The Art of the Documentary Fifteen Conversations with Leading Directors, Cinematographers, Editors, and Producers

by Cunningham, Megan

• ISBN13: 9780321981929
• ISBN10: 0321981928
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2014-04-18
• Publisher: New Riders

Summary

Documentary filmmaking is a powerful and vital element to our society,  and those who are responsible for bringing real stories and issues to a creative medium often have an uncanny ability to make a deep connection to us with their art. Legendary directors and cinematographers such as the Maysles brothers, D.A. Pennabaker & Chris Hegedus, Errol Morris, or Ken Burns have vividly made their marks in recent decades and continue to inspire those who enter the field. Inexpensive video camera equipment and video editing software have helped fuel a new wave of truth-tellers, bringing the tools of the craft within reach of amateurs and students, as well as independent journalists and filmmakers on a budget.

In The Art of the Documentary, the directors, editors, cinematographers, and producers behind today's most thought-provoking nonfiction films reveal the thought processes, methods, and collaborations that have guided their efforts- from project conception to developing, producing, shooting, editing, and releasing some of the finest documentary films of recent decades.

This richly illustrated volume, which will appeal to professional and aspiring filmmakers, as well as documentary enthusiasts, features conversations with directors, cinematographers, editors, and producers, including Ken Burns (The Civil War, Jazz, Baseball), director/cinematographer D A Pennebaker (Dont Look Back, The War Room), director/cinematographer Albert Maysles (Gimme Shelter, Grey Gardens), director Errol Morris (The Fog of War, The Thin Blue Line), director Chris Hegedus (Startup.com, Down from the Mountain), editor Larry Silk (Pumping Iron, Wild Man Blues), cinematographer Buddy Squires (The Civil War, Ram Dass, Fierce Grace), director/producer Lauren Lazin (Tupac: Resurrection, Journey of Dr. Dre), editor/director Paula Heredia (The Vagina Monologues, In Memoriam: New York City, 9/11/01), director/cinematographer Kirsten Johnson (Fahrenheit 9/11, Innocent Until Proven Guilty), editor Geof Bartz (Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth, He's Having a Baby), Sheila Nevins, President of HBO Documentaries and HBO Family, Alison Bourke, executive producer for IFC, Cara Mertes, executive producer at PBS for the POV series, Frazer Pennebaker, producer. And with contributions by: Carol Dysinger, film editor and professor, NYU Film School, and Haskell Wexler, cinematographer.

A Note About the Second Edition:

In this edition of the book, we have included the original full interviews of the producers that did not appear in the first edition. Those producers include Sheila Nevins, Lauren Lazin, Alison Palmer Bourke, Cara Mertes, and Frazer Pennebaker. The interviews of the directors, cinematographers and editors have been left in tact and are included as they appeared in the first edition. The filmographies of each interviewee have been updated to include recent works.

Author Biography

Megan Cunningham is the Founder and CEO of Magnet Media, an award-winning digital production studio and marketing services firm.

Over the past decade, Magnet Media has become known for its pioneering approach to reaching audiences through compelling storytelling on emerging platforms. Their clients include Apple, Microsoft, Google, ABC, Showtime, The Associated Press, Dreamworks Animation, NBC and more.

Megan began her career production educational videos to promote social change. She has worked on several documentaries for cable and public television.  She has consulted on dozens of tech and entertainment projects and has led seminars, workshops and panels at The Wharton School of Business' Entrepreneurs Conference, The Producer's Institute, the Independent Feature Market, and NAB. She is a member of the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, has served on the Board of Directors of New York Women in Film and Television, was a recent Fellow at the Punch Sulzberger Program through the Columbia School of Journalism. She is a graduate of Swarthmore College.