Directing the Documentary. 4th ED. Rabiger.

Directing the Documentary. 4th edition by Michael Rabiger.

Tens of thousands of readers have benefited from Michael Rabiger's classic text on documentary filmmaking, now updated to reflect the revolutionary switch to digital video equipment and software. You will learn how to research and focus a documentary film or video idea, develop a crew, direct the crew, maintain control during shooting, and oversee postproduction. Practical work is emphasized, with dozens of exercises and questionnaires to help focus your ideas and give you hands-on practice. The documentary is treated as an important genre in its own right, as well as a useful prelude to directing feature films.

The fourth edition is a significant update. The book's emphasis has always been on concrete steps you can take to become a documentary filmmaker, and there are loads of new projects to help, along with assessment tables that allow you to gauge your progress. In addition, there is new material on location sound, the reality TV trend, top documentaries to see, and more.

'The book's greatest strength is the emphasis on documentary filmmaking as a creative, storytelling process....It supplies more in the way of an ethical foundation for the young filmmaker than any other title on the market.' - Phil Hopper, Director, Theatre and Media Arts Program, Marymount College of Fordham University

'Intelligent and artfully written, Directing the Documentary should enjoy a place of prominence in the library of every documentary videomaker.' - Videomaker magazine

"...what really makes this book so valuable is that the author is just so inspiring. Rabiger writes with such enthusiasm that even the most nervous would-be documentary maker is encouraged. But this is not the extent of his audience as this text is also highly relevant and impassioning to the seasoned pro...This text is inspirational, accessible, filled with useful filmic references and snippets of advice...This updated 4th edition really is a must for anyone with an interest in documentary filmmaking." - POV2 Journal

Part 1: Introduction, History and Future Part 2: Pre-Production Part 3: Projects: Learning to See With A Moviemaker's Eye Part 4 Technical Basics Before Shooting Part 5: Projects: Learning Basic Shooting Techniques Part 6: Production Part 7: Projects: Developing Skills as a Director Part 8: Postproduction Part 9: Projects: Developing Skills as an Editor Part 10: Aesthetics and Authorship Part 11: Career Track Part 12: Appendices, Glossary, and Annotated Bibliography Index

Michael Rabiger: Professor emeritus at Columbia College, founder of the Michael Rabiger Center for Documentary Film at Columbia College, recipient of the Preservation and Scholarship Award from the International Documentary Association

UPC Code: 9780240806082