Continuing Studies Overview

Frequently Asked Questions

Certificate in Documentary Studies

Courses Offered for the Upcoming Term

Current and Past Term Courses

Workshops and Institutes





Past Term Courses

REQUIRED COURSES

Seminar in Documentary Studies
Joy Salyers

This required class is designed for students in the Certificate in Documentary Studies program or those who plan to enroll. Photography, video, oral history, writing, ethnography and community partnerships—Documentary Studies is interdisciplinary and multifaceted in nature, encompassing many genres and numerous means of interacting with the world and its peoples. Through short readings, close examination of several documentary projects, and guest speakers who will present their projects and perspectives on the documentary experience, you will gain a broad introduction to the diverse fields that comprise Documentary Studies. We emphasize not only methodologies but also philosophies and ethics of fieldwork in different settings. Throughout the term, students will explore examples of fieldwork and, at the final meeting, will present preliminary projects of their own. These projects may be the beginning of long-term documentary initiatives or simply a means for helping to decide directions for future projects.

Section 1
Date: Saturdays, February 3–March 31
No class on March 13
10 a.m.–12 p.m. (16 hours)
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $210
Enroll by 1/19: $195
Course ID: 10792

Section 2
Date: Thursdays, April 5–May 31
7–9 p.m. (16 hours)
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $210
Enroll by 3/22: $195
Course ID: 10793

Joy M. G. Salyers is a folklorist, writer, and anti-racism educator with an MA in Folklore. She consults with individuals and groups on a variety of topics. Her specialties include helping communities document their own histories and using oral history, experiential learning, and creativity to bridge community divisions, develop identity, and combat prejudice. She also consults privately to help documentarians get a project “unstuck.” Her fieldwork has ranged from documenting personal life histories to collaborating with members of a modern performance community.



Final Project Seminar in Documentary Studies
Nancy Kalow

Certificate students who have completed at least five full courses (including the required Seminar in Documentary Studies) and who have done substantial work on their final projects are encouraged to gain admission to this seminar by sending a list of courses taken and work completed toward the final project via e-mail to dkdreyer@duke.edu (in the subject line of the e-mail please write "Project Seminar"). Once approved, participants may register as they would for any other class. The seminar will consist of group discussions about each student’s project and progress toward completion, along with guided planning on taking projects to their intended audiences. Participants who successfully complete their projects during this course will be awarded the Certificate in Documentary Studies.

Date: Mondays, April 9–June 4
10 a.m.–12 p.m. (16 hours)
Place: Center for Documentary Studies
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $265
Course ID: 10794

Nancy Kalow is a folklorist, filmmaker, and documentarian of communities and cultural expression. Some of her video work can be viewed for free at Folkstreams, the Web site for films on American vernacular and folk culture: (http://www.folkstreams.net/film,89).






GENERAL INTEREST

Elements of the Sublime
Andrew Barco

The mythic and the poetic—often intangible aspects of experience—play significant, perhaps even formative, roles in how the world “really appears to us” (Slavoj Zizek). We will look at the way contemporary artists in a variety of fields have developed tools and methods to draw attention to these elusive but powerful presences in our lives. We will try out some of their techniques and see where they lead us in doing documentary work. We will look into the elements (earth, air, fire, water) as subjects for our study; and we will examine the difference, theoretically and practically, between illustrative and performative documentary methodology. We will consider as well the documentary work of video installation artist Bill Viola and the writings of philosopher of science Gaston Bachelard. This class will be conducted through individual and group projects.

Date: Saturday & Sunday, January 27 & 28
10 a.m.–5 p.m. (12 hours)
One-hour lunch break
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $130
Enroll by 1/12: $115
Course ID: 10837

Andrew Barco works in Durham as a painter, sculptor, and multimedia artist. Over the past year he has developed his own approach to documenting performance art, curated the show Breaking Ground: New Approaches to Earth in Art, and co-directed the Urban Anthropology Project, which documents overlooked or underutilized spaces in downtown Durham. In past lives, he has been a student of philosophy and a playwright. He is director of the Transom Gallery (www.thetransomgallery.com) in downtown Durham.



