Department of Mass Communications and Center for New Media
Colorado State University - Pueblo
2200 Bonforte Blvd.
Pueblo, CO 81004

Prerequisite: MCCNM 142

INSTRUCTOR: Samuel Ebersole, PhD
Office location, hours, email & phone: see link
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Overview

The course will focus on the history, development, and state-of-the-art of non-fiction programming—specifically, the television documentary. Exemplary documentaries will be screened with the goal of discovering essential elements that are necessary to create a successful documentary. The course will culminate in the production of short documentaries. Because of the nature of documentary production, this course is likely to be the most time-intensive course that you’ll take at CSU-Pueblo. However, the reward for your hard work and effort may be a production that becomes the centerpiece of your demo reel. Former student documentaries have been distributed nationally by PBS and locally on KTSC-TV and local cable access. Several of our former producers/directors have said that this one project was the most intense, and most rewarding, experience of their college years.

Objectives

Students are expected to

• • develop appreciation of nonfiction genres, their historical and sociological significance, and their contribution to contemporary reality programming
• • demonstrate comprehension of the process of documentary style pre-production, production, and post-production
• • function in a team environment contributing to team goals and to the dynamics that enable creativity
• • develop personal approaches to documentary storytelling and the aesthetics of documentary production, and, in the process, to produce a 20-30 minute documentary for distribution

Text

Required: Rabiger, M. (2004). Directing the documentary, 4th ed. Burlington, MA: Focal Press. [Amazon]

Recommended: Artis, A. (2007). The Shut Up and Shoot Documentary Guide, Boston: Focal Press. [Amazon]

Some wonderful resources are available online. Please see the external links section of Blackboard and the links in the TV Documentary blog at http://mccnm432.blogspot.com/

Evaluation

Grading will use the standard A-F scale. A=90-100; B=80-90; C=70-80; D=60-70; F= below 60

Please note, late work will not be accepted. It is understood that there will be complications when dealing with equipment, talent and locations—and all of this is compounded when operating on a very limited budget. The bottom line is that overruns will cost you—perhaps not in dollars this time, but rather in academic standing. The only way to avoid the unexpected is to plan for it!

There will be an examination on the Rabiger text approximately six weeks into the semester.

Two production projects (28-1 and 28-6) are to be completed by individual students working in teams of two. These projects are intended to refresh your location production skills and provide team-building opportunities prior to the main project—the final documentary. Please consult the schedule for due dates.

For the final documentary project, teams of 2-5 students will work together to complete a single project. Individual roles and responsibilities will be assigned with regard to interests and expertise in the production process. Remember, video and film production is nearly always group work. Learning how to work well in a group is an essential element in this course. Choose your teammates carefully and then commit yourselves to the implementation of small-group practices that enable the creative process. If you are unable to get along with others, I recommend that you drop this course and change your major.

Each student will be required to submit a narrative account of his/her contribution to the documentary. In order to accomplish this assignment, you will be expected to maintain a personal journal detailing date and time of all work contributed to the final project. This journal will serve as a resource for a 5-page typewritten paper to be submitted at the final screening. The paper should include an in-depth, self-critical analysis of the documentary production project including detailed analyses of what you learned from both the successes and failures of the process and the finished project. Please take this assignment seriously. This paper will be important documentation to support the score for your contribution to the final project (40% of your semester grade).

All projects and exercises must be handed in on clearly-labeled media—either DVD or DVCPro videotape. Both the media and the case must be labeled with the following information:

1. Project title
2. Date of completion
3. Project length
4. Names of team members

Media should include the standard pre-roll of bars/tone, slate, and countdown. At the conclusion of the program insert "Copyright 200[#] CSU-Pueblo" and a complete list of credits.

Periodically you or your team will be asked to present work or work-in-progress to the class. You are expected to be on time at the beginning of class on your assigned screening day. All students are expected to display an open and positive attitude at these sessions, to participate fully and welcome criticism from their classmates and professor. It is important that you demonstrate a willingness to accept criticism as part of the ongoing creative production process. Being able to think critically, and articulate your thoughts, is an important part of the creative process.

