Documentary Films
GUIDE TO SCRIPTWRITING COURSES
Documentary Film is an Intensive, meaning it happens in a short time span (1 day in NYC, or 2 days on Zoom). The course includes a mixture of lectures and exercises. It’s open to writers of any level. Farther down, you can view a syllabus for this course.
Documentary films are more prevalent than ever—showing up in theaters, streaming, the web—covering every subject imaginable, be it tragic, comic, newsworthy, or outrageous. It’s a versatile form; they can run the length of a mini-series or be as brief as a short film, and they can be made for millions or a few hundred bucks.
A great documentary film takes more than equipment and sweat equity. It must be a carefully crafted piece of nonfiction storytelling. Here you’ll learn how to conceive ideas, structure stories, conduct research and interviews, write narration, adapt your plans to the footage you get, and market your work.
Grab a camera, mic, subject…and start capturing a fascinating true story.
A great class to learn about documentaries and how you begin to form them.
Heather Quinlan
web producer
Upcoming Classes
Syllabus
This course gives an overview of the basics of writing/making a documentary film. Course components:
Brief lectures
Writing exercises
Topics:
Finding and Focusing Your Idea
Playing Producer
Interviewing
Creating a Script
Funding, Pitching, and Showing
Note: Content may vary among individual classes.