The Art of Public Sharing
Andrew Barco

You have finished your documentary project, and outside of your classmates of a few friends, no one has had the opportunity to see what you’ve done. While many of us want the affirmation of participating in a film festival or receiving some other institutional support, why not show your work to the public yourself? A world of possibilities (and questions) opens up when you begin to organize your own public sharings. How can the work be presented to best use its power for social change? How does the location, or many locations, of an exhibition impact the experience? What kinds of marketing will bring diverse communities into conversation? In this class, students learn the basics of public art marketing, cross-cultural collaboration, curatorial problem solving, storytelling in a gallery/video presentation space, accessibility, community accountability, and the nuts and bolts of putting on a show. By the end, students will be prepared to play whatever role they wish in the area’s rapidly growing art scene.

Date: Saturday & Sunday, March 24 & 25
10 a.m.–5 p.m. (12 hours)
One-hour lunch break
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $150
Enroll by 3/9: $135
Course ID: 10839

Andrew Barco works in Durham as a painter, sculptor, and multimedia artist. Over the past year he has developed his own approach to documenting performance art, curated the show Breaking Ground: New Approaches to Earth in Art, and co-directed the Urban Anthropology Project, which documents overlooked or underutilized spaces in downtown Durham. In past lives, he has been a student of philosophy and a playwright. He is director of the Transom Gallery (www.thetransomgallery.com) in downtown Durham.



Whose Story Is It Anyway?
Erica Rothman, Alison Jones

A half-day expedition through the often challenging, always surprising, world of documentary ethics.

Your project is progressing, your planning has paid off, and you are getting great footage, tape, or photos. And then an issue comes up that throws you for a loop. Perhaps a close “subject” asks if she can borrow money, or you want to film a community or family event that makes you feel intrusive. You may find yourself getting lost in feelings and wonder if you are losing your ethical center. We’ll view and discuss video and audio clips that exemplify different ethical challenges, and students will be invited to read selected articles before class. This workshop offers students an unusual opportunity to discuss the inevitable ethical dilemmas that arise in every documentary project, with a particular focus on relationships, and to launch their next documentary expedition prepared with sharper, more thoughtful questions.

Date: Saturday, May 5 (RESCHEDULED from 2/24/07)
1–5 p.m. (4 hours)
Materials fee: $5 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $75
Enroll by 4/21: $65
Course ID: 10842

While serving as a community member on the UNCLE Hospitals Ethics Committee, Erica Rothman was able to weave her interests in narrative, art, and bioethics into producing two award-winning teaching videos on ethical issues at the end of life. A former psychotherapist in Chapel Hill, Rothman now owns Nightlight Productions, LLC, producing documentaries, medical and patient education, and collaborative videos with nonprofits for fundraising and community engagement. She completed her Certificate in Documentary Studies in 2005.

Alison Jones is an independent radio and video producer with many years of experience in print journalism. Her work has appeared on National Public Radio and in a variety of publications, including the Washington Post and the Baltimore Sun. She has also directed videos for nonprofit organizations. Jones is a former staff writer with the News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The South in Black and White: Southern History, Culture and Politics in the 20th Century
Tim Tyson

This course will examine the history and culture of the American South, a region of the heart, the mind, and the United States where democracy has been envisioned and embattled with global consequences. It will bring together students from NCCU, UNC, and Duke, along with members of the larger community. This course will furnish a wide front porch on Southern history, where we will join those whom Zora Neale Hurston called “the big picture talkers” and hear their stories. Each week there will be a lecture, music, poetry, film clips, and opportunities for discussion. At least once, there will be barbecue. Visiting activists, scholars, and musicians, among others, will offer oral history presentations, musical and dramatic performances, and guest lectures. There will be live music, poetry, and stories every day. Readings will be drawn from literature, history, and social analysis. The course will meet at the historic Hayti Heritage Center in Durham; Chapel Hill students will be provided with transportation from the Chapel Circle where the Robertson bus stops every half-hour. We will never stop telling stories.

