FLM 201 - Documentary Filmmaking: Filtering Your World

Course Units: 1

(Spring; De Seve) This class introduces students to the basics of documentary filmmaking. While covering enough technical know-how to successfully complete class projects, the class will keep its focus on documentary form and storytelling techniques. Students will practice storyboarding, writing synopses and treatments, and deconstructing well-respected documentaries to analyze how they were made. The primary course activity is the production of a short documentary (around 20 minutes) which can be done individually or in groups of two. Besides his or her own work, the student will be expected to participate in screening nights in which students will share each other’s work for peer evaluation and discussion. There is also the option of organizing screenings open to the entire student body.