The Documentary Film for Majors
FILM 386
Spring 2010
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01
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This course explores the history, theory, and practice of nonfiction filmmaking from the origins of cinema to the present day. We will trace the emergence and development of documentary conventions and genres, paying particular attention to how structural and stylistic choices represent reality and shape viewer response. In class discussion, we will explore topics central to nonfiction filmmaking, including how documentary has been defined and redefined; how filmmakers and theorists have perceived the relationship between documentaries and the realities they represent; what conceptions of truth have guided the work of documentary filmmakers and theorists; the role of the documentary filmmaker as witness, mediator, instigator, promoter, and/or participant; documentary as social advocacy; the autobiographical impulse; the use of reflexivity; and the ethics of documentary filmmaking. Students will engage with the issues discussed in class through documentary filmmaking exercises and projects. Screenings will include films directed by Robert Flaherty, Dziga Vertov, Pare Lorentz, Basil Wright, John Grierson, Luis Buñuel, Leni Riefenstahl, Jean Rouch, Alain Resnais, Frederick Weiseman, the Maysles brothers, Emile DeAntonio, Ross McElwee, Marlon Riggs, Trinh T. Minh-ha, Errol Morris, and Michael Moore, among others. This course is open to film majors who have completed FILM450 or FILM451 and may be taken as a production elective. |
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Essential Capabilities:
Designing, Creating, and Realizing, Information Literacy
This course involves analysis of rhetoric, selection, and organization of visual documentary information. Students confront the stakes of representation of fact and objectivity in the film medium. This course asks students to engage in the production of documentary texts, and to engage with the tools of filmmaking to shape an argument.
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA FILM |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: FILM450 OR FILM451 |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: None |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Erik Barnouw, DOCUMENTARY: A HISTORY OF THE NON-FICTION FILM
Bill Nichols, REPRESENTING REALITY
Alan Rosenthal, WRITING, DIRECTING, AND PRODUCING DOCUMENTARY FILMS AND VIDEOS
Selected readings by John Grierson, Dziga Vertov, Carl Plantinga, Richard Barsam, and others.
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Examinations and Assignments:
One take-home essay exam, two papers, short exercises, a documentary film project. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
The course is only open to Film majors who have completed FILM450 or FILM451. |
| Instructor(s): Bricca,Jacob Paul Times: ..T.R.. 09:00AM-12:00PM; Location: CFS190; |
Permission of Instructor Required
Enrollment capacity: 8 | Permission of instructor approval will be granted by the instructor during pre-registration through the Electronic Portfolio. Click "Add to My Courses" and "To request a POI electronically, click here" to submit your request. |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
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