TV Documentary

Editing begins with organziation

2011-11-07T12:46:00.000-07:00

I'm currently working on a short piece that is mostly talking heads/interviews and I'm reminded of the importance of logging, transcribing and sub-clipping interview footage. Whether you shot the interviews--or conducted the interviews--or both, if you've got the task of editing the interviews you're going to need to become very familiar with what each person said as you start to weave together a narrative. Whether you've got two or twenty interviewees, knowing what they said, and where those sound bites live, is critical. And the only way to do that is with extensive organization. Editing is essentially organization of raw material into a new form...one that is much more efficient and effective at telling the story that needs to be told.
You start by watching the interviews, perhaps several times over. As you watch, you might begin to take notes...jotting down ideas that come to mind about how a particular bite might fit into the larger story. You might note good in and out points...places where the conversation feels like it starts and stops. You might note technical concerns, e.g. framing, exposure, audio hits, etc., that might prevent a particular bite from being used. You certainly want to note which themes are present in each interview. Will this particular sound bite work in the intro where you're trying to set the scene...or will it work as a counter-point to that other sound bite that you plan to use from another interviewee? These are the kinds of notes that you will turn to over and over again in the edit suite.
No one likes to transcribe interviews, which is why there are companies that you can pay to do the work for you. But if you're on a budget--and seriously, who isn't--you will likely do some transcribing yourself. Write down every work or at lease the gist of every phrase. The parts that you skip over will frequently be the very bites that you need tomorrow or next week...and then you'll need to resort to scanning through many minutes or hours of interview footage trying to find it. Believe me, a little extra time now will save you that time many times over.
And finally, don't underestimate the value of subclipping. All pro NLE software tools allow you subclip a video clip into smaller units. Your interview may be 20-30 minutes long, but you can subclip the interview into 15-30 second bites and name each one accordingly. Now, instead of finding that one bite in the middle of a half-hour interview, you simply look for that subclip that you've named and labeled with keyword descriptors. Also, you can use color coding to group types of soundbites/subclips into themes.
Organization...its the stuff of editing. You can only begin to be creative after you've found a way to locate your shots and sound bites.

Beautiful artistry on both sides of the camera

2011-09-04T21:26:00.002-06:00

The title of this blog post is a quote from 33hirtz who commented on Danny Cooke's Vimeo page. I couldn't say it better myself...and I think you'll agree if you take a few minutes to watch several of the fine documentaries by this master cinematographer and story-teller. Cooke has an eye for composition and lighting, and his editing is superb. I'm pretty sure that he's shooting with a DSLR and he makes good use of selective focus. Note also his soundtracks and clever title sequences.

Take a look at his documentary about glass blowing: OurGlass of Cockington
Or this one about a artist who works in etched glass and gold leaf: David A Smith - Sign Artist
Here's one about a salvage diver: Ray: A Life Underwater

Thanks to Tim Sparks for sending the links and for tipping me off to a great talent.

Morgan Spurlock on making documentaries

2011-09-01T13:19:00.000-06:00

"I really believe that if you're going to spend two-plus years of your life, that's your reality. If you're going to make a documentary movie, that's your baby. You're married to that movie forever and you‛d better love that kid, you'd better think that's the most beautiful kid you could have ever made, because you are married to that kid for years to come.

"If you're going to spend two-plus years producing, editing, getting the film out into the marketplace, then I think you have a responsibility to that movie to see it through.

"If people want to talk about it, if people want to use it as a conversation piece, if it can somehow help drive a national conversation, an international conversation, if it can lead to some sort of reform or change, whatever it may be -- I don't know why else you would make a film if you didn't want it to be part of a conversation." ~ Morgan Spurlock, director of Supersize Me

More here!

Choosing a documentary topic

2011-08-24T09:36:00.000-06:00

The challenge facing you this week is to find two great story ideas that have the potential to become a half-hour documentary project. This is not an easy task, and I would dare say that the success of the final project will be greatly affected by your choice of topic/subject. Choosing a subject is not something to be taken lightly. That said, the initial treatment will undoubtedly go through revision as it is turned into a proposal, then a shooting script and finally into an editing script.
So how does one go about selecting a story/topic/subject? I've blogged about it previously by suggesting some things to avoid. Your textbook author Rabiger has some excellent advice in the first couple of chapters (especially chapter 3). To that I would add just a few thoughts.

There are a thousand stories right in front of each of us--the trick is to see them with fresh eyes. Sometimes we're too close to see them clearly...kind of like a smudge on our eyeglasses that everyone else can see even though we can't.
Some stories come with built-in controversy (e.g., anything with political or religious overtones) and others will require that you dig a bit deeper to find the drama.
Remember your audience and work hard to give them reasons to care about your topic, the characters in your film, and the outcome. Are the main characters likable, or at least interesting?
Do the research necessary to write an effective treatment. You'll need to do more research to turn that treatment into a proposal, and still more to generate the shooting script. Research may involve library research, but more likely it will involve interviews with people close to the story/topic. Leave no stone unturned in your quest to uncover the truth. Research may yield evidence that convinces you that there is no story after all, or that the documentary cannot be made (given the available budget/schedule)...but better to find this out now than later.

