How to make Documentary Films and Videos in all areas of production including, Filmmaker, Director, Writer, Producer, Editor, Cinematographer, Audio and other crafts using digital technology or traditional film. An in-depth guide to documentary pre-production, production and post-production. Covers documentary filmmaking and visual nonfiction storytelling based on the authors actual documentary production experience and his teaching film production, documentary film and video production for forty years.

How to use documentary visual storytelling concepts and production techniques to make documentaries of all types and formats. Producing, Writing, Directing, Camera, Editing and Distribution including Pre-production, Production and Post-production. Fully IllustratedThird Edition.

Outlines each step in creating documentaries, from conception to final film, and offers advice on capturing human behavior and recreating past events, with advice on how to get started in the field, a section on researching and developing a project, and current resources.

The purpose of this book is to offer a learning experience and an exploration into directing documentary story projects. Secondly, to provide fundamental and advanced ideas about actuality documentary filmmaking and nonfiction storytelling of all types using film, video, multimedia and other mediums. There are numerous critical reviews of documentary films and the stories they tell from a directing and filmmaking perspective. Understanding the storytelling structure of certain documentary directing styles helps in learning and building a personal directing approach. The best directors understand the traditions and aesthetics of the medium in which they are working. They also have an understanding of the crafts involved and may have worked at some of those jobs themselves. The focus of this book is on directing, but it also includes information that experienced directors should know about the process of constructing a documentary story. Finally, this book is a great read for anyone with a strong interest in documentary or nonfiction storytelling.

Discusses each step in creating documentaries from conception to final film, and offers advice on capturing human behavior and recreating past events.

How to direct documentary projects, including films, videos, television, and other nonfiction work. Learn nonfiction storytelling methods. The director's role during preproduction, production, and postproduction.

In a new edition of this popular guidebook, filmmakers Alan Rosenthal and Ned Eckhardt show readers how to utilize the latest innovations in equipment, technologies, and production techniques for success in the digital, web-based world of documentary film. All twenty-four chapters of the volume have been revised to reflect the latest advances in documentary filmmaking. Rosenthal and Eckhardt discuss the myriad ways in which technological changes have impacted the creation process of documentary films, including how these evolving technologies both complicate and enrich filmmaking today. The book provides crucial insights for the filmmaker from the film’s conception to distribution of the finished film. Topics include creating dynamic proposals, writing narration, and navigating the murky world of contracts. Also included are many practical tips for first-time filmmakers. To provide context and to illustrate techniques, Rosenthal and Eckhardt reference more than one hundred documentaries in detail. A new appendix, “Using the Web and Social Media to Prepare for Your Career,” guides filmmakers through the process of leveraging social media and crowdsourcing for success in filmmaking, fund-raising, and promotion. A day-to-day field manual packed with invaluable lessons, this volume is essential reading for both novice and experienced documentary filmmakers.