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Documentary Video Boot Camp


This is the resource page for my Documentary Video Boot Camp course. Below you’ll find links to handouts, presentations, and reference materials related to the class.

This class will be offered the week of June 3-7, 2013. Check with MassArt Professional and Continuing Education (PCE) online or call 617.879.7200 for more information and/or to register. For questions specific to the class itself you are encouraged to contact me directly. Early registration is recommended because the class always runs and sometimes fills with a waiting list . The course schedule of all MassArt summer classes is usually posted sometime during the Spring semester.

This summer will be the ninth time I teach this popular class, join us for a very intensive and rewarding week! – David Tamés

MPFV225 Documentary Video Boot Camp

June 3-7, 2013, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 1.5 credits. Offered through MassArt Professional and Continuing Education. Instructor and course designer: David Tamés. Note: the class includes an optional editing lab on Thursday evening from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.)

Documentary Video Boot Camp, January 2009, Photo by Anne Marie Stein

Documentary Video Boot Camp, January 2009, Photo by Anne Marie Stein

The Documentary Video Boot Camp is a one-week, immersive, hands-on experience in which you’ll learn the fundamentals of video documentary storytelling in an intimate and focused setting. You will develop a basic understanding of shooting techniques, picture composition, sound recording, lighting, interviewing, and editing. We’ll also cover a brief survey of history and ethical issues. The core of the class is a series of hands-on exercises exploring traditional, personal, and cinema verite approaches. Through  exercises, screening, discussion, and critique, you will be exposed to a range of aesthetic, storytelling, and technical issues related to the production of documentary videos and build confidence to apply them to your own work.

Documentary Video Boot Camp is designed to accomodate students with no prior experience with video production as well as students who already have some prior experience but want to hone their visual storytelling craft and technical skills. You are encouraged to bring your own camera, I’ve got experience using a variety of cameras including iPhones, consumer camcorders, prosumer camcorders, and D-SLRs in my documentary work so I’m happy to accommodate a wide range of cameras in the class. In fact, dealing with multiple camera types has become a reality of contemporary documentary production. If this is your first time shooting video, we’ll have consumer camcorders available for you to use. If you’ve already done some shooting, you can try your hand using a prosumer camcorder.

The class will require your full attention during the week, so plan ahead. In addition to the the five class meetings from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., there are readings you’ll be expected to do in the evenings and there’s an optional editing laboratory on Thursday night which is optional but highly recommended for students without prior editing experience.

Resources

Handouts (required reading during the week of the Boot Camp)

  • Syllabus  (PDF, includes schedule for the week and description of assignments, this link is to the syllabus for the Winter 2013  class, it will be updated to reflect the summer class shortly before the start of  class)
  • Visual storytelling: The Digital Video Documentary by Nancy Kalow, published by The Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University (PDF, link to external site )
  • Sound for Documentary (PDF, handout, covers sound and sound gear fundamentals)
  • Canon VIXIA HFM300 consumer camcorder  (PDF, link to external site, read this if you plan on using the HFM300 consumer camcorder in class, otherwise read the AG-HMC150 document)
  • Panasonic AG-HMC150 prosumer camcorder (PDF, includes glossary of camera terminology, a working draft, please get back to me with your feedback for improvements, read this if you plan on using the Panasonic HMC150 prosumer camcorder, otherwise read the VIXIA HFM300 document)
  • Editing with Adobe Premiere Pro (PDF, link to external site)

Handouts (optional reading, good for review after attending Boot Camp)

Additional Readings and Resources  (on this sites)

Additional Readings and Resources (on other sites)

Archived Documents (legacy links, we no longer use the DVX100 camera in this class

Some of these documents are released under the terms of a Creative Commons Share-Alike, Attribution, Non-Commercial license, others are Creative Commons No-Derivatives, Attribution, Non-Commercial license. You are free to share and reuse these materials under the terms of the respective license of each document. Please link back to this page (http://kino-eye.com/reference/dvb/) for attribution. If you have any questions or require permission for commercial use of these materials, or to create derivative works from documents licensed as no-derivative, please contact me.

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