Course Description

“There is nothing more amazing than reality” This quote of Federico Fellini opens up the appetite and desire to wander in this world and ponder over its details. It implies a challenge to discover the truth and transform it into a real visual story. So, the documentary is the art of representing the reality and showing its amazing creations. We see it as a dream, but a dream that we live while we are fully awake. To make a good documentary, one needs vigilant eyes, emotional involvement, intellectual ability and good perception, in addition to the ability to ask relevant questions about life, the universe and nature, rather than giving hypothetical or alleged answers. If the subject and the materials are very important in the documentary, the deep thinking about the appropriate artistic form is of great importance in this course.

Course Objective

At the end of the course, participants should:
- Understand the job of the Director and his roles
- Acquire the cultural and creativity background which any director must have
- Learn how to make a documentary in a professional and creative way form the idea to the screen

Course Outline

• Introduction to documentary
- History of the documentary and its evolution, its artistic trends and its different theories
- Introducing the documentary, its importance and its characteristics
• The scenario and the research:
- Types and importance of research
- The concept of scenario in the documentary and its evolution
• Filming and lighting, creativity and professionalism:
- The different artistic and dramatic styles for making documentaries and their strategies
- Introduction to the lighting concept in the documentary
• The art of interviewing and sound recording
- Types and characteristics of microphones and their –intro
- Interview art and techniques of the documentary
• Editing, the creative power of filmmaking:
- Introduction to the editing theories
- Strategies of handling the raw materials
- Editing and the dramatic structure of the documentary
- Post production (final touch)