As always, feel free to ask if you have any questions or if you want to bounce an idea off of me.

Life Changing

2011-08-20T08:07:00.000-06:00

Documentaries can be powerful. Sometimes the phrase "life-changing" is used to describe the power of a documentary that packs a punch that lasts just a little longer than a large tub of theater popcorn. But for the West Memphis Three "life-changing" may be precisely the words best used to describe an HBO documentary series by directors Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky. This week's release of the West Memphis Three from prison--and in one case from death-row--is being hailed as a triumph for justice and credit is being given to the HBO documentaries for shedding light on the case. In addition to the documentaries, attention from Hollywood celebrities and rock stars such as Johnny Depp, Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder and Dixie Chick Natalie Maines is also being credited for the sustained media attention that has kept the story front and center.

I have no idea if the West Memphis Three are guilty as charged. Teenagers at the time, Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley were convicted and sentenced to prison for the horrific murders of three Boy Scouts in 1993. But shortly thereafter the 1996 Emmy-winning documentary Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills brought new attention to the trial and questioned the legitimacy of the prosecution's case. In 2000 the directors followed with Paradise Lost 2: Revelations. The third installment, Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, will be shown at the Toronto International Film Festival and air on HBO. The final film in the series is being edited and the new ending will reflect the release of the three.

This is not the first time that a documentary has led to a judicial reversal. The Thin Blue Line, a 1988 "non-fiction" film by Errol Morris, had a similar effect on the life of Randall Adams. Adam has been convicted and sentenced to die for the murder of a Dallas police officer in 1976. One year after the film's release the conviction was overturned and Adams was released.

Life-changing documentary stories are not always this dramatic. Some documentaries change many lives in very small ways, but the cumulative effect may be even more impressive though not as visible. But in the end every documentary should act as a change agent on some level. Anything less would be a waste of precious time and resources.

50 Documentaries to See Before You Die

2011-08-16T08:19:00.000-06:00

Hopefully you've got some time (before you die), but just in case you may want to tune into the remaining three episodes of the 5-part series from Current TV, airing each Tuesday in August. Host Morgan Spurlock (best known for Supersize Me, but also director of the new doc The Greatest Movie Ever Sold) reveals the top 50 documentaries made since 1985 and interviews directors and other key players. The show's website contains numerous clips from the series.

Crowd-Funding your Doc

2010-10-31T20:49:00.004-06:00

Recently I responded with a donation to a fundraising project on Kickstarter. The project was an independent film based on the book Blue Like Jazz. It was the first time I'd heard about this relatively new fund raising platform but I was immediately taken with its potential to help budding filmmakers connect with potential donors. If you've got a great idea for a film, documentary or otherwise, and need some startup cash to get you to the next level, Kickstarter may be just the thing you need.
A search for "documentary" returns more than 300 projects currently underway or recently funded by Kickstarter. Go ahead and visit the link above to see some of the projects, and to screen short promotional clips. You'll notice that varying levels of participation earn increasing levels of rewards for "investors" who commit to contributing funds if the goal is reached by a predetermined deadline. This protects contributors and creators from unnecessary risk.
Independent filmmaker Nathaniel Hansen has a Vimeo channel where you can see his Kickstarter promo clip, and several teasers for his upcoming documentary The Elders.
The DocumentaryTech website has some interesting thoughts about raising funds in this age of social media. Another great article, from a UK perspective, can be found here. Also, Distribution U, "a one-day crash course on the new rules of crowd funding, audience building, and distribution" is being held this month in NY and LA. Tickets and more info is available at their website.
Oh, and in case you're wondering, I got a T-shirt, poster, a call from the director, and a few other items related to the film, including an Associate Producer credit, for my contribution. I think I'll add that AP credit to my résumé now!

Race to Space will be Televised

2010-10-17T20:51:00.000-06:00

If you are interested in space travel, or thinking about spending a cool $200K to make the trip yourself, you may want to watch the Nat Geo listing for upcoming docs about the Virgin Galactic project. See the NYT for more info.

Frederick Wiseman awarded Lifetime Achievement Award

2010-10-11T09:39:00.000-06:00

The National Academy for Television Arts & Sciences awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award to Frederick Wiseman, one of the great pioneers of direct cinema and director of such notable films as Titlcut Follies, High School, Aspen, and Primate. Frederick Wiseman has produced, directed and edited 38 films on a wide range of topics. With shooting ratios that have exceeded 100:1, Wiseman gained entrance into institutions and organizations that, at first, merely tolerated his presence. But the longer he stayed, his hosts grew to see him as one of their own...thus providing an opportunity for Wiseman to film life as it happened. Wiseman has described his films as “biased, prejudiced, condensed, but fair.” Wiseman did not tolerate narration, interviews, or reenactments. Because of this his films can feel rather raw and unpolished, but that is also their beauty.
According to the National Academy for Television Arts & Sciences,

While Wiseman’s documentaries are based on completely un-staged events and contain no interviews or voiceover narration, they are less an objective portrait of reality than an accurate portrayal of the filmmaker’s interpretation of the subject, tempered by a deeply held obligation to be fair to the people who pass before his camera. Wiseman typically does little research before shooting, describing the shooting as the research and the finished film as a report on what he has learned. In between lies up to a year of rigorous and painstaking editing, resulting in documentaries that are equal to the best fiction films.