Date: Tuesdays, January 16–April 24
No class on March 14 for spring break
7–9:30 p.m. (26 hours)
Place: Hayti Heritage Center
Course fee: $150
Course ID: 10583

Timothy B. Tyson, author of the much-acclaimed Blood Done Sign My Name and other award-winning books, is a senior research scholar at the Center for Documentary Studies and Visiting Professor of American Christianity and Southern Culture in the Divinity School. Blood Done Sign My Name, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and winner of the Christopher Award and the North Caroliniana Book Award, was the 2005 selection of the Carolina Summer Reading Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, assigned to all new undergraduate students. Tyson’s previous book Radio Free Dixie: Robert F. Williams and the Roots of Black Power (UNC Press, 1999) won the James Rawley Prize and was co-winner of the Frederick Jackson Turner Prize, both from the Organization of American Historians. He also co-edited, with David S. Cecelski, Democracy Betrayed: The Wilmington Race Riot of 1898 and Its Legacy (UNC Press, 1998), which won the 1999 Outstanding Book Award from the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Human Rights in North America. Tyson was a John Hope Franklin Senior Fellow at the National Humanities Center in 2004–05.



Documenting Digital: A Workshop for Folklorists and Others
Liz Lindsey, April Walton, and others

What is the difference between a scratchy, weak recording that is only useful for transcription and a quality audio recording that can be heard on the radio, edited for presentation, or placed on your Web site? In audio recording, as well as video and digital photography, there are small changes you can make in your equipment and technique that will have a huge impact on the quality of your hard work. This workshop is an opportunity to learn about the different kinds of recording equipment available and to understand the trade-offs as you move into different price ranges. Participants will have an opportunity to try out equipment, ask lots of questions, and begin to explore different ways of editing and presenting their material.

Date: Friday, March 30
2–5 p.m. (3 hours)
Course fee: $45
Enroll by 3/16: $35
Course ID: 10845

Liz Lindsey is the exhibitions coordinator at the Center for Documentary Studies, where she is in charge of the traveling exhibitions program, while also participating in research, programming, and production work of the CDS exhibitions program at large. A native of Spring Hill, Tennessee, Lindsey holds a BA in English from Millsaps College and an MA in folklore from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a board member of the North Carolina Folklore Society. Recently, she has enjoyed recording audio for the CDS Web site, producing audio for a CDS traveling exhibit, and recording and editing personal audio.

A native of western North Carolina, April Walton is the learning outreach coordinator at the Center for Documentary Studies. Her favorite part of the job is connecting people passionate about a project with the resources that will enable them to bring it to life. She is the producer/director of Standing at the Crossroads, a video documentary about sustainable farming in North Carolina. Walton is a freelance video producer and a board member for Student Action with Farmworkers.







AUDIO


Make That Audio Doc: Introduction to Sound Recording and Digital Mixing
John Blythe

Produce your own short audio documentary using your own recorded sound! Students will learn the basics of recording, interviewing, and editing using digital editing software.

Date: Tuesdays, February 6–March 27
7–9 p.m. (16 hours)
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $250
Enroll by 1/23: $230
Course ID: 10806

John Blythe is a Chapel Hill–based journalist and independent producer. His radio career has included stints as a producer/director at North Carolina Public Radio (WUNC) and as a producer/reporter in New York (WFUV), where his work won a Golden Reel award, a regional Edward R. Murrow Award, and a PRNDI award. In addition to the stations mentioned above, Blythe’s reports have appeared on NPR’s Justice Talking and on several British radio networks. Blythe has also worked as a newspaper reporter, Web editor, and magazine researcher. In addition to radio and sound, Blythe is passionate about his family and eastern North Carolina barbecue.



