London, 2024-03-29

Advanced Training Program in Documentary Filmmaking

Summary

Documentary Filmmaking is an intensive 5-days program in the skills needed to become a confident self-shooter and self-editor. Taught by an industry-professional experienced documentary filmmaker, the program provides essential training in the use of professional cameras and industry-standard editing software.

Objectives and target group

Who should attend?

  • Trained photographers, who have the ambition to expand their skill set from producing still images to producing short documentary films
  • Journalist and other communication professionals working in the media, organizations or NGOs who wants to communicate effectively to their audience with the use of visual stories.

How attendees will benefit?

After attending this proragmme, participants should have:

  • Understand the current context of documentary filmmaking by examining the history of the documentary genre, its different forms and the current market.
  • Be able to proficiently operate a digital camera, record sound, light a scene and edit.
  • Know how to research a subject, write a proposal and create a treatment.
  • Be able to consider production issues such as scheduling, location management and legal requirements.
Course Content
  • Introduction to Documentary Filmmaking
  • Writing proposals
  • Documentary development involving: researching “the story”, producing and conceptualising, scriptwriting, defining your audience and finding your key team
  • Pitching
  • Budgeting: considering crew size, camera format, sound set-up, length of shoot and postproduction
  • Production: from viewing and logging footage to producing a finished film ready for distribution
  • Key paperwork and example documents including: treatments, release forms, schedules and permissions
  • Directing
  • Post-production: case studies are used to explain different production strategies
  • Exhibition, distribution and broadcast strategies
  • Researching
  • Camera and lighting
  • Location sound
  • Directing documentary
  • Scriptwriting for documentary