Making Documentary - with Nick O'Dwyer

Ready to step up to direct your own documentary? This course offers practical and industry know-how useful to anyone trying to get work commissioned and, once they have, trying to make the best film they can.

Who it's for

This course is aimed at researchers, APs and producers working in factual and wanting to step up to direct their own documentary films and get their own projects commissioned or funded. These sessions are intended as “give-and-take” sessions with the opportunity to chip in and ask questions rather than formal lectures so numbers are limited.

What it covers

We cover a mix of practical and industry know-how useful to anyone trying to get work commissioned and, once they have, trying to make the best film they can.

SESSION 1 - WHAT MAKES DOCUMENTARY?

• what works and what doesn’t work on TV and feature docs
• getting your project commissioned or funded
• good recce tapes and bad recce tapes

SESSION 2 - INTERVIEWING FOR DOCUMENTARY

• the People Stuff - how to put your interviewee at ease so s/he can be at their best
• how to ask your questions so they work for the audience and the edit
• the Sound and Vision Stuff - avoiding howlers and making your contributors look and sound good

SESSION 3 - WHAT DO DIRECTORS ACTUALLY DO?

• your toolkit as a film-maker - and how little of it gets used sensibly
• the importance of openings
• how to make your films glossy and stylish
• structuring your schedule to make the most of your filming
• managing your edit and viewings

SESSION 4 - AVOIDING THE PITFALLS

• why and how things go wrong in documentary - and what to do
• keeping trust with the people in your films
• ethical issues you’re likely to meet

Speaker:

Nick O’Dwyer is a documentary director and exec with around 30 years experience. He’s worked for virtually every high profile documentary strand for every broadcaster and made some of Britain’s most talked about documentaries. In 2002, he started Landmark Films and currently teaches short courses for the NFTS and several UK universities. 

This session is supported by the ScreenSkills Unscripted TV Skills Fund which invests in training for the unscripted workforce thanks to contributions from broadcasters, SVoDs and production companies.

It is part of a ScreenSkills programme to support freelancers to upskill and stay connected, helping keep the industry resilient in these difficult times.

This session will take place online via Zoom. Click ‘apply for ticket’ and follow the instructions to apply for your place: you must login or register before you are able to complete your application.

If you are no longer able to use your ticket, we ask you to please contact support@screenskills.com so that we can release your place. Our sessions are often oversubscribed, so we’d like to give other freelancers the opportunity to fill available spots. Thank you for your consideration.