Documentary filmmaking: A prospective career option for youngsters
Film is a vehicle for the director to communicate his message to the general public. The filmmaker/director is an artist who paints his visions on the film's canvas. It is a challenging feat to communicate with the masses through a documentary. Documentary filmmaking is a fine art that entails developing a story, creating a script, directing, shooting, sound recording, lighting, editing, production control, and screening. In order to take it up as a profession, one needs proper training and a rock-solid portfolio. So, it is essential to sign up for a professional course in a filmmaking course. Here is what an aspiring documentary filmmaker needs to know.
Courses available
Students interested in pursuing documentary filmmaking course can take up diploma, undergraduate and online programmes after Class 12. Here is a snapshot of a few of them.
The diploma courses (1-2 years) include:
- Diploma in Documentary Filmmaking and TV Production
- Diploma in Documentary Film Production
The undergraduate courses (3 years) include:
- B.Sc in Filmmaking
The online filmmaking programmes (hourly basis) include:
- TV documentary professional production: Start to Finish by Udemy
- How to film a budget documentary by Udemy
Institutes to study documentary filmmaking in India
Some of the renowned institutes in India where students can study documentary filmmaking are Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune; National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi; YMCA Institute for Media Studies and Information Technology, New Delhi; Whistling Woods International, Mumbai; Southern Institute of Art and Design (SIAD), Tamil Nadu, among others.
Eligibility criteria
Students should have passed Class XII with at least 50% aggregate from any stream, Science, Commerce or Humanities. They also need to appear for and qualify the entrance tests conducted by respective film institutes. For instance, FTII Entrance Exam and NSD Entrance Exam are two of the popular entrance exams.
Skills required
A documentary filmmaker's job entails overseeing a large film crew, hiring and appointing technical team members, managing talent, obtaining funding, and retrieving necessary information. So, he needs to be a visionary with the ability to interpret reality in a variety of ways. Students must be creative, determined, imaginative, open-minded, and technologically knowledgeable to make a profession out of filmmaking.
Subjects taught in documentary filmmaking
Pre-production, post-production, editing styles, production techniques, finding a subject, camera settings, camera movements, filming, script writing, lighting, types of documentaries and creative camera techniques are some of the popular subjects taught to students as part of the documentary filmmaking course in India.
Career options
Documentary filmmaking is a competitive and challenging field with new chances opening up on a daily basis. Documentary filmmaking graduates can work independently in this field or be associated with different organisations that hire documentary filmmakers. The popular career options in this field include documentary producer, documentary director, programme researcher, documentary sound designer and writer.