Creative Documentary: Theory and Practice

Providing tried and true film and documentary making methodologies, as well as the latest information on production and distribution, this text combines the old with the new to give budding documentarists the tools they need to become an accomplished filmmaker. Authors de Jong, Jerry Rothwell and Erik Knudsen provide perspectives from three different backgrounds to capture the diverse and often opposing practices of contemporary documentary production. The book addresses four trends in the current documentary environment, which include finance, digital technologies, production and distribution, and promotion. Useful websites, a historical overview of documentary filmmaking, and a bibliography are provided for further study. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
What does it mean to be a documentary filmmaker in today?s world? How are new technologies changing documentary filmmaking? What new forms of documentary are emerging? Recent technological developments have made the making and distribution of documentary films easier and more widespread than ever before. Creative Documentary: theory and practice is an innovative and essential guide that comprehensively embraces these changing contexts and provides you with the ideas, methods, and critical understanding to support successful documentary making. It helps the aspiring ?total filmmaker? understand the contemporary contexts for production, equipping you also with the understanding of creativity and visual storytelling you?ll need to excel. Bridging the gap between the theory and practice, it outlines the contemporary institutional, practical and financial contexts for production, always encouraging innovation and originality. Creative Documentary: theory and practice is an essential guide for those engaged in the study and practice of documentary theory and making, as well as key reading for those more broadly in video, film and media theory and production.