Editorial Reviews
Product Description:Documentary films have enjoyed a huge resurgence over the last few years, and there’s a new generation of filmmakers wanting to get involved. In addition, the digital revolution has made documentaries even more accessible to the general filmmaker. Documentary films can now be shot professionally using cheaper equipment, and smaller cameras enable the documentarian to be less intrusive and therefore more intimate in the subjects’ lives. With an increasing number of documentaries making it to the big screen (and enjoying ongoing sales on DVD), the time is right for an information-packed handbook that will guide new filmmakers towards potential artistic and commercial success.
The Documentary Film Makers Handbook features incisive and helpful interviews with dozens of industry professionals, on subjects as diverse as interview techniques, the NBC News Archive, music rights, setting up your own company, the Film Arts Foundation, pitching your proposal, the Sundance Documentary Fund, the Documentary Channel, the British Film Council, camera hire, filmmaking ethics, working with kids, editing your documentary, and DVD distribution.
The book also includes in-depth case studies of some of the most successful and acclaimed documentary films of recent years, including March of the Penguins, Born Into Brothels, Control Room, Dogtown and Z Boys, My Date With Drew, and many more! The Documentary Film Makers Handbook will be an essential resource for anyone who wants to know more about breaking into this exciting field.
Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review
The most complete resource and a great reference for novices and experienced docmakers alike!, September 16, 2008
By
Hakim (San Francisco, CA, USA)
Zinnes and Jolliffe cover almost every aspect of making great documentaries. As Zinnes says in his classes, "The point [of the book] is to give people straight answers and practical tips to keep them out of all kinds of trouble, and to help their projects move forward faster, look better, and cost less."
Using the book, documentarians of all stripes will have a basic grounding in the process, that can prepare them to make an excellent film. People need to get some real-life shooting experience, but the rest of it is covered here.
Zinnes again: "I can't teach people to be creative, or intelligent, or great storytellers." But he can give them a map and guideposts to the long and arduous process of creating a watchable film. The book would benefit from a re-issue after some editing, but the basic data is there. Already serving as a text in schools, it continues to create a wide-ranging and stimulating discussions about the very nature of filmmaking and particularly the themes and processes of documentary-making.
Full of interesting viewpoints from seasoned pros, this book takes in all angles and gives many useful resources and solid advice on just about every subject - writing, funding, filming, to distribution, as well as those great short interviews.
great reference for first-timers, July 26, 2008
By
Enmanuel Morales (Miami, FL)
Great reference tool, covers almost all aspects of documentary film making. It has some typos, enough to distract you, but in general could apply to any documentary you're planning/making. very well recommended.
The Documentary Film Makers Handbook, April 14, 2008
By
S. Goldman (Ventura, California)
One of my faculty use this book as a teaching tool and finds it creates a great deal of discussion and stimulation about the subject of documentary filmmaking. I ordered the book and read it and keep it in my library as a source book as well. It gives a good insight into the world of documentary filmmaking and is a good book for students as well as 30 year pros of the craft.It covers a wide range of topics that are quite appropriate and meaningful to the subject and is a great guide from beginning to end.
The Documentary Film Makers Handbook: A Guerilla Guide , February 18, 2008
By
D. Carteaux (Afghanistan)
Interesting viewpoints from professionals - all angles are covered, which makes them valid but often repetitive. After reading Videomaker's book, even more of the Guerilla Guide seemed redundant. But it is all good information, and the interview format is interesting. It gets a good "thumbs up" but no more than 3 1/2 stars out of 5.
A Must-Have!, March 31, 2007
By
My Two Cents (Providence, RI United States)
This book is packed with tons of useful information. We consider ourselves somewhat expererienced documentary film-makers, but it's given us a lot of valuable information we didn't alreadly know, and didn't know who to ask.
