provides a comprehensive and critical introduction to the formal features and histories of central categories of documentary film and television. Among the categories examined are autobiographical, indigenous and ethnographic documentary, compilation films, direct cinema and cinema verite and television documentary journalism. The book also considers recent so-called popular factual entertainment and the future of documentary film, television and new media. This provocative and accessible analysis situates wide-ranging examples from each category within the larger material forces which impact on documentary form and content. The important connection between form, content, and context explored in the book constitutes a new and lively "documentary studies" approach to documentary representation.

As the market for documentaries expands, so does the challenge to create memorable, compelling films. Story and structure are the most important (and... least expensive) tools available. This guide shows how to make stronger, more compelling documentaries through improved storytelling techniques. It offers a writerly perspective to filmmakers at every stage of production, from concept and treatment to shooting and postproduction. It is intended for the novice as well as the experienced filmmaker and is applicable to a wide variety of documentary styles and forms.Documentary Storytelling fills a critical void on the bookshelf, offering an in-depth guide to story and structure as they apply not to Hollywood screenplays but to documentary films. Story is what turns a subject or an idea into a film; it's what keeps an audience watching a topic they might never have thought would interest them. Written for anyone working in documentary, this book offers practical advice for all stages of production. It's filled with real-world examples drawn from the author's own career and from the experiences of some of today's top documentarians. *Offers in-depth analysis and tools for applying concepts of story and structure to documentary material*Interviews with well-known filmmakers give unique perspectives on nonfiction filmmaking*Covers a wide range of documentary styles

Updated and improved, with new case studies and conversations with award-winning filmmakers including Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side), James Marsh... (Man on Wire), and Deborah Scranton (The War Tapes). Documentary Storytelling has reached filmmakers and filmgoers worldwide with its unique focus on the single most important aspect of documentary media-making: storytelling. Drawing on the narrative tools of the creative writer, the unique strengths of a visual and aural media, and the power of real-world content truthfully presented, Documentary Storytelling offers advice for producers, directors, editors, and cinematographers seeking to make ethical and effective nonfiction films, and for those who use these films to educate, inform, and inspire. Special interview chapters explore storytelling as practiced by renowned producers, directors, and editors. This third edition has been updated and expanded, with discussion of newer films including Waltz with Bashir and Why We Fight.

The first book to trace the rise of documentaries as mainstream entertainment * Newfound box-office clout makes documentaries big business * Interviews... with Michael Moore, Morgan Spurlock, Al Gore, Sacha Baron Cohen, more * Includes career advice for new documentary filmmakers When did documentaries get glamorous? Documentary Superstars looks at the history of documentaries and traces their transition from hands-off to in your face. Exclusive interviews with Michael Moore, Morgan Spurlock, Errol Morris, George Clooney, Sacha Baron Cohen, Morgan Freeman, Al Gore, and more of the biggest names in the field show the impact of the documentary style on mainstream movies and on our society. From cinema verite to the inserted narrator, from the "balanced" point of view to the charismatic commentator (a la Fahrenheit 9/11), to the documentarian starring in his own narrative (as in Supersize Me) to filmmakers’ innovative use of cameos, pseudocameos, and archival footage, and much more, Documentary Superstars examines the way in which this evolving art form has changed--and changed us.

This documentary supplement to International Labor Law contains excerpts of instruments dealing with international labor rights, including multilateral,... regional, and U.S. labor rights instruments, as well as corporate codes of conduct and private sector framework agreements. Comprehensive in scope, International Labor Law examines labor rights and labor standards in multilateral and regional institutions like the WTO, ILO, OECD, and European Union; regional and bilateral trade agreements like NAFTA and more recent bilateral agreements with developing countries; the new labor-trade "template" in U.S. trade policy; and private initiatives like anti-sweatshop campaigns and corporate codes of conduct.