Ideas for Successful Documentaries Short Course

Course overview

Documentaries have never been so popular and there are more filmmakers than ever. Films and their viewers have become very sophisticated. To gain funding and engage audiences, aspiring filmmakers must have a thorough understanding of the form. How and why documentaries are made is as important as the subjects they explore.

Facilitated by a multi-award-winning documentary filmmaker, this course consists of progressive steps designed to investigate documentary practice. Each step involves looking, thinking, writing and discussing documentary while also filming, recording sound and editing.

Students will reflect on key questions throughout the course. What is there of you in your filmmaking and why should your film exist? What's the difference between an interview and a conversation? And at what point do documentaries become fiction?

During the course, students are encouraged to embrace and utilise other art forms to stimulate ideas and develop unified concepts. The course involves practical exercises both in and outside the classroom, group discussions and collaboration. Students gain insight as to where their ideas for films come from and what they're trying to achieve. The aim is for students to leave the course with a skill set of new ideas, approaches and critical thought.

This course is available in multiple formats: a 5-week evening course or a 2-day course. If a certain format isn't listed please check back for future dates.

Who this course is for

This course is open to both new and experienced documentary filmmakers. It would be an excellent fit for anyone working in the creative industries who is required to make documentaries as well as those who would like to upskill.

Technical skills are not essential as the course is about generating and shaping ideas.