Wiseman's first film, Titicut Follies, is about a hospital for the criminally insane. Banned for decades by a Massachusetts court citing concerns about patients' privacy and dignity, the film was finally allowed a national airing on PBS in the early 1990s.
According to Wiseman's website, his latest project, Boxing Gym, is scheduled for release later this month.

More new docs on the docket

2010-09-27T21:12:00.001-06:00

In addition to Waiting for Superman coming to theaters, Ken Burns' returns to baseball on PBS tomorrow and Wed with The Tenth Inning, this time focusing on the steroid abuse scandal. His original PBS documentary series about baseball was the highest rated documentary in PBS' history. You can watch a clip including an interview with Ken Burns on Hulu.

A new HBO documentary, Teenage Paparazzo, begins airing tonight. You can see a clip here.

'Waiting for Superman' out this Friday

2010-09-22T18:15:00.000-06:00

A new documentary from the director of An Inconvenient Truth is opening in limited release this Friday. Waiting for Superman explores another slowly unfolding tragedy...public education. I haven't seen the film, but I hear that it will kick-start the conversation about how our public schools are failing the next generation. After I've had a chance to see the film I'll weigh-in with my thoughts.
See the preview here.

I'm Still Here exposed as a Mockumentary

2010-09-17T11:20:00.000-06:00

Frauds and fakes are usually not rewarded when they try to pass themselves off as journalists or documentarians. However, the documentary tradition does have a soft spot for spoofs, often referred to as mockumentaries. This is Spinal Tap is a classic and others include Best in Show and Borat. One of the all-time great hoaxes was Orsen Wells' radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds...a Halloween joke that caused panic and mass hysteria which led to congressional hearings.
When Joaquin Pheonix appeared on The Late Show in 2009 confused fans and viewers wondered if he had lost touch with reality. As it turns out, he was simply acting in character as the subject of the mocumentary film, I'm Still Here. According to the New York Times, the director of I'm Still Here called Phoenix' performance the best of his career.

“It’s a terrific performance, it’s the performance of his career,” Mr. Affleck said. He was speaking of Mr. Phoenix’s two-year portrayal of himself — on screen and off — as a bearded, drug-addled aspiring rap star, who, as Mr. Affleck tells it, put his professional life on the line to star in a bit of “gonzo filmmaking” modeled on the reality-bending journalism of Hunter S. Thompson.

Time will tell if this really is the "performance of his career." But his appearance on Late Night for next Wednesday (the 22nd) may be telling and it could be interesting hearing his explanation of things.

Review of I'm Still Here.

Producing in HD? Get the FAQ!

2010-09-02T12:15:00.000-06:00

If you're planning to shoot and edit in high definition, you want to make sure that you're on the right track from day one. There are pre-production decisions that will affect production and post-production workflows, and by then it is too late to make changes. You can find a useful resource by [ITVS] at their website. It is the HD FAQ and you can find it at http://www.itvs.org/funding/resources/hd-faq

Eyeborg: Direct Cinema to the Extreme

2010-08-23T18:03:00.000-06:00

What's a documentarian who lost his eye to do? Well, how about a prosthetic eye that doubles as a video camera! Rob Spence of Toronto is planning to use his video eye to shoot a documentary about, what else, the global spread of surveillance cameras. Imagine being interviewed by someone who does not appear to have a video camera, and then be told that the camera was his EYE?! It brings a whole new dimension to ethical debates about hidden cameras.

The idea of cyborgs (half human, half machine) has been around in sci-fi for some time, and the Six Million Dollar Man had augmented vision...but now it appears that reality is catching up to fantasy.

Read more at his blog, or watch the videos on his Vimeo channel. If you're not too squeamish, the Eye In and Out video is classic!

Documentary Top 10 Lists

2008-12-22T08:29:00.003-07:00

David Tamés, at Kino-Eye.com, posted a Top Ten list of documentaries at his website. As with all Top Ten lists, this one contains titles that are personal favorites, and others that have been critically acclaimed by documentary fans far and wide. It made me think about my Top Ten list, so I decided to take a stab at it. Here, in no particular order, are ten documentaries that I think are must-see.

Nanook of the North (Flaherty)
Harlan County USA (Kopple)
The Fog of War (Morris)
The "Up" Series (Apted)
Roger & Me (Moore)
Grizzly Man (Hertzog)
The Thin Blue Line (Morris)
Salesman (Maysles)
The Civil War (Burns)
Country Boys (Sutherland)

Backing Up: Better Safe than Sorry

2008-11-14T09:30:00.002-07:00

Students of documentary will recognize the name Robert Flaherty...director of Nanook of the North. This amazing documentary suffered a serious setback just as it neared completion of the post-production phase. According to legend, Flaherty dropped a lit cigarette in the editing room, igniting the highly-flammable film stock that covered the floor...destroying his film in the process. At the time, Flaherty had no copy of the original film, forcing him to return to northern Canada to re-shoot his epic film about the Inuit culture. The lesson for all of us is that the post-production phase of a documentary project is full of twists and turns...some that cause minor set-backs and others that are more serious. But with a few precautions you can avoid catastrophic failure. I'm talking about organization, storage, and redundancy of your most important digital assets.

