Subject to change!

A film is never really good unless the camera is an eye in the head of a poet. Orson Welles,

The media asks those who know nothing to represent the ignorance of the public and, in so doing, to legitimize it Serge Daney

To all filmmakers who accept the limited, socially determined rules of clarity of exposition, who think that films must use the accepted vocabulary to “convince,” we say, essentially: “You only work, whatever your reasons, whatever your presumed ‘content,’ to support and bolster this society. You are part of the mechanisms which maintain stability through re–integation. Your films are helping to hold it all together. We want to make films that unnerve, that shake assumptions, that threaten, that do not soft–sell, but hopefully (an impossible ideal) explode like grenades in people’s faces, or open minds up like a good can opener. Robert Kramer

Photography is the hunt, it's the instinct of hunting without the desire to kill. It's the hunt of angels. You trail, you aim, you fire and -- clic! -- instead of a dead man, you make him everlasting. Chris Marker

Documentary Production

Spring 08	L53-311 Pier Marton
Eads 013	Office Hours
Thursdays 4 pm-7 p.m.	In Mallinckrodt 305: Wed. 2:45-3:45 p.m. & Thurs. 3-4 p.m. (Appt. Pref.)
http://get.to/pier	935-4055/marton@artsci.wustl.edu

More than one hundred years ago, as cameras were perfected, the very first type of film to emerge were those documenting daily life. Since that time, documentaries have gone through various phases of popularity. Apparently, we are experiencing a resurgence with numerous theatrical releases. In this course students, while examining the various documentary genres, will create a short (8-18 minute) documentary. The goal is to create an arresting set of "revelations" that will challenge our assumptions about a certain topic. Students work with DV cameras and explore editing techniques through FinalCut Pro. The finished product will be screened publicly and will be expected to be able to enter film competitions. Required texts:Directing the Documentary by Michael Rabiger, Documentary: A History of the Non-Fiction Film by Erik Barnouw. Recommended: The Bare Bones Camera Course for Film and Video by Tom Schroeppel, Photo Idea Index & Design Basics Index by Jim Krause, and Notes on Cinematography by Robert Bresson. Prerequisite: Film Studies 230 (or some other basic production course).

Documentaries to view (every week, one or two) Thur. 1/17 - Introduction to Course, Goals. Previous works. Tarkovsky's warning. Movement of Life: Lumiére's films. Sans Soleil by Chris Marker. Potential Subjects. FNW (For Next Week) List of pitfalls & Treatment (E-mail & Hard-Copy) + Getting Clearance from Subjects/Locations + Read DD (Rabiger) Chap.1, 10 & 11 & Chapt. 1 Barnouw + Editing Material given in Class (either through FCP or iMovie), Prove you can Energize Material through the process of Assembling it (Anything Goes!). Thur. 1/24 - We meet in Lambert Lounge in Mallinckrodt (first part of class). Video the DV format and our cameras. Structures and /Shooting Techniques. (Re)cap of Bare Bones and Capture Process. FNW Read DD Chap.3, 4 & 5 & Chapt. 2 Barnouw + Document a particular common process of your choice (preferably relevant to your piece) and show it in class. Pay attention to the way that information is imparted + E-mail me your responses to the DD questionnaire on pp. 564-567. Thur. 1/31 - Again Lambert Lounge: Lighting and Microphones. Visit the page of advice and read and re-read it (throughout the semester). FNW Revise your DD questionnaire answers to transform them into a project description that could be used for participants and funders (e-mail it) + DD Chap. 21 & 22 & Chapt. 3 Barnouw + First Shoot (bring material that could be used as introduction). Thur. 2/7 - Possible visit by Kota Ezawa/Project Assessments. Lumiére & Company + The Block Captain (cont.). Vertov's Manifestoes + 7 p.m. Lecture at SLAM by Ezawa. FNW Read DD Chap.24, 25 & 26 & Chapt. 4 Barnouw + "Barebones" for those who have never read it (Quiz?) + Keep adding Material to the Timeline (possible conclusion). Thur. 2/14 - Kuleshov, Gumbo Soup, Context, Framing, Concluding the Documentary Essay. FNW Read DD Chap.27 & Chapt. 5 Barnouw + Let's see Three Parts of your Piece (a Middle Section becomes Apparent). Thur. 2/21 - Sound in Documentary. Night Mail by Watt and Wright. Soundtrack Pro (SP). The Reality of Fiction: "L'enfant" by the Dardennes Brothers.. FNW Read DD Chap. 29 & 30 & Chapt. 6 Barnouw + Define your Crisis/Climax Axis. Thur. 2/28 - Soundtrack Dissonances.Letter From Siberia by Chris Marker. "Well-dressed Structures": Murder on a Sunday Morning by de Lestrade. FNW Read DD Chap. 31, 32 & 33 + Put all of the Elements that Count on your Timeline. Thur. 3/6 - First Edit. What is missing? FNW Read DD Chap. 34 & 35 For Week After Break: Tighten your Project so that Energy is Present and "the Trees are Clearly Visible, Not just the Forest"+ E-mail me 30 recommended steps you have taken or plan to take with your project from DD Chap.38. Thur. 3/13 - SPRING BREAK Thur. 3/20 - Structures & Trimming to Make it Shine. Production Assessment. FNW Answer truthfully DD p. 558 (in e-mail format by Directing/Camera/Editing/Dramatic Form and Authorship Categories). Thur. 3/27 - Visual Culture Studies/Theory Overview. FNW Answer Production Assessment DD p. 560 + Every Week Major Improvements! Thur. 4/3 - Soundtrack Pro Noise Reduction.Titling. FNW Answer DD .Assessment p. 561+ Read DD Chap. 36 & 37 + Keep at it with the Weekly Improvements! Thur. 4/10 - Final Pieces due. Post-Production Touch Up In-Class-Session. "Printing" to Tape. Further Audio Sweetening. Stylistic Polishing. FNW Finalized piece due. Thur. 4/17 - Final Presentations with DV Tape. Thur. 4/24 - Review. FNW DD Chap. 39 & 40 Sunday May 4 - Public screening! In terms of grading, sustained efforts and thorough participation will guarantee a passing grade. Beyond that, if your piece is well-done, you will get a B. If it is nearing excellence by being original, well-designed (visually and as a concept) you will receive an A. I recommend you ask me throughout the semester for such feedback, if you are concerned about your final grade. Personally, I do not know how to make an objective document and I would mistrust anyone who said they could. Every aspect of filmmaking is rooted in choice, whether it's in the subject matter, the way the film is shot or edited, how long one remains on location, the duration of the film, the point of view, etc. Every element of a film is the consequence of a choice and that choice is, for lack of a better word, a subjective choice made by an individual. Frederic Wiseman.