Download - JRN572A - Lecture One
JRN 572 - Researching & Writing the News DocumentaryRich Hanley, Associate ProfessorIntroduction
JRN 572 - News Documentary
About Professor Hanley• Tenured Associate Professor of
Journalism.
• 7-Time Emmy nominee for documentary writing.
• Consultant to filmmakers.
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Preview Documentaries• We will watch two short docs:
“Calls to Okies: The Park Grubbs Story” and “Hotel 22” after this intro.
• Please screen “Welcome to Union Glacier” after class on your own.
• The combination of all three set the tone for the class.
JRN 572 - The News Documentary
Requirement Note • Depending on your graduate program – journalism or sports
journalism, for example - this three-credit class counts as a requirement or an elective. For Frank H. Netter MD Medical School students, this class counts as part of your capstone experience.
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Required Text• Documentary Storytelling by
Sheila Curran Bernard. 2010. Paperback or Kindle. Used versions are available at attractive prices from Amazon.com.
• Please note the Kindle version has a slightly different format but the content and chapters are the same.
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Required Reddit Board• https://www.reddit.com/r/Docum
entaries/
• Please visit this board from time to time to see what the global doc community is sharing.
• Note: This is not the same as the required Blackboard discussion board.
JRN 572 - The News Documentary
Themes
● Please note: this is not a production class. We will not be producing documentaries.
● The class emphasizes what’s known as pre-production, the process that begins with conceptualization of an idea and continues through to the drafting of a treatment and script.
JRN 572 - The News Documentary
Themes● Please do not think of this class as a chore, or a bore, because it
doesn’t involve pushing multimedia buttons or tweeting or doing any of the other wonderful things that technology presents.
● We will examine the principles, practices and techniques of the genre under the following themes:
JRN 572 - The News Documentary
Themes
• History & Modes of Documentaries• Ideas• Research - Story / Visuals / Experts• Sound• Treatment Composition• Scripting Techniques, including Voiceover Narration• Funding / Distribution
JRN 572 - The News Documentary
Themes
● The course ends with a Major Project that requires students to conceptualize an idea and develop it through the pre-production phase.
● The final outcome consists of a fully realized treatment and a draft script – rough as it may be - based on the research into the story.
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Course Introduction● The course begins with
introductory material on the history of documentaries to provide the contextual underpinnings to the genre.
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Course Introduction● That will be followed by
readings into conceptualizing ideas …
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Course Introduction● … and conducting research into
turning the ideas into a filmic reality.
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Course Introduction● We will learn to comb archives
and the internet for documents and other primary sources for the story …
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Course Introduction● … and then identify footage
that will help tell the story. No footage, no story.
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Course Introduction● And that search includes still
images that are often used for dramatic impact.
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Course Introduction● After reviewing legal hurdles
regarding rights for visuals and music, we will then start writing the treatment …
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Course Introduction● … and writing a script.
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Course Introduction● … and revising it over and over
again.
JRN 572 - The News Documentary
Course Introduction
● We will accomplish these goals through a weekly series of screenings, readings, podcasts, writing assignments and discussions as posted on Blackboard.
JRN 572 - The News Documentary
Course Introduction.
● Make sure to read the Syllabus!
● That’s where the rules of the class are available.