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Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide.

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Print Price: $114.99

Format:
Paperback
272 pp.
6.125" x 9.25"

ISBN-13:
9780199300860

Copyright Year:
2014

Imprint: OUP US


Documentary Filmmaking

A Contemporary Field Guide, Second Edition

John Hewitt and Gustavo Vazquez

Documentary Filmmaking: A Contemporary Field Guide, Second Edition, is a skills-oriented, step-by-step guide to creating documentary films, from the initial idea phase to distribution. Thoroughly updated to highlight the effects of technological advances and social media, this compact handbook offers something for all types of students: documentary recommendations (for the film buff); illustrations, examples, and commentary from working documentary makers, producers, editors, and distributors (for the more grounded, visual learner); the latest trends in Internet video (for the more "techie" documentarian); and practical financial tips, fundraising ideas, and legal considerations (for the more idealistic-and not always realistic-visionary).

PART ONE: GETTING STARTED
1. Develop Your Idea and Investigate Your Access
2. Building Characters and the Visual Story
3. Preparing for Collaboration
4. Paying For It: Fundraising
PART TWO: PREPRODUCTION
5. Preparation for the Long Haul
6. Planning for Effective Interviews
PART THREE: PRODUCTION
7. Sound Considerations
8. Natural or Portable Lighting
9. Production: Shooting the Documentary
10. Producing for Small Screens and Mobile Devices
PART FOUR: POSTPRODUCTION
11. Using Music in Your Documentary
12. Finding Structure for Short and Feature Docs
13. Editing the Documentarty
14. Starting the Buzz and Going to Festivals
15. Distribution
Appendix 1 Documentaries to See

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John Hewitt is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts at San Francisco State University. His 2012 documentary on photojournalists, Deadline Every Second, appeared on public broadcast systems in Australia, Europe, Asia, and the United States. Gustavo Vazquez is a Professor in the Department of Film and Digital Media at the University of California, Santa Cruz. His latest documentaries on popular culture, Que Viva la Lucha and Playing with Fire, have screened in film festivals in the United States and internationally.

Making Sense - Margot Northey and Joan McKibbin

Special 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.
  • 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.
New to this Edition
  • A look at innovative uses of Facebook, YouTube, and file sharing sites.
  • Coverage of groundbreaking new ways to fund projects, including the use of crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo.
  • Analysis of the prevailing effect of technical advances - DSLRs, LED light panels, smart phone video, Bluetooth microphones, and 3D - on production.
  • Discussion of the role of short-form documentaries in this new interactive and social-media-fueled culture.
  • Illuminating Interviews and commentary from producers and directors of recent works, including CJ Hunt, Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady, Barbara Grandvoinet, Ken Kobre, John Leaños, and Jennifer Maytorena Taylor.