First and foremost, protect your camera originals. Tapes should be write-protected, labeled carefully, and stored in a safe place (clean with controlled humidity and temperature). Second, once a tape has been captured/digitized, the security of those digital files depends on the integrity of your storage system. There are various levels of redundancy (RAID 1, RAID 5, etc.) that can be implemented at various levels of expense. A relatively inexpensive solution is to occasionally (e.g., at the end of each edit session) backup your files to a second external HD. Obviously the bigger and more important the project, and the more changes to your EDL, the more frequently this step should be implemented. Notice that digitized video files do not need to be copied more than once...only those files that change as you edit. The most important file is the project file, followed by titles, imported graphics, etc. If you record audio VO narration, save that to CD and treat just like a source tape. Label it carefully and file it in a safe place. If you loose all of your digital assets, but still have your project file (which contains the EDL), you should be able to redigitize the footage from your source tapes and be back in business with little down time.

I have external storage that you are welcome to use to backup your digital video files if you have not done so. The project files are quite a bit smaller, and you have several options for backing up those files such as the network storage, USB flash drive, CD-R, etc.

You've put in a lot of hours of hard work...don't let it slip through your fingers.

Documentary post-production, workflow, and asset management

2008-10-26T14:36:00.004-06:00

Well, we're approaching the time when we transition from production to post-production. If you're like most documentarians, you begin by reviewing what you had hoped to accomplish by this point in time. The real shock comes when you begin to compare your pre-production plan to the footage that you actually have "in the can." Once you've recovered from that, your next step is to make a new plan that involves turning what we've got into something that resembles a documentary. This process is not for the weak or easily discouraged.

If you're fortunate, you find moments of brilliance and unblinking truth in the audio and video that you gathered. Hopefully you've captured people and events in ways that are both authentic and fascinating. Your task, as editors, is to separate the good from the bad, the mundane from the extraordinary, and the distortions from the truth. There are trade-off involved. Keeping a 2-minute action sequence may require deleting that interview sequence that seemed to hold great promise. Going in one direction means that you can't pursue another path. You'll have to weigh the evidence and make judgments that keep the big picture...the story...always in focus.

As suggested by Rabiger, one of the first things that you should do, as a group, is to sit down for a marathon screening session. It may take 4-8 hours...maybe more if there is much discussion afterward. But try to do this as soon as possible after shooting is complete. With everyone present, watch the raw footage with a critical eye and a pad and pencil. Each group member should take careful notes (but don't pause the tape...it will take forever if you do). Then, after each tape or at the end, review your notes as a group. What did you see that you didn't see during shooting? What is still missing, Can you edit around the missing footage? Which characters emerged as the strongest or weakest? Has your "story" held up in the process, or does it need to be modified?

Another important step is to begin to digitize and organize your footage. The digitizing step is one more opportunity for you to become familiar with your footage. Take notes as to the source (tape number) where the footage is coming from. Make note of particularly useful b-roll or cut-aways that will be important. If audio is particularly strong or weak, make note of how it might be used or whether it may need to be "fixed" or "sweetened" in post. All non-linear editing programs (FCP, Avid, Premiere) allow for footage to be organized in bins. Use bins to collect footage that goes together. You might put clips that will be used in a particular segment in its own bin. Or perhaps you will put each interview into its own bin, and b-roll in another. Use a system that makes sense to you, and your editing assistant(s). Be methodical and careful. The more organized you are the more efficient you will be in editing. By the way, your tapes should be record-protected and stored in a safe, clean, cool place after digitizing. They are your backup, and may be needed later if redigitizing is required.

After the group screening, the editing script/outline should be written. Don't skimp here. Spend some time as a group deciding on segments to be included, the intended length of each, and their order. Only after you've done this should you begin to actually cut things together to see if they will work as imagined. If you will be using VO narration, write the first draft now. You may need to rewrite later, but writing narration now--(and even recording a rough take)--will help you with the timing and allow you to edit sequences with placeholder VO where needed.

Don't think you need to start editing at the beginning working towards the closing credits. You'll probably be much more effective if you start with one of the segments in the middle...perhaps the most important or the easiest one first. You might find that you can have 2 or 3 editors working simultaneously, each on his/her own section, then bringing them together to see how they flow. Take advantage of the multiple timelines/sequences in your editing program to build each segment in its own timeline. Also, duplicating the timeline allows you to try out different approaches to the same segment without destroying a previous version. Many long-form editors save their work and start over the next day with a newly dated version of the previous timeline. This way they have a record of their progress and they can easily "revert" if a particular editing session turns out to be a dead-end.

Everyone in the group should be actively involved in the post-production process. There's plenty to do, and no one person should have to do it all. One member of the team can be creating titles and graphics, another can be recording or selecting music, while others can be working on the project website, setting up the focus group screening, writing press releases, and creating the DVD menus.

Well, that should give you plenty to think about. This is where it really gets interesting!

