A refreshing new practical approach to documentary filmmaking, Get Close: Lean Team Documentary Filmmaking equips new and veteran filmmakers with the knowhow to make artistically rewarding documentaries for less money, less hassle, and less time. Author and veteran filmmaker Rustin Thompson shows that by stripping away, sidestepping, or reassessing the entrenched industry hurdles-long waits for funding, the unwieldy crews, the unnecessary gear, the gauntlet of film festivals, pitch forums, and distribution networks-filmmakers can move quickly from idea to execution to finished film. Throughout the book, Thompson demystifies and de-clutters the way docs are produced today, illustrating the use of a few simple and accessible tools and techniques while still engaging with the aesthetic possibilities of the medium, its creative opportunities and its satisfying rewards of giving back to the world. Using the essential lessons in Get Close, filmmakers will learn to eliminate physical
and financial barriers between themselves and their subject matter, ultimately leading them to tell more artful, illuminating stories and find the joy in documentary filmmaking.
Industry Reviews
"Smart, to the point, and full of important info. It will be helpful for all kinds of filmmakers - those starting out or those wanting to change their practice. A great book." --Debra Zimmerman, Executive Director, Women Make Movies
"A passionate appeal for a return to a more intimate approach to documentary filmmaking, free of large crews and lengthy fundraising schedules. In an engaging and lively style, it teaches you how to master all the roles that are necessary to make a great documentary and remain true to your creative vision. Recommended for those new to the field and experienced filmmakers who want inspiration to keep making films!" --Julia Haslett, Assistant Professor of
Documentary Film, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
"A powerful and in-depth exploration of intimate, minimal crew documentary filmmaking. Smartly written, incorporating excellent illustrations of the best practices, Get Close drills into the art and aesthetics of non-fiction storytelling and is a must for teaching this curriculum. I look forward to using it." --Jane Winslow, Co-director, Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival, Associate Professor of Broadcast Production, SUNY Oswego
"A well-written, accessible, and much-needed guide to making documentaries without big budgets or big crews. Thompson, a television news cameraman who became a documentary filmmaker, shows how to capture experiences with a lean team of only one or two members." --B.J. Bullert, Professor, Core Faculty at Antioch University, and author of Public Television: Politics and the Battle over Documentary Film