DC373/473DocumentaryProduction
SpringQuarter2015
Monday5:45–9:00
20914.E.Jackson
AnuradhaRana
Office:CDM519
Email:[email protected]
Phone: 312-362-5371|773-474-3736Emailprefered.
OfficeHours:Mon11:00am–1:00pm(Office)/Tues11:00am–12:00pm(phone/facetime)
Iameye.Iamamechanicaleye.I,amachine,amshowingyouaworld,thelikesofwhichonlyIcansee.
DzigaVertov,Kinoglas
Idon'tknowwhattruthis.Truthissomethingunattainable.Wecan'tthinkwe'recreatingtruthwithacamera.
Butwhatwecando,isrevealsomethingtoviewersthatallowsthemtodiscovertheirowntruth.
MichelBrault,DirectCinema
Werealizedthattheimportantthingwasnotthefilmitselfbutthatwhichthefilmprovoked.
FernandoSolanas("CinemaasGun")
InmyfilmsIalwayswanttomakepeopleseedeeply.Idon'twanttoshowthingsbuttogivepeoplethedesiretosee.
AgnèsVarda
Indocumentarywedealwiththeactual,andinonesensewiththereal.Butthereallyreal,ifImayusethatphrase,is
somethingdeeperthanthat.Theonlyrealitywhichcountsintheendistheinterpretationwhichisprofound.
JohnGrierson
CourseOverviewandLearningGoals
Thisadvancedcourseindocumentaryproductionisdesignedforstudentswhoalreadyhaveexperience with
makingdocumentaries.Inthiscourse,eachstudentwilldirectandproduceasubstantialshort subject
documentaryandserveasacrewmemberonatleastoneotherstudentproject.Topicscovered willinclude
choiceofsubjectmatter,filmmaker'sPOV,dramaticstructure,proposalwriting,andavariety oftechnical,
aesthetic,practical,andethicalconcernsrelatedtoproducingprofessionaldocumentary projects.
CourseObjectives:
•
Foreachstudenttoproduce,direct,andeditashortsubjectdocumentarythatdemonstratespotentialfor
publicexhibition,festivalacceptance,and/orasafundraisingtoolforafulllengthproject.
•
Asadirector,toapplyallpreviousexperienceandknowledgeofdocumentaryfilmmakingtoasubject that
holdsanaudience'sinterest,isframedbythedirector'suniquepointofview,andstructuredinthe edit
utilizingprinciplesofdramaticdocumentarystructure.
•
As a producer and director, to provide creative and logistical leadership for crew members that results in
excellentproductionvaluesintermsofcamerawork,lighting,locationsound,andpostproductionsound and
picture.
•
Towriteacompellingprofessionalproposal/treatmentand/orfestival/distributionprospectusforthe
project.
•
Tocoveralllegalandethicalbases(releases,permissions,clearances,etc.)sothatthefinalprojectisclear
forpossibleexhibitionanddistribution.
•
ToprovideexcellentcrewsupporttoATLEASToneotherfellowclassmate.
Prerequisite(s):DC371/471
Thiscourseassumespriordocumentaryproductionexperienceandknowledgeofthemajordocumentary
approachesandtechniques.Competencyincameraoperation,soundrecording,andeditingarealso assumed.
RequiredText
Fox, Broderick. Documentary Media: History, Theory, Practice. Allyn & Bacon:2010. ISBN---10: 0---205---64455---4 ISBN---13: 978---0---205---64455---1
RecommendedTexts
•
Rabiger,Michael.DirectingtheDocumentary.SixthEdition.Boston:FocalPress,2014.
•
Bernard,SheilaCurran.DocumentaryStorytelling:MakingStrongerandMoreDramaticNonfictionFilms.
Boston:FocalPress,2007.
•
Bernard,SheilaandKenRabin.ArchivalStorytelling:ADocumentaryFilmmaker’sGuidetoFinding,Using,and
LicensingThird-PartyVisualsandMusic.Boston:FocalPress,2008.