As with any television production, documentaries typically follow the standard pre-production, production, post-production workflow. Our 15-week semester will be divided roughly in thirds, with each production phase taking approximately 5 weeks. Pre-production will be devoted to idea generation, research, proposal writing, and script development. Production will involve acquisition of sounds and images necessary to tell your story. And of course, post-production involves the assembly of source material into a finished product. Mistakes and quality work are cumulative. The stronger your idea, the more detailed your shooting script, and the better your audio and video, the easier it will be to come away with a strong product. On the flip side, mistakes or shortcuts early on will lead to additional problems and time-consuming efforts to “fix it in post.”

In the real world of media production there is typically a great deal of paperwork associated with the production process. Time and resources are not committed until research, planning and documentation have been provided. To that end, there will be several documents required before production commences. Be prepared to present these to me in class PRIOR to attempting to schedule production time.

One of the first documents required is a treatment. A treatment is a one to two page description of your story idea. Everyone should come to class the second week with two treatments for presentation/discussion.

One of the treatments will then be developed into a 3-5 page, PBS-style proposal containing the following elements:

1. title
2. rational
3. goals and objectives
4. project description (expanded treatment)
5. key personnel
6. target audience
7. timeline
8. itemized budget

Based on presentations, aka “pitches”, of the proposals in class on week 3, final documentary project topics will be selected and teams assigned.

Hardware and software necessary to complete the documentary projects will be provided by the Mass Communications department at CSU-Pueblo. Students are personally responsible for the equipment checked out to them. Use it properly, provide necessary security for it at all times, and return it on time and in proper working condition. Report any discrepancies immediately to the instructor. Equipment lost or damaged due to negligence will be charged to your student account. Your classmates and future classes are depending on you. If you have access to location production and post-production equipment, you may use that instead of the MCCNM department’s facilities, but only after you have first cleared it with your instructor.

Recordable media for the documentary will be provided by the Mass Communications department. However, if you wish to move digital audio/video files from CSU-Pueblo computers to your personal computer at home, an external hard drive of 160GB or larger may be a good investment. See your instructor for recommended brands and features before purchasing external storage.

Attendance
Punctual attendance at all lectures, documentary screenings, and group sessions is expected. Your classmates are counting on your presence and professional attitude. Make-up of any quizzes, exams or other assignments missed due to an excused absence must be arranged with the professor before the next scheduled class meeting to avoid a grade of 0 being registered. Failure to show up on time to claim equipment that has been reserved will void your reservation, and multiple offenses will be grounds for loss of privileges. This course requires extensive time out of class to complete the various projects, especially the final documentary project. Please be prepared to set aside sufficient time to meet with your group and for production and post-production sessions.

Academic dishonesty
Academic dishonesty in any form, including cheating on examinations, fictionalization, using another student's work as your own, plagiarism of written documents, whether covered by copyright protection or not, or falsely representing another's work as your own, is not tolerated in the professions of mass communications, nor in this department. Students found in violation of this policy will receive a grade of F or unsatisfactory for the course upon the instructor's findings and recommendations to the department chair. In extreme cases, such violations may also result in dropping such students from the department and their major or minor in mass communications.

Disability Statement
The mass communications department abides by section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which stipulates that no student shall be denied the benefits of an education "solely by reason of a handicap." Disabilities covered by law include, but are not limited to learning disabilities, hearing, sight, or mobility impairments. If you have a disability that may affect your classroom work and require reasonable accommodations, please see your instructor or the coordinator of services to students with disabilities—in Psych room 232, 549-2663. Students with such disabilities who may need academic accommodations should discuss options with the instructor during the first two weeks of the class.

Topical Outline

• The Documentary Genre, Truth and Reality
• History of the Genre
• Pre-Production and Idea Development
• Aesthetics and Authorship
• Production Techniques
• Social Commentary Docs
• Nature Docs
• Political Docs
• Alternative Non-Fiction Formats
• Art and Performance Docs