SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION

CMNS 386-4

(SPECIAL TOPICS)
COMMUNICATION IN ADVOCACY DOCUMENTARY PRODUCTION:
THEORY AND PRACTICE

Prerequisites:

60 credits, including two lower level CMNS courses.

Course Description:

The course will introduce basic concepts and issues in both the theory and practice of making videos which are produced as means of social intervention, as contributions to public discourse, in order to explore the use of video as a communication medium outside of the commercial broadcast paradigm. The discussion and readings will cover ethics and theory as well as the skills needed to do pre-production of a documentary video. Elements of video production such as writing a proposal and budget, research and development of a script, creation of an interview plan, choosing of methods for visually representing abstract concepts, and organizing production will be addressed. Students will be expected to produce a term paper and two take home essays based on concepts discussed in the course literature. As well, students will be expected to participate in seminar discussions and practical workshops designed to develop specific skills needed for video pre-production and will be expected to contribute to the collective project of preparing for the production of an actual advocacy video documentary. This course will be a prerequisite for a future course: “Advocacy Documentary Production”.

Required Texts:

Ilsa Barbash & Lucien Taylor, Cross-Cultural Filmmaking. University of California Press, 1997,
ISBN 0-520-0870-7 [paperback].
Barry Keith Grant & Jeannette Sloniowski (eds.), Documenting the Documentary. Wayne State University Press, 1998, ISBN 0-8143-2639-0.
Erik Barnouw, Documentary, A History of Non-fiction Film. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993, ISBN 0-19-507898-5 [paperback].

Requirements:

A 10-12 page term paper [topic to be determined through discussion with instructor] 40%
Two 500-750 word take home essay exams based on the readings (15% each) 30%
Participation in seminars 10%
Contribution to collective project 20%

The School expects that the grades awarded in this course will bear some reasonable relation to established university-wide practices with respect to both levels and distribution of grades. In addition, the School will follow Policy T10.02 with respect to “Intellectual Honesty” and “Academic Discipline” (see the current Calendar, General Regulations section).