Documentary Making for Digital Humanists

Introduction		1
1.	The Humanist Auteur	5
	The Digital Wave (and the Power It Gives Us)	7
	Film as Scholarly Tool	11
	The Filmmaker-Scholar	14
	The Filmmaker-Scholar as Auteur	19
	Looking for Charlie	23
2.	Learning to Love the Camera	25
3.	The Production Process	29
	Pre-Production	30
	Production	33
	Post-Production	37
4.	Concept and Planning	41
	Schema One — Essay Films	42
	Schema Two — Discussion/Interview Films	43
	Schema Three — Full-Production Films	44
	Schema Four — Subjective Explorations	44
	Achievability	45
	Case Study — Signals	48
	Planning	51
5.	Collaboration	55
6.	Precedent	63
7.	Choosing Your Filmmaking Equipment	75
	Smartphone Kit ($100–1,000)	76
	DSLR Kit ($300–5,000)	77
8.	Core Methods	81
	Stabilise your Camera	81
	Focus your Camera on your Subject	82
	Compose your Shots	83
	Plan to Capture Contextual Footage	86
	Take Control of your Camera’s Settings	91
9.	Settings, Lenses, Focus, and Exposure	93
	Camera Settings	94
	Lenses	95
	Stylised Focus	98
	Exposure	99
	Summary	102
10.	Composing a Shot — Tips and Techniques	103
	Head Room	104
	Looking Room	107
	The 30° and 180° Rules	107
	Fundamentals	110
11.	Shots and Compositions Considered	111
12.	The Visual Language of Cinema	119
	Frame Rate	120
	Vulnerability, Strength, and Significance through Camera Angles	120
	Wide Shots, Close-Ups, Mid-Shots	123
	Aspect Ratios	124
13.	Interviews	127
	Oral History and Interviewing	128
	Designing an Interview	130
	Formulating Interview Questions	132
	The Phrasing of Questions	133
	The Role of the Interviewer	133
	The Interviewer/Subject Relationship	135
	The Ethics of Interviewing	137
	The Interview Process	138
	Participant Information Sheet Template	140
	Informed Consent Form Template	142
14.	Recording Audio and Creating Soundscapes	145
	Recording Sound on Site	146
	Rough and Ready	146
	Lavaliere Microphones	147
	Run and Gun	147
	Clipping	148
	On-Site Tips	148
	Engineering Ambience	150
	Voice-Overs and Commentary	152
15.	Light	155
	Core Rules	155
	Hard Light and Soft Light	156
	Lights and Lighting	160
	Lighting Quick-Reference Guide	162
16.	Camera Movement	165
	Going Handheld	165
	Handheld Tracking	168
	Camera Pans and Tilts	169
	Dolly Shot	170
	Tripod Dolly	173
17.	The Two-Page Film School	175
18.	Post-Mortem: Making a Short Documentary about the 2016 Presidential Election	179
	Pre-Production	182
	Production	184
	Post-Production	187
	Aftermath	189
19.	Post-Production Workflow	193
	Review your Footage	196
	(Re)Consider your Audience’s Relationship to the Film	196
	Plan a Working-Structure for your Film	197
	Begin Creating a Rough Cut	198
	Step Back	199
	Critically Review and Reassess	199
	Post-Mortem	200
	Refine Your Rough Cut	200
	Step Back, Review Your Fine Cut and Reassess	201
	Reflections	201
20.	The Three-Act Structure	203
21.	The Protagonist	209
	Harmon’s Story Embryo	211
	Casting the Audience as the Protagonist	213
	The On-Screen Protagonist — The Journey	217
22.	Assembly	221
	Editing	221
	Colour-Grading	227
	Sound-Tracking	229
23.	Editing Workflow in Adobe Premiere Pro	233
	Step One: How to Start a New Project	234
	Step Two: Get to Know the Premiere Workspace	235
	Step Three: Import Video and Audio Clips into your Project	236
	Step Four: Move Clips into your Timeline	238
	Step Five: Shorten a Clip	240
	Step Six: Moving Clips Around the Timeline	242
	Step Seven: Cutting Between Clips	242
	Step Eight: Remove Unwanted Sound-tracks	245
	Step Nine: Add a New Sound-track	246
	Step Ten: Add On-Screen Text	248
	Step Eleven: Saving Your Project	250
	Step Twelve: Exporting Your Project	251
	Step Thirteen (Optional): Colour-Grading Your Project	253
24.	Distribution and Dissemination	255
	Theatrical Release	256
	Digital Streaming	260
	Freely Accessible Digital Streaming	262
Bibliography		267
Illustrations		277

Contents