How Documentaries Work

How Documentaries Work breaks down the hidden conventions of documentaries in clear and accessible language for film studies students and documentary enthusiasts alike. Jacob Bricca, ACE, an award-winning documentary editor, producer, and director, provides a behind-the-scenes, under-the-hood view of what's really going on in the construction of non-fiction films and television shows. This book presents examples from contemporary documentaries and docuseries and delivers insights from some of the most exciting non-fiction filmmakers and craftspeople working today.

List of contents

• INTRODUCTION


• CHAPTER 1: RAW MATERIALS


• Verité


• Interviews


• Archival


• Reenactments and Animation


• Voiceover Narration


• Title Cards


• CHAPTER 2: MEANING


• Creating Meaning Within the Interview Frame


• Creating Visual Uniformity with Interviews


• Creating Meaning with Objects in the Frame


• Creating Meaning with Words


• Interview-As-Narration


• Creating Meaning with Verité


• Open vs. Closed Meanings


• CHAPTER 3: NARRATIVE


• The Setup


• Position


• The Crisis Moment


• Producing the Narrative Turn


• Producing the Narrative Turn with Juxtaposition


• Micro-Narratives


• Callbacks


• Non-Narrative Documentaries


• CHAPTER 4: PRESENCE FRAMING


• Observational Framing


• The Semi-Staged Scene


• The Participatory Frame


• Narration and the Participatory Frame


• Voice of God Narration


• Altering the Outcome


• The Reflexive Frame


• CHAPTER 5: FLOW


• Unifying with Sound


• Pivots and Pauses


• Juxtaposition


• Collective Memory


• CHAPTER 6: TIME


• The Experience of Time in Verité


• The Interleaving of Scenes


• Use of the Present Tense


• CHAPTER 7: TITLES


• Naming Characters


• Conferring Legitimacy


• Look and Feel


• Subtitles


• CHAPTER 8: ARCHIVAL


• Archival Treatments


• Manipulation of Newspaper Assets


• Historical Shorthand


• CHAPTER 9: SOUND


• Sweetening


• Foley


• Time and Space


• Framing Presence with Sound: The Cave and For Sama


• CHAPTER 10: MUSIC


• Fear of Music


• Film vs. Television


• Verité vs. Expository, Interviews vs. Archival


• Tone


• Procedural Music


• CONCLUSION The Brave New World of Hybridity in Documentary


• Acknowledgements


• Appendix: List of Films and Television Shows Cited

About the author

Jacob Bricca, ACE, is Associate Professor at the University of Arizona's School of Theatre, Film and Television. He is an award-winning documentary editor, producer, director, and scholar whose films have screened worldwide from Sundance to the Berlinale. His is the author of Documentary Editing: Principles and Practice (2018), a definitive textbook on documentary editing that is used by film schools around the world, including the USC School of Cinematic Arts, UCLA, and the MET Film School in London.

Summary

How Documentaries Work breaks down the hidden conventions of documentaries in clear and accessible language for film students and documentary enthusiasts alike. Jacob Bricca, ACE, an award-winning documentary director, producer, and editor, provides a behind-the-scenes, under-the-hood view of what's really going on in the construction of nonfiction films and television shows. This book presents examples from contemporary documentaries and docuseries and delivers insights from some of the most exciting nonfiction filmmakers and craftspeople working today, including director Steve James (City So Real, Hoop Dreams), producer Amy Ziering (Allen v. Farrow, The Hunting Ground), editor Aaron Wickenden, ACE (Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, 20 Feet from Stardom), and composer Miriam Cutler (RBG, Lost in La Mancha). Chapters such as "Flow," "Narrative," and "Time" offer a new way of looking at documentary film language, while others like "Titles," "Music," and "Sound" deliver extraordinary insights on seemingly ordinary topics. A compact volume written in plain, easy-to-understand language, this book promises to change the way you think about nonfiction films and television shows forever.

Additional text

Deftly combining practical experience and scholarly sources, How Documentaries Work is an ideal primer for introducing students to documentary practices and conventions...Essential. All readers.

Product details

• Authors: Bricca , Jacob Bricca, Jacob (Associate Professor Bricca
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 13.02.2023
• EAN: 9780197554111
• ISBN: 978-0-19-755411-1
• No. of pages: 232
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Art > Theatre, ballet; Documentary films, PERFORMING ARTS / Film / Direction & Production