The Documentary Moviemaking Course

Book excerpt: (back cover) Documentary films produced for TV, DVD, and movie theater distribution employ more filmmakers than any other genre, and are a popular career choice for beginners. Thanks to user-friendly equipment available today, you can get started in this burgeoning field even if you don't have a film-school background. - This book shows how you can begin making documentary movies--from researching and defining your theme, style, and the treatment that gives your film coherence, to organizing the production, and ultimately, getting it seen by a wider audience. - You will learn all the fundamentals: the essential equipment you must buy or rent for shooting and editing; the journalistic and production know-how for identifying interview subjects and locations and getting them on camera; the cinematic and editing skills that bring your material together for maximum impact; and the ability to find those key shots that will make your film a success. Kevin J. Lindenmuth has worked in the film/television business for over 25 years, both in New York City and the Detroit Metro area. In the course of his career he has produced over a dozen independent features that have been distributed worldwide and seven documentaries, most of the latter broadcast nationally on PBS. In addition to writing for several film-oriented magazines and websites, he has written two previous books on independent filmmaking.