Creating a documentary can be an intimidating process, as it often feels as though a filmmaker must be an expert on a subject in order to cohesively document it. This is not inherently true, as there are many successful films that document the filmmakers discoveries as the central story telling device. However, discovery is a risk approach as it is unpredictable and you can easily end up with a film that lack an interesting story or perspective.
This course approaches the documentary genre by focusing on the one subject we are all unquestionably experts on: ourselves. Documentaries made in this course do not need to be a biography, however, the filmmakers relationship to their chosen subject must be apparent throughout the film.
This is a film production course with a critical analysis component. Throughout the term all assignments will be directly related to a final video assignment, the creation of a retrospective documentary. Required viewings are key references within the genre.
Featured image from Stories We Tell directed by Sarah Polley
