Film and video are powerful media for motivating social change. Documentaries refer to actual events to create awareness or inspire viewers to action. The documentary genre is both global and local in its capacity to pinpoint specific problems by framing them within larger political contexts. In this course we will examine documentary films and videos that have had an impact on societal, environmental, and legal issues across several cultures. Students will learn to identify and critique the methods a director uses to persuade viewers of the validity of his or her position and to evaluate influences on viewer perception. Films for study include Harlan County U.S.A., An Inconvenient Truth, Born into Brothels, Bowling for Columbine, The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On, and The Thin Blue Line, among others. Students will be invited to explore their own ideas for socially conscious documentary subjects. We will form project teams to workshop concepts for documentary videos, learn storyboarding, practice recording smartphone video interviews, and learn editing software to produce short final projects. Students are requested to have a smartphone and some recommended video apps. No video production experience is required.

Dates: March 29, 30, 31, April, 5, 6, 7, meeting from noon to 6:00pm. An additional 9 hours will be scheduled as “studio time” during the intervening week. Studio time—a period of feedback, coaching and mentoring––will be scheduled flexibly to accommodate Sprintensive and non-Sprintensive students.