RequiredMaterialsandEquipment
FirewireorUSB3.0HardDriveandaccesstoadequatesoftwareforeditingprojects.
CoursePolicies
InadditiontoDePaulUniversitycoursepolicies,thefollowingspecialpolicieswillapplytothiscourse.
Attendance–Classeswillconsistoflecture,screenings,discussion,andcreativeexercises.Attendanceismandatory.An
absenceisdefinedasnotshowingupforclass,orshowingup15minutesormorelate.Anyabsences,latearrivalsorearly
departureswillresultinareductionoftheattendance/participationgrade.
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Assignments–Assignmentsmustbecompletedbytheduedateasindicatedinthesyllabus.Lateworkwillnotbe
acceptedwithoutpriorconsentoftheinstructor.BringaplayableDVDandahardcopyofanyrequiredwrittenpaperwork
toclassontheduedate.PostonCOLaswell.Ifyouwouldliketoplayahigherresolutionofyourproject,bringinahard
driveforclassscreening.IfyouchoosethisoptionyoumustalsobringinaplayableDVDforgradingpurposes.DVD’s
shouldbelabeledwithtitle,assignment,crewnamesandrunningtime.
Screenings–FilmscreeningandAssignmentscreeningdiscussionsareanintegralpartofthecourseparticipationgrade.
Selectedfilmswillbeanalyzedforspecificconceptualandstylisticchoices.Wewillapplythesamestandardstothe
analysisofgroupprojects.Beopentobechallengedandhonestastherewillbedifferingideasandpointsofview
expressed.Thesediscussionsareimportantinthedevelopmentofyourabilitytocollaborate.
CrewResponsibilities–Youwilltakeonamajorcrewroleononeotherstudentfilmfromthisclass.
EquipmentUsePolicies–PoliciesforcheckingoutequipmentandreservingtheCDM“Stage”arepostedonD2L.
Plagiarism–Plagiarismonassignmentsorcheatingonexamsareseriousoffensesandearnthestudentafailinggrade
fortheclass.PleasereadtheAcademicIntegrityPolicy(AIP)athttp://studentaffairs.depaul.edu/handbook/code16.html.
SyllabusorContentChanges–Dependingontimefactorsandguestartistopportunities,theassignmentsprojectedfor
thetermmayrequireslightalterationorrescheduling.
Grading
PROJECT
TOTALPOINTS
FILM
Scene#1Interview
60%
15
Scene#2Location
15
Scene#3Process/Observation
15
RoughCut–Film
15
FinalShortFilm
20
SelfEvaluation
10
RESEARCH&WRITING
25%
LoglineandSynopsis
10
Proposal–Elements
20
Timeline
10
Budget
10
Treatment&VisualStrategy
20
PreproductionPackage&FinalProposal
PARTICIPATION&CONTRIBUTION
TotalPoints
30
15%
100%
A=100-94
A-=93-90
B+=89-88
B=87-84
B-=83-80
C+=79-78
C=77-74
C-=73-70
D+=69-68
D=67-64
D-=63-60
F=59-0.
Aindicatesexcellence,Bindicatesgoodwork,Cindicatessatisfactorywork,Dindicatesunsatisfactorywork,andFisa
failuretodemonstrateanunderstandingofcourseconcepts. 3
CourseOutline
Week1 3/28
Topic: Intro,organization,assignments.Classexpectations
Thedocumentaryprocess
Ideas–Finding,Generating,andCraftingIdeas
TurningPoints–PersonaltotheUniversal(iftime)
Documentarymodes–ReviewonD2L
Screening:
Assign: Reading:
Week2 4/4
VariousShorts
OnlineLectureandclips–D2L–DocumentaryModes
Pitchtwodocumentaryideas–SubmitLoglineandSynopses
Complete–DocumentaryProjectProposal–D2L
Fox.Ch.1,2
Due: Topic: Screening:
Assign: LoglineandSynopses
DocumentaryPitches
Proposalwriting
Variousclipsandshorts.
