Site Archive

Join me for Making Media Now 2013 in Boston, May 3, 2013
Written by David Tames on April 24, 2013
Filed Under Events & Screenings, Filmmakers, Filmmaking, New Media

I hope you’ll join me this year on Friday, May 3rd at Massachusetts College of Art and Design for Making Media Now 2013, the annual must-attend conference for documentary media makers presented by Filmmakers Collaborative. I’m...  Continue Reading...

Sound for Documentary, Part 2: What is it and why is it so important?
Written by David Tames on March 16, 2013
Filed Under Documentary, Front Page, Sound, Video Production

In Part 1 of this series we covered eight fundamental concepts of sound for documentary. In our next post we will move closer to the practical, nitty gritty matters of sound for documentary, however, before we do, I want to briefly...  Continue Reading...

Sound for documentary, Part 1: Eight fundamental concepts
Written by David Tames on March 4, 2013
Filed Under Documentary, Featured, Filmmaking, Sound, Video Production

Between widespread access to affordable camcorders and the rising ubiquity of mobile phones with good video cameras, along with the ascendancy of YouTube as a major media diffusion platform, it’s never been easier to produce and...  Continue Reading...

FiLMiC Pro transforms iPhone into sweet and respectable video camera
Written by David Tames on February 23, 2013
Filed Under Camera, Documentary, Featured, Filmmaking, Mobile devices, Tools, Video on the Web, Video Production

The iPhone is capable of producing surprising good video and as a result, quite a few documentary makers are using their iPhones as their go-to B camera and in some cases even as their primary camera. In order to get the best video...  Continue Reading...

Basic Documentary Video Starter Kit (consumer level gear)
Written by David Tames on February 23, 2013
Filed Under Camera, Documentary, Featured, Tools, Video

You do not need fancy gear to start making documentaries, you can start out with almost any basic consumer HD camcorder as long as it has both a microphone input and headphone output. Working with external microphones and being able...  Continue Reading...

Documentary marathon at 2012 Independent Film Festival of Boston
Written by David Tames on April 26, 2012
Filed Under Documentary, Events & Screenings, Film Festivals, Filmmakers

Here’s my plan for a Sunday documentary marathon at the 2012 Independent Film Festival of Boston. All of the films below screen at the Somerville Theatre on Sunday, April 29, 2012. If you come to see one or more of these films,...  Continue Reading...

Ten glimpses into the crystal ball: the future of documentary
Written by David Tames on June 18, 2011
Filed Under Business, Distribution, Documentary, Film Festivals, Filmmaking, Media Technology, New Media, Television, The Media, Web

I’ve been contemplating the evolution of the documentary this summer and I was delighted to see that The MediaGuardian’s recent Sheffield Doc/Fest 2011 coverage includes ten articles providing a refreshing perspective...  Continue Reading...

Digital imaging throws documentary into ontological crisis
Written by David Tames on August 20, 2010
Filed Under Art, Camera, Critical Theory, Documentary, Photography

Scholars have long discussed the ambiguity and subjectivity inherent in photographic representation with its seductive verisimilitude. Bill Mitchell’s The Reconfigured Eye: Visual Truth in the Post-Photographic Era (The MIT Press,...  Continue Reading...

MassArt’s Summer Film School, 2010
Written by David Tames on June 10, 2010
Filed Under Art, Camera, Documentary, Editing, Events & Screenings, Filmmaking

Summer is upon us and I would like to remind you there is still time to register for most of the Summer Film School classes at MassArt. If you don’t live in the Boston area, MassArt is offering an affordable residential option...  Continue Reading...

Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present
Written by David Tames on April 6, 2010
Filed Under Art, Documentary, Events & Screenings, Reviews

I was in New York on March 27th to participate in The Conversation at Columbia University. In a recent blog post about the event, Rania wrote, “the paradox—though the topic was digital, the excitement came from face-to-face,...  Continue Reading...

Next Page »