34X25X36

2008-10-01T12:11:00.002-06:00

Check out this short doc (6 min, plus 1 minutes of credits) on YouTube. This film premiered at the 2008 SXSW conference and received critical acclaim (and 1.2M hits on YouTube).

Time to shoot!

2008-10-01T08:39:00.004-06:00

Production...this is what many people consider the best part of the documentary life cycle. This is where you get to exercise your creative talents for shooting as you gather the audio and images that will tell your story. For some, pre-production is too much time in the office, and post-production is too much time locked up in an edit bay...but production is the in-between part where you get to be out and about, on location and getting your hands dirty. Your task over the next five weeks will be to get people to open up to you...on-camera and on-mic...and when they do, you've got to capture the essence of the moment in the best image and sound quality possible. This is no small task. Following are some thoughts about location production that may be helpful over the course of the next five weeks.

Being comfortable with both your gear and your crew-mates will be of utmost importance. And the only way to become comfortable is by getting out there and doing it. Start with less critical shoots and build up to the ones that will only give you one shot to get it right.
Make sure you know who is responsible for what when you're on location. Don't expect each other to read your mind...talk it out before you get to the shooting location. Work efficiently and as a team...that will give you credibility with your interviewees and shooting subjects. The opposite...confusion and bickering...will do just the opposite and undermine your project. You many need to have a heated discussion about your project...just don't do it in public.
Try to have as many team members on the shoot as you can. Since you only have 3-4 crew members max, you'll never have too many hands while setting up or striking. During an intimate interview you might clear the room of all but two of you, but most of the time all three or four of you will be essential. If you're shooting with University gear, I expect at least two crew members on every shoot. This is for your personal protection as well as the safety and security of the gear.
Become a lean, mean, documenting machine! Keep your eyes and ears open and never pass up an opportunity to get something in the can when you can. If you think, "we'll get that shot when we come back next week" you'll miss out on all kinds of opportunities. If the shot or soundbite presents itself, get it! For the Bishop Castle team, the peak of fall color is right now and will only last another week or so...less if a weather event comes through. The castle grounds will never look prettier than they do now so don't miss the opportunity. Swing State '08...this Friday will probably be the last time this fall that a Presidential candidate will be in Southern Colorado. Both teams: maximize your opportunities and minimize your liabilities!
Know your story and shoot to the script outline. Yes, there needs to be room for serendipity and yes, your story will evolve as you go...but don't overlook the need to plan and follow the plan. Shoot with a purpose or you'll feel the pain when you get into the post-production phase.

And the last point I'll make today is to have fun. Yes, I know that may sound unrealistic with all the pressure and expectations that you may be feeling. But this really is an opportunity for you and your crew-mates to be creative and inventive and productive. Enjoy the moment and enjoy each other's company as you form relationships that may extend well pass this class and even into your professional life after school.

Avoiding Condescending Smugness!

2008-09-21T20:48:00.005-06:00

It's a temptation that all documentary directors face sooner or later...the feeling of superiority that accompanies insight possessed by you, but not shared by the subject of your film. As you research your topic and interview experts and witnesses, you will begin to amass knowledge and expertise that may, if not checked, lead to feelings of self-importance. Resist this feeling at all cost. Remind yourself that without the aid and cooperation of your participants, you have no story to tell and no business trying to pretend that you do. But your humility must be sincere...false humility can be detected from across the room and is just as deadly as arrogance. Many documentary directors have slipped over the line and have taken cheap shots at the expense of the people appearing in their films...and while they might get a few laughs, the long-term effect works against them.

Another factor that can lead to this same feeling of superiority is the power imbalance that comes from your position behind the camera. As the one asking the questions and deciding who ends up on the cutting room floor and on the screen, you hold amazing power. Don't let it go to your head. Again, without the trust and confidence of your participants, you've got "nuttin!" So keep your ego in check and don't forget to treat your interviewees and participants with the courtesy and respect that they deserve. No one ever looks big when they make other people look small.

Steal from the best!

2008-09-13T10:14:00.003-06:00

Okay, don't STEAL...but definitely learn from and apply techniques that the best documentaries use to tell their stories. Now that you have a topic and are well into the preproduction phase, take some time to review some of the best documentaries in the same genre/style/approach as the one that you're trying to make. Watch and watch again documentaries that cover similar territory or take a similar approach. As we discussed in class, watch with careful attention to everything from the broad scope, e.g. story development and the dramatic arc, to the specific details, e.g. how long the director holds a reaction shot. Learn from the best and try to replicate the things that make them successful.

For the Bishop Castle team, find documentaries that tell the stories of a quirky individuals e.g., Fast, Cheap and Out of Control and Gates of Heaven by Errol Morris, or Grizzly Man by Werner Herzog. Also consider docs about people who find themselves up against insurmountable odds, e.g., Hoop Dreams, a story about two teens' struggle to become pro basketball players, or Burden of Dreams by Les Blank, or Hearts of Darkness, the story of Francis Ford Coppola's struggle to make Apocalypse Now. A quick search of YouTube for Bishop Castle will yield numerous amateur videos and interviews with Jim. Also, listen to the NPR radio documentary short Jim Bishop: Castle Builder.

