Prof's Cholce

Lights, Camera, Truth

For farther reading Professor Mark Decker recommends:

Directing the Documentary, 3rd Edition, by Michael Rabiger (Focal Press, 1998). A basic guide for anyone interested in learning how documentaries are made, from concept through research, assembling a crew, shooting the film and post-production.

Documentary: A History of the Non-Fiction Film, by Erik Barnouw (Oxford University Press, 1974). A good introduction to the most important documentary films and movements from the late-19th century to the mid-1970s.

New Challenges for Documentary, edited by Alan Rosenthal (University of California Press, 1988). Examines how documentary filmmaking can remain relevant to contemporary social and political issues.

The Search for "Reality": The Art of Documentary Filmmaking, edited by Michael Tobias (Michael Wiese Productions, 1998). More than 40 documentary filmmakers from around the world recount their personal experiences, filmmaking techniques and philosophical musings.

Theorizing Documentary, edited by Michael Renov (Routledge, 1993). Original essays by leading critics and theorists on some of the key theoretical issues of non-fiction films, including what exactly constitutes a documentary.