Documentary Theory

Catalog description

(cross-leveled with JOURN 4371 ). Documentary and other long-form story telling methods involve a complex series of decisions made in the creation of the work that determines its style, length, direction, point of view and more. These and a thousand other editing decisions are the difference between a successful project that touches its audience and one that falls short. The focus of this course is on the craft of editing, as seen in a variety of documentary and other works and explained through the decisions made in and out of the editing room that lead to the final product. The course will introduce important concepts of editing, the work of significant editors in both documentary and narrative fiction films, and seek to apply those techniques to the conceptualization of documentary work students will do as part of their degree. Students will understand the history of documentary editing as it evolved on its own and as influenced by narrative fiction films, the language of editing, the work of important editors and directors and how it influences today's aesthetic and how to apply what they have learned to their own documentary projects at an advanced level. Graded on A-F basis only. Credit Hour s : 3 Prerequisites: C- or higher in JOURN 7180 or C- or higher in JOURN 7200