The Shut Up and Shoot Documentary Guide: A Down & Dirty DV Production

296 Pages·2007·11.77 MB·English

by  Anthony Q. Artis

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A
PRODUCTION
AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON
NEW YORK • OXFORD • PARIS • SAN DIEGO
SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO
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Copyright © 2008, Anthony Q. Artis. Published by Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Artis, Anthony Q.
The shut up and shoot documentary guide : a down & dirty DV production / Anthony Q. Artis.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-240-80935-9 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Documentary fi lms—Production and
direction. 2. Video recordings—Production and direction. I. Title.
PN1995.9.D6A78 2007
070.1′8—dc22
2007009360
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978-0-240-80935-9
For information on all Focal Press publications
visit our website at www.books.elsevier.com
07 08 09 10 11 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in China.
This book is dedicated with love and gratitude
To my son, Tai, let this book stand as a testament that you can do
anything you set your mind to, whenever you’re ready to do it.
To my wife, Sonya, who always has my back, front, and sides and
keeps my feet on the ground. Without all of your sacrifi ce,
encouragement, and faith I would have never even started, let alone
completed, this project.
And to my elementary teachers Ms. Fletcher and Ms. Klein, who many
years ago told a skinny little Black kid from Baltimore that he could
write . . . and he believed them. Your faith in me gave
me faith in myself and the heart to help others discover and nurture
their own talents against the odds. I’m forever grateful to you both.
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CRAZY MAD THANX
To Pete who helped to water this seed and to Maxie who helped to plant it. Watching
you both do your thing up close gave me the courage to step out on a limb to do my
own thing. (First one to the top, reach back.)
To Mom, Gwen, and Sharon, who all believed in me before I believed in myself.
Thanks to my Dad for my twisted sense of humor. It’s become an effective tool in my
teaching toolkit.
I’m very thankful to all my fi lmmaking colleagues who agreed to be interviewed for
the Down and Dirty DV Project. Thanks for sharing your expertise, wisdom, and time
on this project. I learned so much from all of you in the making of this project. I
know that so many others will do the same.
A big thanks to the entire NYU Tisch School of the Arts Production Center, faculty
and administration, and the Doc Committee. Everyone’s constant support, enthusiasm,
helpful answers, and candid feedback inspired me to make this book a better tool for
students. To Lou LaVolpe, your encouragement and advice have been invaluable. C
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Thanks to all the fi lmmakers and fans who crewed and modeled for the video and
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DVD. I couldn’t have pulled any of this off without you all watching my back and
M
making me look good. A
D

T
H
To my oldest friend, Darren Hackett, the man who introduced me to the fi lm game A
N
and who was brave enough to take the fi rst crack at editing this book in its roughest, X
self-published incarnation. Not only did you introduce me to fi lmmaking, but you
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ii
showed me how to actually be a writer. (Shut up and write.) I will be eternally grateful
for both.
To Dan “The Man” Shipp, we’ve come a long way from those all-night edit sessions
for Storybook Theatre. Thanks for still having my back and still making me look good
all these years later. I promise, the best is yet to come . . . and this time we’re getting
paid!
To Dave DiGioia, who taught me half of what I know and didn’t even know he did.
You’ve had an incredible impact on how I shoot, direct, and produce video. Not
only did you school me to the video game, but you taught me how to be a video
professional. And no, I ain’t giving you any royalties, but you’ll always have my eternal
gratitude. Much love.
And of course I gotta thank my Focal Peeps for helping me pimp this book and get it
out to the masses of the Down and Dirty DV Nation. Elinor, Rockin’ Robin, Cara,
Dawnmarie, Joanne, Dennis, Becky, Sheri, Big Jim and company, you guys are
aaalllright! I appreciate the trust you gave me on this project and your putting up with
all my changes and additions to additions. To my literary agent, Jan Kardys, your
sincere generosity, guidance, and support helped make this the best possible
publishing experience. You’re one of the people that give agents a good name. Thanks
to all of you for pushing me to take this from a little, homemade, self-published book
to a bona fi de, worldwide, live publication. (This is why we’re hot!) Much love and
guerrilla gratitude. Let’s do it again sometime soon.
So many other people have contributed to this project in ways big and small, tangible
and spiritual, that it’d be impossible for me to name and thank them all here
(although you wouldn’t know it from the long book and DVD credits). Please forgive
me if I overlooked any of you in my rush to press. My coworkers, friends, and family
have all been so incredibly supportive through the years that I’ve been living this
project. I’m truly grateful and blessed to have such a fi lm-family and family-family
behind me.
Lastly, a special thanks to all the students I’ve instructed over the years. I’ve learned
as much as I’ve taught. And I’ve been inspired as much as I’ve inspired. You help me
remember why I got in this crazy business in the fi rst place. (I had no clue what I was
X getting myself into.) So many of you have such a creativity, passion, and sincerity
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A about fi lmmaking. It’s been my main inspiration in writing this book and it’s
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contagious. Hold onto that whatever you do. If you ever get lost along the way, just go
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A back to the mindset you started with and take it from there. I hope this book helps
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Y you somewhere on your journey.
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A
R
C I love and thank each and every one of y’all. No joke.
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C O N T E N T S
CRAZY MAD THANX ....................................................................vii
PREFACE ................................................................................... xxi
INTRODUCTION .........................................................................xxvi
CHAPTER 1—PREPRODUCTION .....................................................1
GETTING STARTED
• Learning the Filmmaking Process ...............................................................................................2
Film Books .............................................................................................................................2
C
DVD Extras .............................................................................................................................2 O
N
Podcasts ................................................................................................................................3 TE
N
Workshops .............................................................................................................................3 T
S
Cable TV ................................................................................................................................3
Instructional DVDs .................................................................................................................4 ix
Web Sites ..............................................................................................................................4
Crewing ..................................................................................................................................4
Doing .....................................................................................................................................5
• Been There, Done That: Why Make a Documentary?—Albert Maysles ........................................6
• Doc Preproduction .....................................................................................................................7
Introduction ...........................................................................................................................7
Documentary Goal .................................................................................................................7
GETTING THE IDEA
• Brainstorming Your Idea .............................................................................................................8
• The Importance of Research ......................................................................................................9
• Been There, Done That: Research and Fact Checking—Safi ya McClinton ................................10
• Interview Subjects ...................................................................................................................11
• Approach and Storytelling .......................................................................................................12
• Been There, Done That: Concept and Storytelling—Sam Pollard..............................................13
• The Production Plan ................................................................................................................14