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Making Documentary Films and Videos: A Practical Guide to Planning, Filming, and Editing Documentaries
 
 
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Making Documentary Films and Videos: A Practical Guide to Planning, Filming, and Editing Documentaries (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: behavioral documentary, existential outline, spontaneous cinema, World War, The War Room, Michael Moore (more...)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
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Product Description

The classic guide to making documentaries, now revised and expanded for today’s filmmaker

 

The second edition of Making Documentary Films and Videos fully updates the popular guidebook that has given readers around the world the knowledge and confidence to produce their first documentary film. It traces two main approaches—recording behavior and re-creating past events—and shows you how to be successful at each. Covering all the steps from concept to completion, with chapters on visual evidence; documentary ethics; writing for documentaries; budgeting; assembling a crew; film and sound recording; casting and directing actors and nonactors; and editing for the audience, this book can help you successfully bring to life the documentary you want to make.

The second edition includes

• a discussion of truth, “reality,” and honesty in the current

   filmmaking environment

• new advice on how to get started in documentary filmmaking

• an expanded section on researching and writing the proposal,

   treatment, and script

• an exhaustive list of resources



About the Author

Barry Hampe has made more than two hundred documentary films and information videos as director or scriptwriter or both.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 464 pages
  • Publisher: Holt Paperbacks; 2 edition (December 10, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 080508181X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0805081817
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #34,704 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category: (What's this?)

    #53 in  Books > Entertainment > Movies > Direction & Production

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More About the Author

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› Visit Amazon's Barry Hampe Page
Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
behavioral documentary, existential outline, spontaneous cinema, documentary films and videos, documentary ethics, visual wallpaper, documentary idea, documenting behavior, accurate analog, visual argument, preproduction planning, sound recordist, documentary crew
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
World War, The War Room, Michael Moore, United States, Bad Mother, Defenders of Midway, New York, Super Suite, Sol Worth, Good Mother, Fox News, Global Economy, Civil War, The Hobart Shakespeareans, Hoop Dreams, Rafe Esquith, Thomas Jefferson, The French Revolution, Scientists Agree, History Channel, San Pietro, World's Smallest Political Quiz, Aunt Mary, Miss Darling, Glimpse of Genie
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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Customer Reviews

12 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (12 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A great resource for documentary filmmakers, February 15, 2008
I am starting my first documentary project and I picked up a number of books to guide me through the unfamiliar process. After reading and discarding several books on the topic, I was thrilled to discover Barry Hampe's book. It is by far the best written, most helpful and most informative guide to making documentaries that I have read.

The author is an excellent writer and the book is at all times succinct, but highly informative. It teaches you everything you need to know to make a great documentary, and also provides an extensive list of films to watch in order to demonstrate what is and is not desirable in a film. The author is an expert on the topic, and he does a fantastic job conveying the necessary information while making it simple and understandable to professionals and amateurs alike. He also devotes a portion of the book to documentary ethics, an important topic which gets too little attention from other writers.

In sum, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It has been indispensable to me in planning my documentary. I believe it is the best book to help guide you, whether (like me) you are just starting out with documentaries, or are a weathered professional looking for some new tips and advice.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Information, February 19, 2008
By Christopher E. Williamson (Kansas City, KS USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
The first half of the book introduces the concept of a documentary, what is and isn't a documentary, and covers the ethics involved in documentary filmmaking.

The second half deals with actually producing the documentary. He ignores equipment, which is good because that means it doesn't contain quickly outdated information.

The author does a great job at guiding a budding filmmaker through the process of making a documentary.

I am currently using the information he gives on securing funds using a proposal and treatment, planning the documentary, shooting, and editing. I've found it to be a great resource and has helped me feel like this is something I can do.

He doesn't make it sound easy, but he does make it easier for beginning documentarians by helping us avoid mistakes and plan to succeed. His insistence on planning is really helping me to get my stuff together to do this the right way.

It's an all around great book for anyone interested in filming a documentary.
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15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Too much personal info..., June 22, 2008
By F. Felix "FF" (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Wow, this is a tough one. How to review a book that contains fantastic topical information, surrounded by a lot of ridiculous, pointless, unsupported editorial?

