Documentary Storytelling, Second Edition: Making Stronger and More Dramatic Nonfiction Films
by Sheila Curran Bernard
Our Price: $64.98
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $16.00 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Sheila Curran BernardEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-02-08
ISBN: 0240808754
Number of pages: 400
Publisher: Focal Press
Book Reviews of Documentary Storytelling, Second Edition: Making Stronger and More Dramatic Nonfiction Films
Book Review: Excellent primer on documentary storytelling, but weak on ethics
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an impressive discourse on the art of storytelling in the documentary film form. Bernard writes as if she were in the front of a room speaking informally with a group of earnest students. Her approach is granular: she tackles each of the essentials in turn: story basics, approach, structure, manipulating time and then provides some case studies to sum up her initial points. Next she moves into research, casting (an all too often overlooked aspect of documentary storytelling), pitching and proposal writing and the hows and whys of outlines, treatments and scripts. Finally, she moves into more general advice on shooting, editing, writing narration and voice-over and provides a checklist for storytelling. All very useful information, packaged in a very comfortable form.
Overall, this is an excellent book, but it leaves a bit troubled in that it is light in advice on ethics, though some of the examples given are telling. Documentaries have long been a favored form of the left-wing for propagandistic purposes. Many times, documentaries expose genuine social evils. Unfortunately, all too often they just make things up. Think of the Alar scare some years back. Think of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" which a British court found to contain untruths and misstatements. In short, documentary storytelling should be honest even when promoting a particular point of view. This makes the creative process much more difficult, of course, and doesn't lend itself to provoking fear and controversy. Essentially Bernard devotes two pages to ethics under the heading of "Documentary or Diatribe?" In my opinion, not only is it not enough, but Bernard seems to me to be taking a "wink wink, nudge nudge" stance on the issue.
Bu the reality is that Bernard is not writing a text on the ethics of the documentary film. She is writing a text on storytelling in the documentary and this goal she does extremely well in achieving.
Jerry
More Documentary Storytelling, Second Edition: Making Stronger and More Dramatic Nonfiction Films reviews:
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
Summary of Documentary Storytelling, Second Edition: Making Stronger and More Dramatic Nonfiction Films
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
Movies Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Movies Books
David Lean: A Biographyby Kevin Brownlow
St Martins Pr; Published: 1997-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $55.00
The New Biographical Dictionary of Film: Fifth Edition, Completely Updated and Expandedby David Thomson
Knopf; Published: 2010-10-26; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $22.46
Price in other shops:
Placing Shadows, Third Edition: Lighting Techniques for Video Productionby Chuck Gloman, Tom LeTourneau
Focal Press; Published: 2005-02-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $37.04
Price in other shops:
Placing Shadows, Second Edition: Lighting Techniques for Video Productionby Chuck Gloman, Tom LeTourneau
Focal Press; Published: 2000-04-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.89
Price in other shops:
Stars in My Eyesby Don Bachardy
University of Wisconsin Press; Published: 2011-02-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.98
Price in other shops:
Behind the Curtain: Making Music in Mumbai's Film Studiosby Gregory D. Booth
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2008-10-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $17.71
Price in other shops:
Time Out Film Guide, 6th EditionTime Out; Published: 1998-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.00
Price in other shops:
Natashaby Suzanne Finstad
Random House; Published: 2002-07-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.44
The Writer Got Screwed (but didn't have to): Guide to the Legal and Business Practices of Writing for the Entertainment Industryby Brooke A. Wharton
Harper Perennial; Published: 1997-03-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.12
Price in other shops:
JOHN WAYNE: AMERICANby Randy Roberts, James S. Olson
Free Press; Published: 1995-09-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $64.99
Similar Books and other products
The Bare Bones Camera Course for Film and Videoby Tom Schroeppel
Tom Schroeppel; Published: 1982-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $24.99
In the Blink of an Eye Revised 2nd Editionby Walter Murch
Silman-James Press; Published: 2001-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.99
Price in other shops:
Writing, Directing, and Producing Documentary Films and Videos, Fourth Editionby Professor Alan Rosenthal
Southern Illinois University Press; Published: 2007-06-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $26.84
Price in other shops:
Producing with Passion: Making Films That Change the Worldby Dorothy Fadiman, Tony Levelle
Michael Wiese Productions; Published: 2008-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.56
Price in other shops:
Directing the Documentary, Fourth Editionby Michael Rabiger
Focal Press; Published: 2004-04-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $25.95
Price in other shops:
Documentary Film: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)by Patricia Aufderheide
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2007-11-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.68
Price in other shops:
Documentary: A History of the Non-Fiction Filmby Erik Barnouw
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1993-01-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.22
Price in other shops:
Making Documentary Films and Videos: A Practical Guide to Planning, Filming, and Editing Documentariesby Barry Hampe
Holt Paperbacks; Published: 2007-12-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.74
Price in other shops:
Directing the Documentary, Fifth Editionby Michael Rabiger
Focal Press; Published: 2009-02-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $29.68
Price in other shops:
The Shut Up and Shoot Documentary Guide: A Down & Dirty DV Productionby Anthony Q. Artis
Focal Press; Published: 2007-09-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $19.71
Price in other shops: