Documentary Filmmaking: Pre-Production To Distribution

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Course Overview

Documentary filmmaking can be challenging whether you’re just getting started or have some experience in the field. This 2-day graduate level certificate workshop will guide you through all the stages of producing a successful documentary, with tips and strategies on the essentials of independent documentary filmmaking for both short and feature-length films. The course will include an overview of documentary film financing, story development, production essentials from shooting to the final edit, creative marketing, and strategies for distribution.

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Course Outcomes

After successful completion of this course, you will have the knowledge and skills to:

  • Assess the suitability of story ideas for documentary storytelling
  • Identify diverse resources for documentary film funding
  • Understand the fundamentals of budgeting, treatment writing, and scheduling
  • Employ strategies for working with documentary film subjects
  • Plan for the stages of postproduction, including editing, working with music, color grading, and sound mix
  • Be knowledgable about and consider a wide range of distribution methods

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Who Should Attend?

Documentary Filmmaking is ideal for those new to documentary filmmaking, videographers, film producers, content creators, journalists, editors, new media managers, media professionals, content marketers, communications and PR, publishers, and educators.

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Terrific! Sheleece is a remarkably engaging instructor who was able to maintain our attention through lots of material. The class worked because it was so well organized and she was so skilled and inspiring.

Gail S.
Director

I greatly appreciate Shaleece's breadth and depth of the materials we covered in the past two days. More importantly, her openness to all of our questions regarding her impressive Real Boy film was very welcomed. She has the unusual ability to make complex issues simplified.

Martha W.
Freelancer

Very thorough. I felt that I'm able to take this back to current & future projects. The resources alone were a gift!

Victoria F.
Assistant Editor

Instructors & Facilitators

Instructors subject to change.

Shaleece Haas

Shaleece Haas is a documentary filmmaker, who recently produced and directed the 2016 documentary Real Boy, which earned 20 festival awards, was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award, and was broadcast nationally on PBS’ Independent Lens. She co-produced The Genius of Marian (2013; Tribeca Film Festival, POV), directed the documentary short Old People Driving (2010), and co-directed the short films Awardwinninggir (2012; SF DocFest) and City Fish (2011; Hot Docs, Documentary Channel). She is currently producing a short film about the grandchildren of Holocaust survivors who have chosen to tattoo their grandparents’ concentration camp numbers on their own bodies. She has also taught documentary and visual storytelling at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, UCLA Extension, and the Berkeley Advanced Media Institute. She previously worked as an editorial photographer and radio producer and was a founding staff member of the national oral history project, StoryCorps.

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Tuition

$695 USD

We encourage team work! Bring a colleague or friend and receive additional tuition discounts. Contact Alexandre Bui at alexandre.bui@berkeley.edu for more information.

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Prerequisites

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Requirements

  • The workshop is a beginning graduate-level workshop. Please contact us if you have questions about the pace or content.
  • Participants must be comfortable with technical subjects and learning in a fast-paced environment.
  • Proficiency in English.

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Contact Person

Alexandre Bui
alexandre.bui@berkeley.edu
510-642-3892

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FORMAT
START DATE
DURATION2 Days
TIME
PRICE$ 695

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