The Good: as other reviewers have noted, this book provides some great information about the process of documentary filmmaking. There is a valuable & interesting discussion of ethics that goes well beyond the "get a release" advice that is all that other sources ever mention.

I also really enjoyed Hampe's emphasis on "visual evidence", rather than meaningless, pretty b-roll & his suggestion that you should turn off the sound to see if your footage is actually telling the story, or just illustrating the dialog. His recommendation to try to reduce talking heads is a great stimulus to problem-solving, & his emphasis on the all-important need for advance scripting & good story-telling is excellent.

"Truth" with a capital T is a big issue for Hampe, & he has an excellent discussion about it & the need for the documentary filmmaker to become expert in their subject to avoid manipulation & so that the right questions are asked both in the planning stage & as the project unfolds. This level of comprehension is also efficient because it prevents the project from devolving into the classic error of becoming a fishing expedition or treasure hunt where miles of video are shot in the hopes of something interesting randomly appearing in it, while the critical information needed to stitch a story together is missed entirely. Meanwhile, filtering & organizing all the material ratchets up the cost of the project, even though "video is cheap".

Okay, so now The Bad: in a way, this author has a wealth of good experience & information to share if you can just stand to be around him long enough to receive it. As I read this book, I went from "Oops! He's accidentally giving us a little too much info about his personal politics," to "This guy has a serious agenda", to "I can't believe a professional editor let this slide."

Although he frequently bemoans how polarized Americans politics has become, the author does his utmost to widen the gap. Relentlessly, he picks away at liberals, Democrats, unions & Hollywood.

The book sags when the pointless opinions fly thick & fast. For instance, why are we getting a supercilious, though flawed, lesson in "Economics 101" [if competition really invariably keeps prices down, explain the fashion industry or extravagant executive compensation, Hampe]? And what does a defense of Reaganomics have to do with filmmaking, anyway [yeah, I guess if you write yourself a check & deposit it in your savings account, then technically your revenue HAS increased]? And tell me again: why are we discussing how businesses offering their workers health insurance led to the corruption of American self-reliance? Is this guy really serious when he claims that oil companies are not necessarily profiteering in a time when Fidelity returns on the energy sector are sometimes surpassing 40%? Hampe even whines that CNN is--or at least was--wildly leftist.

Hampe is excellent when he sticks to the subject. This book will richly deserve 5-stars if the author avails himself of a better editor next edition--preferably a pinko-commie leftist liberal to counter his own strongly distracting right-wing perspective.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read!
This is a must read for anyone even thinking about a career in documentary film making! Every paragraph is meaty with thought provoking questions and answers on everything from... Read more
Published 25 days ago by Jamie F. Macvicar

5.0 out of 5 stars F.F ff G-g-great!
To all aspiring movie makers,
For me, this book was an awesome find. I was so pleased by it, in fact, that I wanted to create the most amazing review ever, to help... Read more
Published 2 months ago by la brissa

5.0 out of 5 stars new doc maker
I am a new doc maker. I just finished the book,
Making Documentary Films and Videos, by Barry Hampe. I
thoroughly enjoyed it. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Holly

4.0 out of 5 stars VERY IN DEPTH BUT A BIT TOO WORDY
overall, i do recommend this book. it's extremely in depth and covers everything as it relates to making a doc. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Anthony Hampton

5.0 out of 5 stars Very useful guide for documentary film makers.
This book is a very useful guide for documentary film makers. I will use it for my dissertation video. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Rafiki

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Great book that cuts right to the real issues. Wow!

Many books describe how to compose, light, shoot, animate, edit, color grade, and author the DVD. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Ben Koning

5.0 out of 5 stars Documentary Film Production
An excellent summary of documentary film production. Provides a useful overview of the documentary film requirements. Contains a number of beneficial "tips".
Published 16 months ago by David Sullivan

4.0 out of 5 stars Making Documentary Films
I rarely read a book from cover to cover (including appendices), except for Barry Hampe's Making Documentary Films and Videos. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Eduard Gfeller

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive and Enjoyable
I liked "Making Documentary Films and Videos" a lot. I am just getting into documentary film late in my life and I found Barry's book covered all the questions I had about making... Read more
Published 20 months ago by B. Lund

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