Course details
Sunday 17 June - Friday 29 June 2012
"It is a really intensive course and brilliant that you produce 3 films in two weeks. Great teachers!" Sharon MacDonald, Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Manchester.
After three successful years, 2009-2011, the Granada Centre will be joining forces with the Futureworks Media School in central Manchester to offer basic technical instruction in documentary film-making methods. This instruction is
- designed for anthropologists and other social researchers who wish to explore the practical implications of making documentary films as part of a programme of ethnographic field research.
- aimed particularly at postgraduate research students, but postdoctoral and other more senior researchers, as well as undergraduates, are equally welcome.
The general objective will be to provide participants with an understanding of the foundations of ethnographic documentary film-making that they will be able to build upon in their subsequent field research.
- The emphasis of the course will be on film-making processes rather than on product.
- No prior expertise will be assumed and participants will be instructed in the basic techniques of filming, sound-recording and editing.
- Participants will work in teams of two to make 3 short training films.
Through the collective debriefing of their own work plus associated screenings of ethnographic documentaries, participants will be encouraged to consider how these simple processes can be used as the 'building blocks' of more complex film narratives structured on thematic or chronological principles.
Teaching objectives and processes
Training will be offered on digital equipment that meets UK broadcasting standards but which is also lightweight and relatively easy to operate.
- Production training will be based on kits featuring the Sony PD170 mini-DV camcorder and Rode NTG-1 microphones
- Editing training will given in dedicated edit suites using Avid Media Composer software.
Hands-on training will be supplemented by documentary screenings as well as by a series of workshops, covering topics such as:
- the role of film in ethnographic research
- legal and ethical aspects of ethnographic film-making
- collaborative film-making in which research subjects make their own film
- equipment and software to take to the field
The course will run every weekday 9am-5pm, except the last Friday when it will end around midday. On the first Sunday evening, 17 June, there will be a social gathering, but the course proper will not begin until Monday 18 June. On some evenings, there will be additional film screenings. Over the weekend, students will be assigned a film-making project. The course will be supported by a substantial quantity of technical hand-outs covering various aspects of camera operation, lighting and editing.
Contact details
Noémie Rouault
Conference Administrator
School of Social Sciences
2nd floor, Arthur Lewis Building
University of Manchester
M13 9PL
Email: noemie.rouault@manchester.ac.uk
Tel: 0161-275-7058