Documentary Film-making
Course instructor: Qaiser Rafiq
Email: ([email protected])
Course description
This course is designed to give students an introduction to the practical consideration of making a
documentary film as well as exposure to various types of documentary styles and subject matter.
Elements of training will include interview techniques, observation exercises, learning story
construction, narrative structure and film editing. The course will explore the process from concept
through development to production and post-production with the intention of completing one film in
length from 5 to 8 minutes. To complement the process we will critically analyze a variety of
documentary films and also discuss their attributes.
Learning outcomes
Understanding documentary production in its social and historical context
Be able to critically evaluate and understand how it communicates meaning
Be able to produce a documentary film, making informed decision at every stage of production
Course assessment
The assessment will be based on the following requirements:
Attendance and participation 10%
Photo essay 10%
1000 words film critique 10%
Proposal presentation 10%
Interview project 20%
Final project 40%
Course Elements:
Week 1
Course introduction
General discussion of “what is documentary” and Basic concepts in documentary storytelling
Screening: - Nanook of the north by Robert Flaherty 1922
Assignment: students will be asked to come up with ideas.
Week 2
Documentary types and modes
Screening: Drifters by John Grierson, 1930- Night Mail by Harry Watt and Basil Wright,1936
Coal face by Alberto Cavalcanti 1935- Waiting for fidel by Rubbo 1974
Assignment: photo essay: thematic and narrative
Week 3
Proposal development
Treatment, synopsis and composition
Each student will submit a three to four page proposal for a documentary topic of their choice
Week 4
Constructing a documentary, narrative non-narrative films
Interview techniques, How to conduct an interview.
Screening: Man with a movie camera by Dziga Vertov
Week 5
Pre-production presentation
Story development
Each student/group will present their research and plans for characters and sequences. Students should
be able to discuss the feasibility of the plans and demonstrate pre-production planning including
location surveys. (Recce)
Week 6
Reality and representation” The truthfulness of documentary things”
Screening: The thin blue line by Errol Morris, 1988- super size me by Morgan Spurlock. 2004
Assignment: 1000 words film critique
Week 7
Documentary’s ethical and aesthetic dilemmas
Screening: - sacrifice by Andrei Tarkovsky- Grey garden by Albert Maysles’s 1975
Week 8
Interview project
Midterm (students are required to present an interview with creative treatment)
Week 9
Documentary & realism. Major realist film theorists
Character development
Screening: Nobody’s business by Alan Berliner,1996
Week 10
Cinema-verite, observational cinema
A discussion of “Direct Cinema” in the 1960s
Screening: Titicut Follies by Fred Wiseman 1967- salesman by David and Albert Maysles 1969
Week 11
Social, political and propaganda documentaries
Screening: sicko by Michael Moore, 2007- The Square by Jehane Noujaim, 2013
Week 12
Editing concepts and techniques in documentary films
Screening: Amy by Asif Kapadia, 2015- Diego Maradona, 2019
Week 13
Biographical documentaries
Screening: others will love the things I loved by Manuel Mozos, 2014
The look of silence by Joshua Oppenheimer, 2014
Week 14
Documentary association of Pakistan
Documentaries that highlights challenges faced by Pakistanis
Screening: drone by Tonje Hessen schei, Every last child by Tom Robert’s
Made in by Pakistan by Nasir Khan, A Girl in the river by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
Pakistan’s hidden shame & Among the believers by Mohammad Naqvi
Week 15
Final review of all projects, closing remarks
Week 16
Final – screening for whole semester
Screenings
Film screening and assignment screening discussions are an integral part of the course participation
grade. Selected films will be analyzed for specific conceptual and stylistic choices. We will apply the
same standards to the analysis of group projects. Be open to be challenged and honest as there will be
differing ideas and points of view expressed. These discussions are important in the development of
your ability to collaborate.
