WHAT: An intensive course providing beginners with an introduction to shooting documentaries, with an overview of cinematography, considering how to "shoot for the edit".

WHERE: In-Person, UCL East, Stratford, London.

WHO: Run by Jessica Bishopp, filmmaker and UCL lecturer.

WHEN: 3 days across 2 weekends. Saturday 16th May (10-4 PM), Sunday 17th May (11-4 PM) & Saturday 23rd May (10-4 PM).  The week in between, you can keep the camera equipment, and you'll have the freedom to keep shooting around your own schedule (work/family/study etc).

COMMITMENT: 3 days over 2 weekends, with extra flexible filming time in between sessions.

WHAT YOU GET: Tutor-guided sessions with a cohort of other aspiring filmmakers, to teach you the camera skills needed to shoot documentary films. Plus 1 full week with the camera kit, to practice on your own time.

HOW MUCH: General £325 | Concession/Student £300 | UCL Student/Alumni: £275

DEADLINE TO SIGN UP: Accepting sign-ups on a rolling basis. This course will likely fill up.

AGES: 18+

Course Description

“I'm curious. Period. I find everything interesting. Real life. Fake life. Objects. Flowers. Cats. But mostly people. If you keep your eyes open and your mind open, everything can be interesting.” - Agnès Varda (director)

"What I try to achieve in my documentaries is a familiarity, an intimacy with people, in the hope that audiences will respond to them as human beings rather than dismiss them as stereotypes. I think that by focusing on the human drama and trying to tell a story through character rather than communicate facts through interview and voice-over, you can portray more of life’s inherent complexities and contradictions." - Molly Dineen (in ‘Imagining reality: the Faber book of the documentary’)

On this three-day course, students will learn the camera skills needed to shoot and create documentary films. The course is taught through a series of hands-on exercises that increase in complexity over the three days. Students will have access to professional camera and sound equipment for the duration of the course.

Course content

Through a mixture of watching filmic examples, shared discussions and a series of camera exercises, you’ll learn the following filmmaking skills:

• Hand-held shooting technique using a professional video camera
• How to use a tripod
• Intelligent use of automatic controls
• Getting good sound for interviews
• Filming a sequence
• Filming uncontrolled action (observational filmmaking)
• Filming for the edit
• An introduction to what makes a good documentary “character” and “story”
• An introduction to documentary form

The course is led by filmmaker Jessica Bishopp, who, by using filmic examples and personal work, will go through the editing process with raw material and explain why certain choices were made in bringing together a scene. She will also explore how these thought processes in the edit can impact your choices in pre-production and production filming.

Jessica created the short documentary Puffling (World Premiere SXSW 2023), which is currently online with The New Yorker.

Course Structure:

Saturday 16th May (10-4 PM)

Come to UCL East, meet your tutor, collect your kit, and join your cohort of filmmakers. Start practising filmmaking techniques and practices to become familiar with the skills required for being a self-shooter.

Sunday 17th May (11-4 PM)

Continue to engage with your cohort & tutor, learning skills across filming, sound, interviewing and observation techniques, etc. At the end of the session, take your kit with you.

Week: Monday 18th May - Fri 22nd May

Flexible: balance your routine with work/family/friends, alongside filming you would like to conduct while you have access to the kit.

Saturday 23rd May (10-4 PM)

Return to UCL with your kit, you have a final session to engage with your tutor/peers and get any further advice you need. Return your kit as it was given to you.

 

Who is this course for

This course is suitable for beginners, and there are no prerequisites required to apply for this course.

Benefits of taking this course

Taking this course, you’ll

• be taught by a professional documentary filmmaker
• have access to professional camera equipment
• have unique access to a professional filmmaker who will guide you as to how footage can then be used in the edit.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, you’ll have an understanding of how to:

• Use a hand-held professional video camera
• Achieve good quality sound
• How to film a sequence
• Film uncontrolled action
• A basic understanding of what makes a good documentary “character” and “story”
• An understanding of the diverse forms of documentary filmmaking

You’ll also have an understanding of what it means to ‘shoot for the edit’.

 

For a full breakdown of our costs/concessions, please reach our Terms and Conditions:

https://opencitylondon.com/school/terms-and-conditions/