Good books on documentary making

C

cuervo.taylor

Active member
Hi guys,

Been reading some books on documentary like Shut up and Shoot, which was really good for a newb like me.


Also I just finished a book by a visual anthropologist: Picturing culture, and it was good theoric book about the search of truth and ethic when shooting visual anthropoogy.

Last, I'm reading MAking documentary films and videos, it's a nice book very easy to read.

Which other books would you recommend me to read?
 
I've read a few books on making documentaries, but I never really loved any of them. I would read some books on journalism (particularly about becoming a good interviewer), ethnographic writing (particularly the practical aspects like gaining acceptance in a culture and such), and screenwriting story structure (so books about writing narrative fiction).

My favorites for these are "Telling True Stories," "Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes," and then pretty much any classic screenwriting structure book like "Writer's Journey" by Vogler.

If you're a beginning documentary filmmaker, I'd honestly recommend that you practice something like street photography. I don't know what sorts of documentaries you shoot, but for a long while I was afraid to get too close to people and ask them personal questions... which is exactly what you should be doing. The camera is an obtrusive tool no matter what, and to become a great documentarian you'll need to gain an almost sociopathic immunity to feeling like you're violating somebody's privacy. This immunity needs, of course, to be balanced with ethical considerations. I'm not advocating you violate privacy.

Also as another training tool, I'd recommend starting small-talk with three strangers a day. I think the social skills you'd gain from that would be invaluable. This comes in handy for day-to-day shooting with your subjects as well as negotiating permissions to shoot in tricky places.
 
+1 for Rabiger's book here, that and Shut Up and Shoot are my two bibles for the picture I'm working on
 
'Shut up and Shoot' is pretty good for basic & intermediary practical advice for beginners. Definitely worth a look.
 
Another vote for Michael Rabiger's Directing the Documentary, which is now in its 5th edition (the link above was for the 4th): http://www.amazon.com/Directing-Documentary-Fifth-Michael-Rabiger/dp/0240810899
I'm using it right now as a textbook for a documentary production book and it really is a fantastic book. I can't imagine a better introduction to documentary production. When I finish this I will probably pick up his "Directing: Film Techniques and Aesthetics" for narrative production too, and maybe even his "Developing Story Ideas" later.
 
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