I am very interested in learning more about documentary filmmaking and historical filmmaking in general. I have an intermediate background in tv production and preparing for a masters in Public History. I signed up for THATcamp so i could learn more about filmmaking and history.
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#1 by Maren Bzdek on March 28, 2011 - 9:41 pm
This is a great topic for our THATCamp. I have a personal interest in documentaries and would like to learn more about how I can bring my training as a historian to this medium. Our Center may have an opportunity in the near future to work with a local filmmaker to develop the script for an interpretive film that would be shown to visitors in Rocky Mountain National Park. The script would be based on a written narrative we’ve already developed for the park. If anyone has experience with this form of writing or could point me towards resources that would be great.
#2 by Michael Van Wagenen on March 28, 2011 - 5:44 pm
Hi Everyone. I posted earlier on another thread, but I’m not sure how widely it was seen. I worked for ten years as a professional documentary filmmaker before returning to graduate school for a PhD in History. I mostly worked in 16mm film format, although I have worked over the years in the various video and digital formats. I’d love to network with like minds to try to get historians making films. If there is a chance to do this formally at THATCamp – great! Either way please feel free to contact me: michael.vanwagenen at utb.edu ahead of time.
Some of my work is listed at IMDB (click the link on my name above) or you can visit my faculty page here: www.utb.edu/vpaa/cla/history/Pages/michael_vanwagenen.aspx and see an old CV that is out of date but more comprehensive.
#3 by Michael Mizell-Nelson on March 25, 2011 - 3:00 am
Hi, I’m also interested in documentary film. I have a background in broadcast documentary production, but only with small budgets and no budgets. Your much more impressive production background should make it relatively easy for you to establish a career in public history. I’m glad to see that public history is fully embracing new media.
I hope that soon we will also see the coming together of new media, public history, and broadcast-quality documentary standards. It would be far better if increasing numbers of public historians were able to produce HD content that could either stream or be broadcast via PBS affiliates. I also am interested in digitizing the documentaries and field tapes created by the first generation of videographers in New Orleans. I work on 20th century topics, so I hope to help digitize two New Orleans television news collections (8mm, 16mm, and 3/4 tape) that are housed in an archive but not yet accessible. I look forward to meeting with both of you in April.
#4 by sheila.aird on March 22, 2011 - 5:45 pm
I also am interested in learning the “how to” of history and filmmaking.