Continuing Education at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University

In this eight-day intensive, students are fully immersed in the process of documentary filmmaking. Working in small production teams (one instructor for every four students) led by experienced documentary filmmakers, you will be introduced to an array of tools and techniques as you collaborate with a partner to direct, shoot, edit, and screen a documentary short. By the time you arrive at the intensive, we will have arranged for you to do fieldwork in the Durham community on a documentary subject; you will then work with your partner to decide on the technical and creative approach you want to take with your project. We will also explore different documentary genres and discuss collaboration, ethics, and community outreach. Watch last year's projects here. (48 hours)

Additional information:
Cameras and all other gear will be provided. Students will shoot with Canon 70D DSLRs, and edit on desktop workstations using Adobe Premiere. No experience in video production is required.

The enrollment fee includes dinner the first night and all lunches during the week. Students are responsible for housing and transportation.

Hours for the intensive are:
Saturday, June 22: 2 p.m.–9 p.m.
Sunday–Friday, June 23–28: 9 a.m.–9 p.m.
Saturday, June 29: 10 a.m.–3 p.m.

The intensive concludes Saturday, with a public presentation of student work at the Full Frame Theater beginning at 10:30 a.m.

See the course blog for a preliminary schedule, information on housing options, and more.

How do you craft footage into a story—better yet, your story? We’ll analyze documentaries to learn basic editing conventions and study the effects of stylistic choices. Then, through in-class exercises and weekly homework assignments, we will try it out for ourselves. Using Adobe Premiere Pro, students will edit the same supplied footage to create their own take on the “same” story, which they will share with each other in class. (20 hours/Beginning)

Durward Rogers is a filmmaker with an interest in scientific and technical documentaries. He started practicing film photography at the age of nine and has used Photoshop and digital cameras since they were first released. Before earning his Certificate in the Documentary Arts, Rogers spent twenty-five years as a computer graphics engineer, working on such projects as the world’s fastest graphics supercomputer and the original Xbox. He is currently working on a film about climate change.

Additional information:
Some homework assignments may require the use of CDS facilities between classes.

Please bring a portable hard drive.

There will be no class October 31.

In the palm of our hands, we have more filmmaking power than D.W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, or Sergei Eisenstein ever knew. This course will cover the practice and possibilities of shooting video with a smartphone. We’ll show you how to put together a smartphone video rig, which can include external lights, microphones, stabilizers, and lenses. We’ll also touch on the foundations of filmmaking, including pre-production, shot composition, building a soundtrack, and editing. By the end of the six weeks, each student will have made a short smartphone video as a class assignment. Whether you use an iPhone, Android, Huawei, or Samsung, this course will help you take your smartphone filmmaking to the next level. (12 hours/All Levels)

Please note: This course is offered in an online format and will not meet at CDS but will instead take place in regularly scheduled virtual sessions.

Emmy and Cannes Lions award-winning producer Hal Goodtree has worked for the NFL, the New York Times, and with screen luminaries such as James Earl Jones, Cindy Crawford, and legendary documentarian Albert Maysles. His latest project, a documentary about American Tobacco, earned a #1 rating in prime time when it was broadcast on WRAL in December 2014. His work has been awarded an Emmy, a Cannes Lion, and most recently, Best Short Documentary at the 2015 Longleaf Film Festival.

Additional information:
A late-model computer, fast internet connection, and built-in camera are recommended, though not required. Students with less than optimal hardware or internet connections are welcome to take the course, though it may be difficult to participate fully in virtual meetings.

Your documentary films can be scripted! A well-written script can be key to structuring your film. Structure can make not only the difference between a bad film and a good film, but between a good film and a great one. To create a documentary that’s coherent in post-production, your pre-production needs to be equally coherent. One of the best ways to organize one’s research, explore new ideas, and more accurately plan for the unexpected is to write a documentary script. In this one-day workshop, students will learn the basics of writing the documentary script, including the conceptual and practical theory behind script construction, the role of story in documentary filmmaking, and proper A/V script formatting. We’ll learn the best ways to outline scenes and analyze existing A/V scripts for production and post-production needs. And we’ll use widely available script writing software which you will then use in practical exercises that demonstrate how to translate your written documentaries from script to screen. Added value may be gained by pairing this course with Documentary and Three-Act Structure. (5 hours/All Levels)

Please note: This is a hybrid onsite/online class. Distance students will participate via teleconference.

Joshua Dasal has taught at CDS since 2010. He is an Emmy- and Silver Telly–winning director, producer, screenwriter, and video marketer. A master’s graduate of the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television, he has created projects and/or consulted for Discovery Channel, PBS, Sony Screen Gems, and director Wes Craven. He has taught filmmaking courses at UNC-Chapel Hill and Missouri State University, and his films have screened at venues like the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Director’s Guild of America, and USC’s First Look Film Festival. He is the owner and chief creative officer of Kaboonki Creative, a video production and marketing firm based in Raleigh.

Additional information:
To participate from off-site, a late-model computer, fast internet connection, and built-in camera are recommended, though not required. Students with less than optimal hardware or internet connections are welcome to take the course, though it may be difficult to participate fully.

There will be a one-hour break for lunch.