Tirtza Even

The course is survey of documentary film practice, from its inception up to current times. Throughout the course we will review the change in formal, thematic and ethical concerns underlying documentary filmmaking, with an emphasis on the ways in which technological development impacted the production of time-based journalism, the presentation of subjective perspectives on political and social issues, the use of documentary as a political tool for generating impact or propaganda, narrative structures in the documentary format etc. Emphasis will be placed on the question of the use of visual media as a form of knowing, recording and telling.

Viewings will typically include films by Lumiere Brothers and Edison, early documentary filmmakers such as Flaherty, Vertov, Lenny Reifenstahl, Pare Lorenz, Walter Ruttman, Joris Ivens and John Grierson, the lyrical documentary work of Basil Wright, the social documentary films of Humphry Jennings, Direct and Verita filmmakers such as Rouch, Weisman, Maysles brothers, Leacock, Pennebaker and Ross McElwee, the audio documentaries of Glenn Gould, the archival documentaries of Ken Burns, contemporary social reflection and engagement by filmmakers such as Errol Morris and Michael Moore, the work of the Sensory Lab and much more.

In the course of the semester students will be researching, assembling material, interviewing and editing video for three short assignments and a final, longer, documentary project that will be incorporating the material viewed and discussed in class and demonstrate a mastery of -- and inquiry into -- the documentary film/video tradition.

This course is designed to acquaint first year, first semester Film, Video, New Media, and Animation (FVNMA) graduate students with the technical and conceptual aspects of the FVNMA department and to prepare students for their first formal critique. Students get authorized on FVNMA equipment and facilities.

Some examples drawn from contemporary art and current theoretical materials will be considered for discussion.

Students will have to write a project proposal and present work in progress in preparation for critique week. A group project at the beginning of the semester will introduce students to the available equipment and facilities.

Taken every semester, the Graduate Projects courses allow students to focus in private sessions on the development of their work. Students register for 6 hours of Graduate Project credit in each semester of study.

Taken every semester, the Graduate Projects courses allow students to focus in private sessions on the development of their work. Students register for 6 hours of Graduate Project credit in each semester of study.