Reading:
Week3 4/11
Pickoneidea.Researchyourtopic.
Proposal–Elements4to6
FilmTBD
Fox.Ch.3
Due: Topic: Screening:
Assign: Reading:
Week4 4/18
Proposal–Elements4to6
RevisedPitches(ifneeded)
TimelinesandBudgets
ProductionStrategiesandLogistics
Variousclips.
BudgetandTimeline
FilmTBD
Fox.Ch.4
Topic: Assign: Reading:
IndividualMeetings(CDM519)ScheduleinClass
Scene#1–InterviewandScene#2Location/Event
Fox.Ch.5
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Week5 4/25
Screening:
Topic: Assign: Reading:
Week6 5/2
Scene#1–Interview|Feedback
Ethics
FilmTBD
Fox.Ch.6
Scene#2–Location/Event|Feedback
Narrative/Storystructure
Scene#3–ProcessorObservation
Fox.Ch.7
Scene#3-ProcessorObservation |Feedback
FinalFilm
Screening:
Topic:
Assign: Reading:
Week7 5/9
Screening:
Assign: Week8 5/16
Screening:
RoughCut|Feedback
AllroughcutsaredueWeek8
Week9 5/23 Screening:
Week105/30
(MemorialDay) NOCLASS
Week116/6
SCREENING:
FinalFilms
Attendanceismandatory.Anabsence=gradeof‘F’fortheclass.
RoughCutorFinalFilm|Feedback
SchoolPolicies
OnlineInstructorEvaluation:Evaluationsareawayforstudentstoprovidevaluablefeedbackregardingtheirinstructor
andthecourse.Detailedfeedbackwillenabletheinstructortocontinuouslytailorteachingmethodsandcoursecontentto
meetthelearninggoalsofthecourseandtheacademicneedsofthestudents.Theyarearequirementofthecourseand
arekeytocontinuetoprovideyouwiththehighestqualityofteaching.Theevaluationsareanonymous;theinstructorand
administrationdonottrackwhoenteredwhatresponses.Aprogramisusedtocheckifthestudentcompletedthe
evaluations,buttheevaluationiscompletelyseparatefromthestudent’sidentity.Since100%participationisourgoal,
studentsaresentperiodicremindersovertwoweeks.Studentsdonotreceiveremindersoncetheycompletethe
evaluation.Studentscompletetheevaluationonlineathttps://mycti.cti.depaul.edu/mycti
Email:Emailistheprimarymeansofcommunicationbetweenfacultyandstudentsenrolledinthiscourseoutsideofclass
time.Studentsshouldbesuretheiremaillistedunder"demographicinformation"athttp://campusconnect.depaul.eduis
correct.
AcademicIntegrityPolicy:Thiscoursewillbesubjecttotheacademicintegritypolicypassedbyfaculty.Moreinformation
canbefoundathttp://academicintegrity.depaul.edu/
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Plagiarism:Theuniversityandschoolpolicyonplagiarismcanbesummarizedasfollows:Studentsinthiscourseshouldbe
awareofthestrongsanctionsthatcanbeimposedagainstsomeoneguiltyofplagiarism.Ifproven,achargeofplagiarism
couldresultinanautomaticFinthecourseandpossibleexpulsion.Thestrongestofsanctionswillbeimposedonanyone
whosubmitsashis/herownworkanyassignment,whichhasbeenpreparedbysomeoneelse.Ifyouhaveanyquestionsor
doubtsaboutwhatplagiarismentailsorhowtoproperlyacknowledgesourcematerialsbesuretoconsulttheinstructor.
Incomplete:Anincompletegradeisgivenonlyforanexceptionalreasonsuchasadeathinthefamily,aseriousillness,
etc.Anysuchreasonmustbedocumented.Anyincompleterequestmustbemadeatleasttwoweeksbeforethefinal,and
approvedbytheDeanoftheCollegeofComputingandDigitalMedia.Anyconsequencesresultingfromapoorgradefor
thecoursewillnotbeconsideredasvalidreasonsforsucharequest.
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