jrn 572de - news documentary

JRN 572 - Researching & Writing the News DocumentaryRich Hanley, Associate ProfessorLecture Seven

JRN 572 - News Documentary

Overview:• The course now shifts to the

segment where ideas begin the long, arduous process toward reality.

• We aren’t producing a documentary in the class but we will establish the groundwork for one.


Overview:• This week, we will compose a

drift treatment of three pages in all to put meat on the bones of an idea.

• The original plan called for a single page treatment but the added length will enable students to probe their idea in terms of the narrative flow and depth.


Overview:• The Learning Module for the

week includes a screening for each program, links to archival sources and a sample three-page treatment that can serve as the template.

• The goal this week is to develop the idea further and connect it to visuals at a preliminary level.


Overview:• In short, we begin this week to

apply all the lessons to date on history, modes, structure, research, chronology, voice-overs, etc. into a draft treatment that will conceptually cover the mechanics of pre-production based on your idea and preliminary findings of visual elements drawn from archives.


Treatment:• As noted last week, the

treatment is a multi-faceted document that serves as part funding proposal, part shooting script, and part guide to research.

• It does serve the primary purpose of transitioning an idea from the ephemeral to the concrete.


Treatment:• Often, some details might not

emerge until the end of the post-production (film editing) nears, as the video on the making of The Orbit posted this week reveals.

• Still, it’s important to know as much as possible before committing the idea to paper in a treatment.


Treatment:• The key is to make sure the idea

is original in terms of subject or approach, is within your grasp to produce and has enough archival material already available to get the process going or to reveal to the reader of the treatment that there are visual assets available to help carry expository material as needed.


Treatment:• Even if your project is about a

contemporary issue or event, it is of great utility to learn how to knock around archives and find visual assets as at some point in the project or in your career, this exercise will yield results, unexpected or otherwise.


Treatment:• Sports journalists operate at a

severe disadvantage when using archival materials because most of the available footage is owned and must be licensed at a high cost.

• Journalists producing a documentary about a current event also will confront licensing costs.


Treatment:• Just keep these facts in mind

when landing on your idea for a treatment.

• The best archival material is that which both covers the narrative and is in the public domain that does not require licensing fees.


Treatment:• It’s important to note at this

point that there is no single template for treatments.

• Nor is there, in fact, a firm definition of “treatment” that applies the same to everybody in the documentary business.


Treatment:• The documentary business is

not like accounting or even to a certain extent journalism where the same pre-production and production processes are codified.

• Instead, there are broad principles that can be applied, and that’s what we are pursuing here.


Treatment:• Reminder: keep in mind the

lessons on modes, structure and narrative arc, as the decisions you make on these points ought to appear in the treatment.


Treatment:• Lesson Module Six included a

document that provided a preview of what a fully realized treatment ought to include when composed by experienced filmmakers.

• This week, we are going to write a condensed version of that to get a feel for linking ideas to reality.


Treatment:• Our treatment for the week

must include the following:1. Logline, or concise

summary, which includes running time and title.

2. Topic, which is a statement of purpose that presents why the film must be produced, among other things.


Treatment:

3. Narrative Synopsis, or broad preview of how the

film will unfold and how it will look.

4. Archival Elements, or a list of the harvest of visual elements in a preliminary search of widely used sources such as the National Archives and footage.net.


Treatment:• The sample provides a roadmap

to successful composition of this first go at a treatment.

• The format is drawn partially from Sundance’s submission form; the content is real, extracted from the Last Days of the Coliseum treatment.


Treatment:• When reading the sample, note

how the idea expands from the short logline to the topic and synopsis.

• It is then supported by a short list of archival material found through online searches of the National Archives, Library of Congress and footage.net.


Treatment:• The final list of archive sources

assembled for the film is ultimately several pages long but the preliminary research starts the process and points to the ultimate trajectory of the film.

• The sample lists Yale as a source but that was unique to the project.


Treatment:• Your ultimate, fully realized

treatment (not the one for this week) would include several archives, museums, libraries and private collections whose holdings become known as the research into story development and visual assets runs deeper on parallel tracks.


Treatment:• It’s important to note that just a

clip on YouTube does not mean it is in the public domain or could be used with just a courtesy credit.

• In your research into visual assets, make sure of the legal status of archival material.


Treatment:• Material in the National Archives

is generally in the public domain because it was produced by the federal government but not all the holdings are in the public domain.

• Footage.net, for example, represents 35 private archives whose holdings require a license fee.


Treatment:• The key to any good search is to

link your idea to a precise keyword of keywords.

• For the sample posted this week, the keywords used include “New Haven” and the name of the architect entered in separate searches.


Treatment:• Please note that you must

pursue several different searches with different keywords even on the same database in order to yield the most comprehensive results.

• Be patient and take the opportunity searches provide to learn about the these sources for future projects!


Treatment:• We will examine the treatments

during Week Eight as part of a review and build from there as we focus on undertaking the pre-production work on an idea you want to see realized at some point on the screen.

jrn 572de - news documentary

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