PST-179 Intro to Documentary Film Studies

Course Overview

By taking this 3-credit course, students will learn about the history of documentary film and its various genres, explore filmic devices employed to convey meaning and propel story, develop documentary film treatments, and considerations for dual language film production. The course will also touch on the business of non-fiction filmmaking. By watching and discussing historic and contemporary documentary films (both iconic and lesser known titles) and through selected readings, students will learn about the formation of documentary film and the different creative approaches being used today to convey factual content. Through class activities, students will deconstruct documentary films to identify the genre, story architecture, format, and creative devices used and to assess the overall effectiveness. Students will research topics, identify target audiences, list resources, and develop treatments that outline an approach for conveying the information in creative and effective styles. Throughout the course we will discuss strategies Deaf filmmakers may want to consider when developing and producing documentaries for various audiences.