For the Swing Vote team, check out any number of great political docs such as Primary by Robert Drew and War Room by Hegedus and Pennebaker. By the way, a new doc, The Return of the War Room (by Actual Reality Pictures) will premiere on the Sundance channel next month (Oct 13th). I haven't seen the recently released Swing Vote, starring Kevin Costner, but it may be worth a look to see if this fiction film effectively raises any issues that may be worth exploring in your doc. Also, a search of IMDb indicates there is a 2008 doc by the name of Swing State, but that's about all I know about it.

New Michael Moore film to be released online

2008-09-05T15:14:00.003-06:00

According to a news release, Michael Moore announced today that he will release his latest movie, Slacker Uprising, online and for free. According to the AP,

The film, "Slacker Uprising," follows Moore's 62-city tour during the 2004 election to rally young voters. It will be available for three weeks as a free download to North American residents, beginning Sept. 23. An official announcement of the film is planned for Friday.
Moore said he considered releasing "Slacker Uprising" theatrically as "Michael Moore's big election year movie" as he did with 2004's "Fahrenheit 9/11," which was highly critical of President Bush.
Instead, Moore opted for a symbol of gratitude to his fans as he approaches the 20th anniversary of his first film, 1989's "Roger & Me."
"I thought it'd be a nice way to celebrate my 20th year of doing this," Moore said. "And also help get out the vote for November. I've been thinking about what I want to do to help with the election this year."
To receive the download, people can sign up at SlackerUprising.com. A "Night of a Thousand House Parties" is planned for Oct. 4, when local neighborhood screenings are hoped to be scheduled. A DVD will be released Oct. 7.

Taking it to the Streets at the DNC

2008-08-27T11:55:00.004-06:00

Below are two documentary-style shorts from a former MCCNM student who now works up in Denver. These pieces aired on KBDI, one of the PBS stations in Denver. How about that "freedom cage"?

What makes a good documentary topic?

2008-08-14T21:41:00.002-06:00

Are you having trouble coming up with a good idea for a documentary proposal? You're not alone. While we're surrounded by a million stories just waiting to be told, it seems like every one has something that makes it less than the ideal topic for development. Let's start with some of the reasons that are sometimes used to disqualify a documentary topic.

It's already been done. Okay...I'll grant you that the world probably doesn't need another documentary about penguins right now. But don't let this one scare you off. Almost every conceivable topic has been documented at some time by someone, but you just need to find a way to bring your personal perspective to the topic.
I can't get the necessary access. Perhaps the subject is too far away...that would be a problem with physical access. Or it could be that the culture or subculture is closed and unlikely to invite a filmmaker into it inner circle (think governmental or military organizations)...that would be a problem of permission or trust. The lack of either one can sink your project.
It's not very visual. Having a topic that naturally provides compelling visual images is great...but not very common. If it were, there would already be a dozen documentaries on that topic sitting on your video store's shelves. But there are ways to create visuals if you explore the creative potential of computer graphics. Also, some of my favorite documentaries of all time are nothing but a series of talking heads, e.g. the Up series and Fog of War...so don't give up hope if the visuals are few and far between.
Nobody cares about this but me. If it's true, this is an excellent reason to move on to another topic. On the other hand, you might be surprised. Do some internet research to see if you can find an online community of like-minded fans. There may be more of you out there then you think.

There are plenty of other real and imagined problems that may or may not be reasons to steer away from a particular project. But many of these problems can also be cured by one simple 7-letter solution...PASSION. If you have passion and commitment, you'll be amazed at how many viable projects are out there. Now get up out of your computer chair and start exploring the possibilities!

It's Almost August...Do You Have Any Ideas?

2008-07-24T10:21:00.002-06:00

Every great documentary starts with a great idea. I know that some of you already have ideas that you want to propose for production this fall. If you haven't begun to think about an idea or two for possible development, now is a good time to start. Following is a short explanation from the syllabus about the treatment/proposal assignment.

In the real world of media production there is typically a great deal of paperwork associated with the production process. Time and resources are not usually spent without adequate research, planning and documentation to obtain the approval of those who control the necessary funds. For the sake of these class assignments, there will be several documents required before production commences. Be prepared to present these to me in class PRIOR to attempting to schedule production time.

One of the first documents required is a treatment. A treatment is a one to two page description of your story idea. Everyone should come to class the second week with two treatments for presentation/discussion.

One of the treatments will then be developed into a 3-5 page, PBS-style proposal containing the following elements:

title
rational
goals and objectives
project description (expanded treatment)
key personnel
target audience
timeline
itemized budget

Based on presentations, aka "pitches", of the proposals in class during week 3, final documentary project topics will be selected and teams assigned.

The Home Stretch

2006-11-26T20:38:00.000-07:00

With only two weeks remaining in the semester we're approaching what is famously known as "the home stretch." No matter how great your initial idea or proposal...no matter how fascinating your interviewees...and no matter how compelling your visuals...all that matters now is how the final product comes together to tell a story that grabs the viewer's attention and makes him forget everything but what's on the screen. It all comes down to this...this very exciting and nerve-wracking time when sleep goes wanting and creativity courses like adrenaline through your veins.

