A documentary is about so much more than simply setting up a camera and observing. Fundamental to any non-fiction film or series is the arc. How is the story set up? Where does the conflict come from and how is it presented? Who are the key characters and why should the audience care about them? What is the conclusion and how should it leave the audience feeling?
In this incredibly comprehensive six-week course, Daisy Asquith, award-winning documentary filmmaker, will take you through the different elements of documentary storytelling. Incorporating perspectives from different disciplines, you will be provided with the building blocks for your own creative project.
Blending special guest appearances from filmmakers each week with homework tasks, a Slack channel to communicate with your fellow attendees, and a suggested viewing list, this hands-on deepdive into storytelling for documentaries will equip you with the eye and attention to detail of an award-winning filmmaker.
Week 1: Introduction to documentary storytelling
To begin your six weeks of hands-on learning, you will get to grips with a brief history of the documentary, to set you up for a journey into the essential art of finding the voice and language for your story, the different modes of documentary storytelling, and the development process.
Week 2: Working with people
Essential to all documentaries is the people you will be working with. How do you access them? How can you build up trust, especially where their identities may be compromised or their motivations may differ? What are the ethics, and how do you ensure after care?
Week 3: Production and the market
You will learn about the funding landscape - which will be key for finding the right resources for your film. You will also discover how to craft the perfect pitch, who the key players are and how to contact them, managing rights and the lifecycle of a film, and how to launch your documentary.
Week 4: Cinematography
What is visual language? You’ll unlock this, as well as how to self-shoot and shoot interviews, the importance of observing, and how to construct your narrative as it will appear on screen.
Week 5: Archive
You will discover the role of archive in documentary, as well as research and acquiring rights to the things you find, the role of the personal archive, essay films, and what to do in the absence of an archive.
Week 6: Editing
The final stage of your production process - and the last session in this course. Learn how to structure your story and find your narrative in the edit, how to organise your footage, how to assemble a rough cut, and more.
This course is for…
Beginner or early career filmmakers who are looking for an intensive programme to get them started on their filmmaking journey
You will be sent a link to the webinar 2hrs before the start time of 6.00pm (BST).
Tutor profile
Daisy Asquith is a documentary filmmaker with 25 director credits for the BBC, Channel 4, Irish Film Board and the BFI, over the last two decades. She has won and been nominated for a number of awards, including a Grierson, RTS Best Documentary Series and a BAFTA. She has served on juries for BAFTA, RTS, Grierson, Sheffield Docfest and the London Film Festival, as well as participating in international documentary festivals such as NYC Docs, Bok o Bok Moscow, IDFA in Amsterdam, and Tribeca. She has filmed stories in Zimbabwe, Kyrgyzstan, India, Russia, Pakistan, Japan, Iceland, and across the USA. Recent works include Greatest Motherf***er, a feature about John Grant’s recovery from an evangelical Christian childhood and an HIV diagnosis; the BFI archive and music film Queerama; After the Dance, a BBC Storyville feature about her own mother’s secret adoption from County Clare; and This is Not Us. Daisy is a senior lecturer in creative video and screen documentary at both MA and foundation level at Goldsmiths, University of London. She holds an AHRC-funded Creative and Critical Practice PhD from the University of Sussex. Her research interests are: representation and shame, performances of gender and sexuality, hybridised forms of documentary filmmaking, representations of class, queer storytelling, archive film, practice research methodologies, and industry diversification.
You will be sent a link to the webinar 2hrs before the start time of 6.00pm (BST).
Details
Date: Six consecutive Wednesdays, from 6 October - 10 November 2021
Times: 6.00pm-8:30pm (BST)
Price: £599 (plus booking fee)
Event capacity: 18
6.00pm BST | 7.00pm CEST | 10.00am PDT | 1.00pm EDT
This masterclass is available globally. If you are joining us from outside the United Kingdom, please use this time zone converter to check your local live streaming time.
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