Product Description

Documentary Storytelling offers a unique in-depth look at story and structure as applied not to Hollywood fiction, but to films and videos based on factual material and the drama of real life. With the growing popularity of documentaries in today's global media marketplace, demand for powerful and memorable storytelling has never been greater. This practical guide offers advice for every stage of production, from research and proposal writing to shooting and editing, and applies it to diverse subjects and film styles, from vérité and personal narrative to archival histories and more.

Filled with real-world examples drawn from the author's career and the experiences of some of today's top documentarians, Documentary Storytelling includes special interview chapters with Ric Burns, Jon Else, Nick Fraser, Susan Froemke, Sam Pollard, Onyekachi Wambu and other film professionals. This second edition has been brought up to date with a more international focus, a look at lower-budget independent filmmaking, and consideration of newer films including Super Size Me, Murderball, So Much So Fast, and When the Levees Broke.

* Storytelling techniques are one of the most powerful tools in the documentary filmmaker's arsenal--learn how to harness them with this book
* Top documentary filmmakers provide their storytelling strategies
* Covers a wide range of documentary styles

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13935 in Books
• Published on: 2007-02-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780240808758
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"Brilliant and effective...Documentary Storytelling guides readers through nearly every phase of creating a documentary: structuring, working up a proposal, and, of course, shooting and editing" - Backstage

"Sheila Curran Bernard's ability to dissect a wide range of narrative apporaches and explore the elements that make dramatic stories so compelling make this guide invaluable for documentary filmmakers as well as anyone who uses information and evidence to portray real events." -Dr. Pennee Bender, Media Director, Center for Media and Learning, City University of New York, The Graduate Center.

"With all the buzz over blockbuster docs, Focal Press serves up a perfectly timed winner in a much-neglected area. True to the nature of the beast, the book is more about filmmaking as a whole, and how and where storytelling weaves into the overall process".-Bruce Mckenna, Canadian Screenwriter (Writers Guild of Canada)

"Bernard is keenly aware of the power of persuasive images, and her insistence on complexity and integrity is a consistant theme throughout the book."- Alyssa Worsham, The Independent (Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers)

"With the availability of high-quality affordable cameras and editing equipment, documentary filmmakers today enjoy a freedom in shaping their films that their counterparts a decade ago could't have imaged. As the new aesthetic is shaped, Sheila Curran Bernard's brilliant and effective Documentary Storytelling, Second Edition: Making Stronger and More Dramatic Nonfiction films aims to guide the Erroll Morrises of tomorrow with great advice and practical knowledge that every documentatian would benefit from."-Backstage March 22, 2007

About the Author
Sheila Curran Bernard is an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker and the author of Documentary Storytelling, a best selling guide to story and structure in nonfiction filmmaking. Her archival film credits include the series Eyes on the Prize, I'll Make Me a World, This Far By Faith, America's War on Poverty, and School, for which she also co-wrote the companion book.

Customer Reviews

Outstanding Resource
Whether a practitioner of the craft or someone who enjoys viewing non-fiction films, Documentary Storytelling is an invaluable resource. Sheila Curran Bernard's award-winning experience in the genre shines in this extremely practical book. From casting to treatments to editing, Bernard covers all the basics in great detail. But what distinguishes this book is her dedication to storytelling, a concept often lost with the technical wizardry available at our fingertips. Bernard's breakdown of the three-act structure and comparison of the narrative spine to a train offer wonderful lessons for novices and reminders for experienced filmmakers. Her analysis of existing documentaries illuminates the three-act structure. Bernard's main points are reinforced at the end of the book, thanks to a series of interviews she conducted with experienced documentarians. The reader is left with a practical how-to guide to make documentaries, as well as the critical skills to analyze non-fiction films.

In short, Documentary Storytelling is a must for students and anyone who wishes to engage in documentaries!

Required Reading For Any Level
While there are many good books on the subject of producing documentaries, Sheila Curran Bernard's "Documentary Storytelling" has done what I feel no other has managed to do; she discusses the principles, practical aspects and basic story telling structure of writing and producing documentaries in great depth, yet as though she were talking to a good friend. No lectures, no "the world according to me" (although well she could, as her track record is beyond impressive), just straight talk about the craft of producing documentaries and what we all should continue to seek out and ask ourselves as we continue to chip away at the art form. She rounds out the book with several informative interviews with recognized film makers and here too; no preaching, simply shared experiences and insights. As I said, there are many good books on the subject, all of which I refer to from time to time, but "Documentary Storytelling" is the one I keep beside my bed and in my kit. From the casual viewer to the well seasoned producer, camera person or editor, all would be well served to buy and read this wonderful book!

One of the Three Essentials in Making a Documentary
There's no point to making a documentary if no one wants to watch it. This book is all about giving your documentary film a story structure that will grab your viewers' attention from the opening and keep them with you to the conclusion - and doing so without compromising the integrity of the documentary message.

In my seminar, "Three Essentials in Making a Documentary," the second essential is structuring a story. And it ends with the recommendation that anyone making a documentary should own this book.