How will you know if you've been successful? It's pretty simple actually. All that it requires is to gather some people who know a few things...some who know a few things about the artform we call documentary, some who know a bit about your subject matter, and some more who know YOU well enough to be honest with you. In fact it wouldn't hurt to invite members of the news media as well. Have them join us on Tues, December 12th to sit and watch your creation. You'll want to give the "audience" just enough of an introduction to let them know why they're there, and what you want them to contribute. Then screen your project from opening titles to closing credits. Now comes the important part. With two or three members of the team taking copious notes, ask your audience to tell you what they liked, what they didn't care for, what scenes grabbed them, and which ones moved too slowly. Ask them if they understood what you were trying to communicate (without giving them clues as to what that is) and ask them how you might improve your product.

The most useful suggestions will be ones that can be incorporated by adding a bit here and cutting a bit there...ones that don't require extensive reshooting and editing. Some suggestions will be personal preferences or may reflect personal biases and these should be graciously received and, after some consideration, used or discarded.

As with any worthwhile endeavor, the first public screening should be undertaken with the kind of professionalism and planning that befits a project and product of this enormity. You've put in too many hours to let it slip away in the end-of-semester rush. Keep up the good work folks, the end is in sight!

Shut Up and Watch

2006-10-28T10:47:00.000-06:00

Two-time Academy Award winner Barbara Kopple (we watched her 1976 film Harlan County USA), along with co-director Cecilia Peck, is back with another documentary sure to generate interest. Opening last night on both coasts, and in a couple of weeks nationwide, Shut Up and Sing is about the Dixie Chicks, the best-selling female group of all time, and their fall from grace after their public criticism of President Bush on the eve of the invasion of Iraq. You can watch the trailer and a couple of clips at this webpage at Myspace. Here's a review from the Toronto Film Festival. Also, check out this interview with Kopple at IndieWire.

The importance of definitions

2006-09-08T10:30:00.000-06:00

When is a docudrama not a documentary? Just listen to ABC/Disney as they respond to criticism of their "epic miniseries" The Path to 9/11, airing this Sunday and Monday evenings at 7pm locally. According to ABC, the program is, "a dramatization of the events detailed in The 9/11 Commission Report and other sources." It is also interesting that ABC attempts to deflect criticism by noting that, "the program was produced by the entertainment division rather than ABC News." Intense criticism by Democrats, including former president Clinton, has been leveled at the program for what are perceived to be inaccuracies in pre-release copies. Specifically, Democrats object to portrayals that they didn't do enough to go after Bin Laden in the years leading up to 9/11. According to news reports today, ABC is responding by making last-minute editorial changes.

But this is not simply an argument about facts or the portrayal of events. It is a debate about whether this or any docudrama/miniseries should be held to the standards reserved for news and documentaries or whether it should only have to rise to the expectations of prime-time, network, entertainment programming. Dramatizations of true events often play fast and loose with the facts. It's just that this time the facts are much more sensitive, and mid-term elections hang in the balance.

According to the New York Times, "Scholastic, the children’s publishing company, which had been working with ABC to use “The Path to 9/11” as a teaching tool, said yesterday that it was removing materials related to the film from its Web site. A spokeswoman said a new study guide was being prepared that would explain the difference between a docudrama and a documentary." Clearly the terms documentary and docudrama are important distinctions...and that, in turn, dictates the expectations that we should have as to the accuracy and objectivity of the program. Read this blog post and the readers' comments and be prepared to offer your opinion when we meet next week.

Note: see also the fascinating behind-the-scenes video clips (Recreating 9/11 Day 1, ...Day 2, Keeping it Honest, and How to Create a Riot) at the miniseries' home page.

Doc screening at the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center

2006-09-07T09:11:00.000-06:00

I'm forwarding this message from Erin Ragulsky at the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center...

Here's a great documentary screening we will be holding Sunday, Sept. 24 at 4 p.m. in the Arts Center Theater. The the Dalai Lama, a small history of Tibet, how one man prepares to have an interview with His Holiness and the interview this documentarian has with the Dalai Lama. It's very capitivating and really worth your time.

Stay after the film for a question and answer session with Rick Ray. The Dalai Lama will be in Denver only a week before the screening of this documentary, so take part in the celebration of his momentous visit to Colorado.

Anniversary of 9/11

2006-09-05T09:18:00.000-06:00

The events of 9/11, 2001 have provided extensive material for documentarians and conspiracy theorists worldwide. Over the weekend I saw World Trade Center, the Oliver Stone film starring Nicolas Cage and Michael Pena. While not a documentary per se, it (along with the earlier film United 93) may be as close as fiction films can come. Notable is Stone's refusal to even suggest conspiracy as he tells the tale of two Port Authority police officers caught in the collapse of the Twin Towers. This from the director of JFK!

In contrast, conspiracy theories about 9/11 abound in the Internet documentary Loose Change, 2nd edition, available courtesy of Google video at their web site, http://www.loosechange911.com/
While the WTC script was based upon hours-upon-hours of interviews with principles and eye-witnesses, LC is another type of documetary...one that raises more questions than it answers and does not hesitate to speculate about possible scenarios.

At the Loose Change web site you can even purchase a T-shirt calling for an investigation of 9/11, and when you do you are pledging to, "do you best to wear it to wear it at Ground Zero on September 11th, 2006." For those of you who may be interested, that is less than a week away!

