Tens of thousands of readers have benefited from Michael Rabiger's classic text on documentary filmmaking, now updated to reflect the revolutionary switch to digital video equipment and software. You will learn how to research and focus a documentary film or video idea, develop a crew, direct the crew, maintain control during shooting, and oversee postproduction. Practical work is emphasized, with dozens of exercises and questionnaires to help focus your ideas and give you hands-on practice. The documentary is treated as an important genre in its own right, as well as a useful prelude to directing feature films.
The fourth edition is a significant update. The book's emphasis has always been on concrete steps you can take to become a documentary filmmaker, and there are loads of new projects to help, along with assessment tables that allow you to gauge your progress. In addition, there is new material on location sound, the reality TV trend, top documentaries to see, and more.
*The definitive guide to making a documentary
*A hands-on approach with dozens of exercises
*A fully updated 4th edition of the classic textbook
Tens of thousands of readers have benefited from Michael Rabiger's classic text on documentary filmmaking, now updated to reflect the revolutionary switch to digital video equipment and software. You will learn how to research and focus a documentary film or video idea, develop a crew, direct the crew, maintain control during shooting, and oversee postproduction. Practical work is emphasized, with dozens of exercises and questionnaires to help focus your ideas and give you hands-on practice. The documentary is treated as an important genre in its own right, as well as a useful prelude to directing feature films.
The fourth edition is a significant update. The book's emphasis has always been on concrete steps you can take to become a documentary filmmaker, and there are loads of new projects to help, along with assessment tables that allow you to gauge your progress. In addition, there is new material on location sound, the reality TV trend, top documentaries to see, and more.
*The definitive guide to making a documentary
*A hands-on approach with dozens of exercises
*A fully updated 4th edition of the classic textbook
Part 1: Introduction, History and Future
Ch. 1: The Director's Role
Ch. 2: A Brief and Functional History of the Documentary
Part 2: Aesthetics and Authorship
Ch. 3: Elements of the Documentary
Ch. 4: Evidence of Point of View in the Documentary
Ch. 5: Time, Development, and Structure
Ch. 6: Authorship Challenges and Opportunities
Ch. 7: Re-enactment, Reconstruction, and Docudrama
Ch. 8: Documentary Theory and the Issue of Representation
Ch. 9: Projects: Critical Writing
Part 3: Identity and Authorship
Ch. 10: Projects: Recognizing Your Artisitic Identity
Ch. 11: Developing Your Story Ideas
Part 4: Screencraft
Ch. 12: Screen Grammar
Ch. 13: Projects: Screencraft Analysis
Ch. 14: Projects Basic Production
Part 5: Preproduction
Ch. 15: Initial Research and the Draft Proposal
Ch. 16: Research Leading Up to the Shoot
Ch. 17: Missions and Permissions
Ch. 18: Developing a Crew
Ch. 19: The Preproduction Meeting
Part 6: Production
Ch. 20: Camera Equipment and Shooting Procedure
Ch. 21: Lighting
Ch. 22: Location Sound
Ch. 23: Avoiding Problems
Ch. 24: Interviewing
Ch. 25: Directing Participants
Ch. 26: Directing the Crew
Ch. 27: Authorship
Ch. 28: Projects: Advanced Production
Part 7: Postproduction
Ch. 29: Postproduction Begins
Ch. 30: The Paper Edit: Designing a Structure
Ch. 31: Editing: The First Assembly
Ch. 32: Editing: The Process of Refinement
Ch. 33: Narration
Ch. 34: Editing: The End Game
Ch. 35: Using Music and Working with a Composer
Ch. 36: Editing: From Fine Cut to Sound Mix
Ch. 37: Titles and Acknowledgments
Ch. 38: Projects: Postproduction
Part 8: Career Track
Ch. 39: Education
Ch. 40: Getting Work
Part 9: Other Information
Appendix 1: Projects: Outcomes Assessment Criteria
Appendix 2: Useful Forms
Filmography of Director Michael Rabiger
Glossary
Film Sources
Bibliography
Periodicals
Useful Websites
Index
*The definitive guide to making a documentary *A hands-on approach with dozens of exercises *A fully updated 4th edition of the classic textbook
Michael Rabiger has directed or edited over 35 films, founded the
Documentary Center at Columbia College, Chicago, and was Chair of
its Film/Video Department. Now Professor Emeritus, Rabiger has also
been presented with the Preservation and Scholarship Award by the
International Documentary Association. He has given workshops in
many countries, led a multinational European documentary workshop
for CILECT, the international association of film schools. As
Visiting Professor at New York University's Tisch School of the
Arts, he taught idea development, directing, and advanced
production.
When he retired 2001 to write full-time, Columbia renamed its
documentary center "The Michael Rabiger Center for Documentary. In
2002 he was made Honorary Professor at the University of Buenos
Aires, Argentina; in 2003 awarded the 2003 Preservation and
Scholarship Award by the International Documentary Association in
Los Angeles; in 2005 the Genius Career Achievement Award by the
Chicago International Documentary Festival, and also in 2005 was
made Professor Emeritus by Columbia College Chicago.
He is the author of the enormously successful, Directing: Film
Techniques and Aesthetics (Focal Press), now in its fourth edition,
and Directing the Documentary (Focal Press), now in its fifth
edition. He is also the author of Developing Story Ideas (Focal
Press), currently in its second edition. He is currently writing a
biography of Thomas Hardy.
'What makes this book so valuable is that the author consistently
searches for the philosophical underpinnings of his art and never
gets lost in the technical processes of filmmaking.'
- Jonathan Luskin, Flying Moose Pictures, San Francisco
'The book's greatest strength is the emphasis on documentary
filmmaking as a creative, storytelling process....It supplies more
in the way of an ethical foundation for the young filmmaker than
any other title on the market.'
- Phil Hopper, Director, Theatre and Media Arts Program, Marymount
College of Fordham University
'Intelligent and artfully written, Directing the Documentary should
enjoy a place of prominence in the library of every documentary
videomaker.'
- Videomaker magazine
"...what really makes this book so valuable is that the author is
just so inspiring. Rabiger writes with such enthusiasm that even
the most nervous would-be documentary maker is encouraged. But this
is not the extent of his audience as this text is also highly
relevant and impassioning to the seasoned pro...This text is
inspirational, accessible, filled with useful filmic references and
snippets of advice...This updated 4th edition really is a must for
anyone with an interest in documentary filmmaking." - POV2
Journal
"While there are many books about the technical basics of
documentary film production, none of them integrate so thoroughly
the artistic intention at the heart of great direction with the
means of realization in pre-production, the field and the editing
room...Great directing is equally a matter of heart and soul as
much as technical knowledge. This idea is prevalent throughout
Rabiger's book." -- Ray Zone, International Documentary Magazine
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