Spring 2009 Documentary Course List

Columbia has just updated its course catalog to include classes offered in the spring 2009 semester. A bunch of documentary classes are among them, and spring is shaping up to be a great time to do documentary at Columbia. Here are the documentary classes offered:

24-1800 Documentary and Social Change (8 sections, prerequisite: Writing & Rhetoric I)
This course is an intensive and comprehensive introduction to the diverse and passionate world of documentary filmmaking and its relationship to society. Classes will consist of lectures, screenings, in-class discussions, debates, and analyses, as well as written and other assignments. Students are encouraged to explore their individual creative “voice” and to use this knowledge to stimulate original work in their areas of interest.

24-2801 Documentary I (5 sections, prerequisites: Screenwriting I, Production I, History of Cinema, Aesthetics of Cinema)
This course introduces and explores a wide variety of documentary styles and techniques. Screenings of classic and innovative films help develop a critical language that is applied by students to their own work. Technical tutorials in camera and audio equipment as well as non-linear editing are incorporated. Students will complete a short, biographical video.

24-3801 Documentary II (1 section, prerequisite: Documentary I)
Course uses hands-on projects to explore each step in the process of documentary filmmaking, from idea to final edit. Documentary styles, interview techniques, and non-fiction storytelling are inherent in the course, as well as technical considerations such as lighting and camera work. Students will complete a 15-minute film.

24-4852 Documentary III (1 section, prerequisite: Documentary II)
The course catalog for this class reads: “This course is offered to advanced documentary students and builds on the foundations developed in Documentary II. Students are expected to bring at least one developed proposal and several optional ideas for a conceptually advanced 15-20 minute film to be produced during the semester.” Doc III during the Spring Semester of 2009 will continue and finish the films started in the Fall Semester of 2008. Although several of the students in this Spring class were in the Fall section, those who weren’t able to be in the Fall section of Doc III are encouraged to sign up for this class.

24-4810 Producing the Documentary (1 section, prerequisite: Documentary I)
This advanced production course explores the relationship between the filmmaker and issues of social, personal, and political importance. It is aimed at advanced students who feel strongly about matters of wide-reaching social relevance and who wish to use the documentary vehicle as a tool for investigation and advocacy. The course emphasizes the importance of research and project planning, as well as issues of access and ethics in the filmmaker-subject relationship. With instructor’s permission, it may be open to students from other disciplines/departments.

24-4403 Editing the Documentary (1 section, prerequisites: Screenwriting I, History of Cinema, Aesthetics of Cinema, Editing I)
This course provides documentary editing experience in three areas: developing information-handling systems to deal with large amounts of material, acquiring the means to apply ideas about that material in order to develop comprehensive authorial approach, and using digital, non-linear, off-line video editing equipment for each student to edit his or her own interpretation from a variety of documentary materials.

24-2543 History of the Documentary (1 section, prerequisites: History of Cinema, Aesthetics of Cinema)
Course explores the variety of styles and concerns that shape documentaries. Content covers the first outdoor films made at the beginning of film history, the lyrical documentaries of Robert Flaherty, and the institutional documentaries inspired by John Grierson. Course also examines the broad range of developments of the post-World War II era, including the television documentary, cinema verite movement, collective and personal documentaries of anti-war and women’s movements, the role and impact of video in the ’80s and ’90s, and recent trend to incorporate narrative techniques.

24-3820 Topics in Documentary: Natural History Film (1 section, prerequisite: Documentary I)
This production course for advanced documentary students will study and engage in various subgenres of documentary filmmaking. Such past topics have included visualizing the documentary, the nature film documentary, and cinema verite. Students may repeat this course as topics change.

24-1810 Topics in Documentary: The Music Documentary (1 section, prerequisite: Writing & Rhetoric I)
This non-production, rotating topics course looks at examples of documentary filmmaking. Such past topics have included cross-cultural filmmaking, the music documentary, and indigenous filmmaking. Students may repeat this course as topics change.

24-1810 Topics in Documentary: The Ethnographic Film (1 section, prerequisite: Writing & Rhetoric I)
This non-production, rotating topics course looks at examples of documentary filmmaking. Such past topics have included cross-cultural filmmaking, the music documentary, and indigenous filmmaking. Students may repeat this course as topics change.