9/11 doc to re-air on CBS

2006-08-29T14:15:00.000-06:00

CBS (KKTV) will re-broadcast the documentary 9/11 on Sunday, September 10th at 7pm. The documentary, hosted by Robert DeNiro, was filmed by two french brothers who were shooting a program about one of NY's fire stations when the attack took place. Footage of flight 11 slamming into the North Tower came from these filmmakers. The film contains graphic language which is creating some controvery about what is acceptable language for a documentary aired on broadcast TV.
More info at IMDB and The Hollywood Reporter.

The War Tapes

2006-08-25T10:01:00.000-06:00

Another new documentary is in Southern Colorado for a limited engagement. The War Tapes is a documentary shot by three National Guardsmen who shipped out to Iraq in 2004. According to Wired news,

Director Deborah Scranton described War Tapes as the result of a "virtual embed." She gave cameras to 10 Iraq-bound soldiers, and then used e-mail and instant messaging to provide them with advice on technique and technical issues.

By the end of their yearlong tour of duty, the soldiers, all from New Hampshire's National Guard, had sent Scranton 800 hours of what she considered thoughtful, often beautifully shot, footage.

"They became journalists," Scranton said. "This isn't like soldiers making home movies. This was a process, a conscious effort for us to together tell the experience of what it means to go to war."

The film is showing at Colorado Springs Carmike 19, 1550 Pulsar Drive.

Ken Burns coming to Colorado Springs

2006-07-24T15:12:00.000-06:00

Award-winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns will make a rare appearance as part of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs lecture series at Pikes Peak Center. The appearance will take place August 27th and will begin at 7:30 p.m. Burns will reflect on his 25 years of documentary films and his future projects. Cost is $35 for the general public, and $30 for RMPBS members.

UPDATE: KTSC-TV will be videotaping a Q&A session with Ken Burns and students from UCCS. We can take a few CSU-Pueblo students to help crew the Q&A session which will run from 4:30-5:30 pm on the 27th. Please contact prof. e. if you'd be interested in being part of the production crew.

Thinking about documentary topics

2006-06-06T13:44:00.000-06:00

Following is the email that I sent out a week after the end of the spring semester. The intent was just to encourage you to think about documentary topics this summer, before the crunch of the fall semester hits.

I just wanted to get this word out in time for some of you who may want to get a jump on the fall TV Doc class. The class will involve; learning about documentary as an art form, studying the most important TV documentaries and documentarians in past and recent history, and as a final project, producing one or more documentaries. I would encourage you to be on the lookout for good documentary topics that are local, accessible, and of interest to people in the region. Some of you may already have ideas for documentary topics, and that's great.

However, by the time that the fall semester rolls around it may be too late to shoot video of your proposed topic. For example, say you wanted to produce a documentary about the Kayaking course in Pueblo. The best water and kayaking activity will take place from now until late June, not in the fall. Another example might be a documentary topic related to the State Fair, and that happens just as school is ramping up in late August. I'm going to be around for part of the summer, and just wanted to propose an option that might appeal to you. If you have the time now to shoot video that will be unavailable or difficult to get once classes start, I'll do what I can to make the necessary equipment available. I only ask that you work in teams of 2 (at a minimum) for safety reasons.

Don't let this email cause worry if you have no idea what you'd like to do for the documentary project. There will be plenty of ideas and discussions about viable topics once the fall semester begins. Also, I'm considering making various options available for the documentary project, e.g., radio (audio) documentary, web (flash) documentary, etc., and those formats are likely to be less dependent on seasonal issues.

One last item for your consideration. The only prerequisite for the class in MCCNM 142, Digital Video Production. However, for those students who choose to work on a TV doc for broadcast (possible consideration of airing on KTSC and Comcast local access), production skills necessary involve extensive location videography, audio and lighting expertise. If you are not comfortable with location shooting with the full-size camcorders, location lighting, and location audio, I would encourage you to also enroll in MCCNM 231, Digital Media Production, call #3960, MWF 9-9:50, for the fall. MCCNM 231 will focus on location video production skills and will augment the TV Doc class.

That's all for now.

Have a great summer!
Prof. e.

Global Warming doc from Al Gore

2006-06-05T14:56:00.000-06:00

If you have a chance you might consider going to see Al Gore's new documentary film about global warming when it comes to a theater near you (okay, it may not come to Pueblo, but perhaps to Colorado Springs). Or, check out the website at http://www.climatecrisis.net/

Welcome!

2006-06-05T14:35:00.000-06:00

Hello and welcome to the TV Documentary blog. This site will provide updates, postings, and comments related to our class, MCCNM 432, Television Documentary. I'm looking forward to the class and to the creative journey that we will take together. It has been several years since we've been able to offer this class. The last group of students to take the class produced a half-hour documentary about the history of CF&I steel mill. Other classes have produced documentaries about the Levee Mural, Mission Wolf project, Bishop's Castle, Tatoo art, etc. There are plenty of stories waiting to be told...so think big and feel free to contact me this summer if you want to talk about an idea that you might have.

See you soon-
prof. e.