Making the Documentary

Catalog description

Making The Documentary: This is a one-of-a-kind course where students working alongside an experienced film director will take part in a hands-on documentary project from concept to finished product. The course will explore the documentary filmmaking process from concept/development through to production and postproduction with the intention of completing a short documentary. The title of the doc will be, "Coffee, Capitalism and Consciousness". We will be exploring What role has coffee played in connecting people and places to capitalist markets and consumer cultures? What are the economic, social, and environmental consequences of these connections? How did espresso change from an "ethnic drink" to something served at McDonalds? Why do college students (and professors!) hang out in coffee shops? We will follow the spread of coffee and capitalism across the globe, with local interviews with how various people grow coffee (Ethiopia, Yemen, Indonesia, Brazil, and Costa Rica), and also where they drink coffee (Seattle, Tokyo, Seoul, New York, and Berlin). In the process, we will confront global problems linked to economic inequality, trade, gender relations, and environmental degradation. Students will be required to engage in concept development, researching, producing, and editing through to final distribution. Students will take part in organizing and ordering the footage, choosing screen selects, creating rough cuts, and fine cuts in order to find the heart of the documentary. Pick-up shoots, B-roll, archival material, music, and sound design will also be considered as needed. Prerequisite: 76-292