Basic Information

Making a Documentary What makes a good documentary and how will this film be worthwhile?

What is a Documentary Film?  A factual record of events on film  Photo-based  Using still pictures  Using video clips  Using voiceovers

 Not a piece of propaganda  Has a point of view or message

What Makes a Good Digital Photograph?  Pixels  Short word for Picture Element  Single point in a graphic image  A dot of color

 Chose images with a high number of pixels  1000 x 1000  Can be blown up and still be sharp and clear

 Photo quality is essential to making good documentaries

Choosing a Topic What topic in American history are you comfortable applying American values to? Need to consider images available for the topic Can you relate the documentary message to the topic?

Writing Scripts  Tell a story  Research will be transformed into a 5 minute script  Make a story board  Break down story chronologically  Each box needs a  Title  Description

 Stories will be made into one large film

Creating a Script    

Will be read into a microphone Work must be saved on flash drives and computers Break down research into storyboard format Start with a skeleton outline of the major events of your topic     

How your topic started or emerged How it developed The climax of the event How it concluded (if it did) How is your message conveyed

Finding the Right Photographs  A list of websites will be provided to you  Photo search  Select high-definition historical photos  Should mesh with documentary scripts  Use accredited websites or historical books  Should find at least 20 photos  Check accuracy

 Must keep bibliography

Finding the Right Music or Video Footage Music Itunes - $ .99 each Digital History Site - free

Video United Streaming - free for us Interviews

Movie Making Software IMovie Supplies Video cameras Tape

Sources     

Digital History http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu Gilder Lehrman Institute www.gilderlehrman.org Thomas Jefferson Digital Archive http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/ Historical Photo Archive http://www.historicphotoarchive.com/ American Memory (Library of Congress) http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.htm

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US History Place http://historyplace.com U.S. Historical Archive http://www.ushistoricalarchive.com The National Archives http://www.archives.gov