DocHouse announces the fifth year of the highly successful Summerdocs
in partnership with the NFTS.
SUMMERDOCS: A SUMMER SCHOOL IN DOCUMENTARY
DIRECTION
Have you always wanted to make your own documentary but never had the
confidence to do it alone?
DocHouse is joining forces with NFTS, the world's most prestigious training
ground for documentary filmmaking, to offer a summer school where the expertise
of experienced mentors will help you begin to become the documentary filmmaker
you have always wanted to be.
The ten-week course includes an introductory induction course (week beg. 7th
July) followed by a fortnight of independent research.
The main course begins on 28th July and includes:
Two weeks of training in storytelling and guidance on the practicalities
and technical aspects of shooting. Plus seminars with award-winning filmmakers
and screenings of classic and hard-to-see documentaries from DocHouse's archive.
Two weeks of research and shooting, with advice from award-winning
filmmakers and a review of your rushes. Equipment and stock provided by NTFS.
Three weeks of editing, under the guidance of experienced editing
and directing tutors.
Final Screening on Friday 12th September at NFTS Cinema followed
by a reception.
TO APPLY:
send your application form together with a one-page proposal for the film you
want to make. Selection is on the basis of the quality and originality of the
idea and the practicality of making the film within the time available
Please note: All participants must have a basic working knowledge of camera
and non-linear edit systems before beginning the course.
For application forms and to read what former students have said about the course
visit here
Course starts: week beginning 7th July
Costs: £2,600
Application deadline: 29th May
Email: apply@nfts.co.uk
Tel: 01494 731425
Here's what former students had to say about the course:-
The documentary summer school was a fantastic opportunity to get a
feel of the documentary making world. Thanks to hands-on experience, advice
of experienced tutors and sharing one's work with others, I was able to decide
that I really wanted to start a career in documentary making. A very valuable
experience.- Manuela Fremy
We were taken through a journey which gave us the best possible chance
to develop our talents.... Elizabeth was an inspired and very encouraging teacher.
There is something about the atmosphere of the school which is exciting and
special.- Adam Barnett
As someone who has tried most courses on offer for the inexperienced documentary
film maker I am in a good position to judge The NFTS's Documentary summer school
course and as such would not hesitate to recommend it. The major difference
that I noticed on this course was the standard of instruction and how much the
tutors really cared about your project. These aren't struggling filmmakers earning
some extra pocket money by teaching.
Aside from the teaching there are great facilities to take advantage of; the
extensive library being one amenity.
Not only did I come out with a film that far exceeded my expectations on
starting the course, but I made good contacts with other filmmakers and we are
still in touch helping and inspiring each other on the difficult assent of documentary
film making. - Piers Sanderson
PAST TRAINING EVENTS INCLUDE...
CROSSING the LINE: between fact and fiction
Rich Mix Cultural Foundation | London | September 2007
A unique weekend festival featuring premiere screenings,
master-classes, case studies and classic films exploring the shifting boundary
between documentary and drama.
Speakers included Alistair Beaton, Antonia Bird, Nick Broomfield, Ed
Coulthard, Stephen Frears, Andy Harries, Brian Hill, Peter Kosminsky, Pawel
Pawlikowski, Penny Woolcock and Justine Wright alongside
screenings of classic drama documentaries.
What the delegates said:-
Insightful, entertaining, and brilliantly executed.
The festival was fantastic, really quite inspirational and a lot of the people I spoke to have said similar things. The mixture of acclaimed directors and chairs were the right balance, and meant the sessions were accessible and fascinating.
Thanks a lot for very insightful sessions. All the sessions I saw were very well conducted with incredibly well chosen clips. They covered a lot of ground and felt like a true insight into people's work.
A fantastic cast of speakers of a high calibre - you chose people who had experience and were also interesting and approachable. So much better to hear more from the filmmakers and less from the commissioners! Very inspiring - I've come back with a new energy and ideas.
An amazing festival weekend. I think that I have never so thoroughly enjoyed a festival as much as I enjoyed this one.
Difficult to find faults in such an amazing line up…Incredible selection of rarely seen films.
What an excellent weekend! I met some really interesting people both in
the audience and amongst the speakers too… Lots of the things that I have
learnt have really inspired me to think about programme making in a different
way… On a practical level I've learnt some new technical tricks I'm excited
about employing! …I'm delighted that I had the opportunity to attend.
DOCHISTORY at the BBC
After the first successful course at Riverside Studios, DocHouse was
invited to repeat 'DocHistory', for staff in Factual and Documentary at the
BBC. We are pleased to report that the course was a great success..
Here are a few examples of feedback from participants:-
…I thought the course was excellent. I have learned so much over the six sessions and, crucially, I feel this knowledge will strongly inform my work as a programme-maker at the BBC. It has been a real pleasure to attend and learn.
…I thought the course was really brilliant. I think the way different docs have been grouped in strands was really effective, and seemed effortless though I'm sure it wasn't. Watching clips of practically every doc was great.
…the whole course was absolutely fantastic. Elizabeth Wood was a great tutor, giving excellent context and commentary …The guest speakers were also excellent - hugely knowledgeable, yet interesting and with some light-hearted observations as well as serious commentary.
…a wonderful opportunity to learn about some of the more refined issues of context - technical innovations and limitations, audiences and accessibility.
…it was an invaluable opportunity to contextualise the landmark films … and to have a greater appreciation of the flow of ideas ……. across genres.
…a fantastic chance to see old films that we wouldn't normally get to see, and relate the problems film-makers had to solve with the same issues we grapple with today. The course gave a strong sense of being in a tradition, showing how influences merge with each other and develop - tracing the roots of styles. Really inspiring for our work.
Across Borders: Documentary, Diaspora and the
Moving Image at Tate Modern
At a time when many artists working in film or video seem to be opting for documentary
formats, these seminars explored face between artists’ film or video and
mainstream documentary. The six seminars focused on the theme of diaspora, understood
in its widest sense as the threat posed by all forms of enforced social and
geographical dispersion to individual and collective identity.
F eedback from participants:-
An inspired selection of speakers and films
Excellent teaching, very well structured, I will never think of documentary
the same way again!
Inspiring and accessible
