Writing, Directing, and Producing Documentary Films and Videos, Fourth Edition

Front Cover
SIU Press, Jun 26, 2007 - Performing Arts - 418 pages
As Alan Rosenthal states in the preface to this new edition of his acclaimed resource for filmmakers, Writing, Directing, and Producing Documentary Films and Videos is “a book about storytelling—how to tell great and moving stories about fascinating people, whether they be villains or heroes.”

In response to technological advances and the growth of the documentary hybrid in the past five years, Rosenthal reconsiders how one approaches documentary filmmaking in the twenty-first century. Simply and clearly, he explains how to tackle day-to-day problems, from initial concept through distribution. He demonstrates his ideas throughout the book with examples from key filmmakers’ work.

New aspects of this fourth edition include a vital new chapter titled "Making Your First Film," and a considerable enlargement of the section for producers, "Staying Alive," which includes an extensive discussion of financing, marketing, festivals, and distribution. This new edition offers a revised chapter on nonlinear editing, more examples of precise and exacting proposals, and the addition of a complex budget example with explanation of the budgeting process. Discussion of documentary hybrids, with suggestions for mastering changes and challenges, has also been expanded, while the “Family Films” chapter includes updated information that addresses rapid expansion in this genre.
 

Contents

I
v
II
xi
IV
xiii
V
5
VI
19
VII
42
VIII
51
IX
76
XX
192
XXI
212
XXII
253
XXIII
255
XXV
261
XXVI
274
XXVII
297
XXVIII
314

X
89
XI
113
XIII
115
XIV
132
XVI
149
XVII
151
XVIII
189
XIX
192
XXX
337
XXXII
350
XXXIII
375
XXXIV
385
XXXV
387
XXXVI
393
XXXVII
395
Copyright

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About the author (2007)

Alan Rosenthal, a professor emeritus of communications at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, is a documentary filmmaker with more than fifty films to his credit as writer, director, or producer. His books include Succeeding as a Documentary Filmmaker: A Guide to the Professional World and From "Chariots of Fire" to "The King's Speech": Writing Biopics and Docudramas. His docudrama The First Fagin, about the transportation of convicts to Australia in the nineteenth century, was invited for special feature presentation at the Melbourne International Film Festival in 2012.

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