Post on 13-Apr-2017
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JRN 572 - Researching & Writing the News DocumentaryRich Hanley, Associate ProfessorPreview
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Welcome!Rich Hanleyrhanley@qu.edu@richardhanley
JRN 572 - News Documentary
About Professor Hanley• Tenured Associate Professor of
Journalism.
• 7-Time Emmy nominee for documentary writing.
• Consultant to filmmakers.
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 - The News Documentary
Journalism/Sports Journalism
● For the first segment of the course, students in both journalism and sports journalism programs will read the same materials including the required text and view the same films as the foundation for storytelling is consistent across subject matter.
● After that, journalism students will view news documentaries and sports students will view sports documentaries as posted on the Learning Module for a given week. This will be clearly marked.
● The Discussion Board comments will remain unified.
JRN 572 - The News Documentary
Operations Note
● The class is asynchronous, meaning we do not have scheduled times where we all have to be plopped into front of our screens at the same moment.
● It operates on a Sunday – Saturday weekly schedule, with material made available on Sunday and written assignments due on Saturday at 11:59 p.m.
JRN 572 - The News Documentary
Operations Note
● Discussion board postings, however, must be made earlier rather than later in the week to encourage engagement. Think Wednesday for the first post.
● Even though news and sports will fork with separate screenings after the first segment of the semester, the discussions will remain in one place to foster unity.
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
● One final note on the discussion boards: engage with your classmates and avoid the trap of simply posting to meet the posting requirement.
● And make sure to read the Syllabus!
● That’s where the rules of the class are available.
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Preview Documentaries• Here’s a reminder to watch the
three documentaries posted in the preview Learning Module to set the tone for the class.
• These are presented here to show the variety of storytelling subjects and forms to underscore the creative vitality in the field even though all films are factual.
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Preview Documentaries• “Welcome to Union Glacier”
underscores how the attention to small detail with exquisite storytelling techniques can transform an adventure documentary into something that is actually its antithesis, as the filmmaker sought to do.
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Preview Documentaries• “Call to Okies; The Park Grubbs
Story” pursues a more contemporary approach to factual storytelling, including traditional contemporary interviews with animations, text over visuals, and archival film and stills. Please note that the language is NSFW in certain sections.
JRN 572 - News Documentary
Preview Documentaries• “Hotel 22” by Elizabeth Lo is an
example of a combination of poetic and observational modes without a narrative voice outside of natural sound. Her idea of the film emerged from a combination of observation and curiosity, supported by a sense of morality. Ideas for documentaries both short (as here) and long are all around us if we take the time to notice.
JRN 572 - The News Documentary
Course Introduction● Good luck!