Audio Postcard Workshop
Jennifer Deer

The NPR Web site describes audio postcards this way: “This is sound that is not just ambience. It’s the audio equivalent of that four-color photo. It should really make listeners feel they were there.” The audio postcard is a short format, but a meaty one. Through an elegant layering of voices and ambient and natural sound, the postcard allows audio documentary to do what it does best: place the listener smack in the middle of the sights, sounds, smells, and mood of a place or an event. We will spend the morning listening and discussing the mechanics and applications of the postcard—then we’ll head out to see if we can make one. This workshop is open to all levels. If you own recording equipment, bring it. Students will work on a project as a group.

Date: Saturday, April 21
10 a.m.–5 p.m. (6 hours)
One-hour break, please bring a bag lunch.
Materials fee: $5 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $135
Enroll by 4/6: $120
Course ID: 10808

Jennifer Deer is an audio producer and graduate student living in Durham. Her work for radio has been aired on such nationally syndicated programs as NPR’s Day to Day and Weekend America. She also co-curates the audio documentary podcast Big Shed.



Advanced Audio Projects
Karen Michel

This advanced workshop is for individuals currently working with documentary audio who would like instructor and peer support to move to the next level with their projects. Students will be required to play excerpts from their works-in-progress, and the course will be designed around the specific needs of the participants. With the instructor, participants will explore narrative strategies and receive technical and creative guidance.

Date: Thursdays, February 8–March 15
7–9 p.m. (12 hours)
Course fee: $345
Enroll by 1/24: $325
Course ID: 10809

Karen Michel is an upstate New York–based independent radio producer who got her start in media as a guest on Art Linkletter’s Kids Say the Darndest Things. She has lived and worked in Alaska, Mexico, Japan, Greenland, India, Canada, Kenya, Nepal, Madagascar, and other geographies real and imagined. Her academic training is in visual arts and cross-cultural education; she’s been an exhibiting artist (jewelry, photography, drawing, and holography) and a teacher. Since falling into a job in public radio in Fairbanks, Alaska, long ago, she has been committed to sound, as an audio artist and as a journalist. She’s received many awards and fellowships—Peabody, Robert Wood Johnson, National Endowment for the Arts, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, National Federation of Community Broadcasters, the Japan Foundation, and the Fulbright/Indo-U.S. Subcommission, among them. She is the 2006–07 Lehman Brady Visiting Joint Chair Professor in Documentary Studies and American Studies at Duke University and UNC–Chapel Hill.






VIDEO


Introduction to Documentary Video Production
Chris Potter

This introduction to documentary video production will give you the basic skills you need to go out and shoot. Learn the difference between being a “tourist” or shooting a family gathering and making sure you have the footage you need when you sit down to edit a documentary. We will talk about planning and organizing a project, and learn some basic camera, lighting, and audio techniques that don’t require expensive equipment. NOTE: Any video camera will work for this introductory course. Please contact instructor with any questions about purchasing equipment.

Date: Tuesdays, March 6–April 17
6:30–9 p.m. (17.5 hours)
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $250
Enroll by 2/20: $230
Course ID: 10796

Chris Potter studied documentary film and video techniques at the Rice University Media Center. He has produced and directed commercial, industrial, and public service videos at Southern Media Design & Production for more than twenty-five years. His current projects include a series of videos on the historical ecology of southeastern Burgundy and a documentary video on a New Deal resettlement community in northeastern North Carolina.



Introduction to the Art of Documentary Video Editing
Erika Simon

How do you craft footage into a story—and better yet, your story? We’ll analyze documentaries to learn basic editing conventions and study the effects of certain stylistic choices. Through weekly homework assignments, students will learn to use Final Cut Pro, sharing their work in class. Each student will edit supplied footage to create their own take on the “same” story, burn a sample DVD, and output their edited work onto mini-DV tape. NOTE: Must bring a camcorder to class on February 22 and March 8. No experience necessary, but basic computer skills required. Homework assignments require use of CDS facilities between classes. Text: In the Blink of an Eye by Walter Murch.

Date: Thursdays, January 18–March 22
No class on February 1 or March 15
7–9 p.m. (18 hours)
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $250
Enroll by 1/4: $230
Course ID: 10797

Erika Simon has been teaching Final Cut to beginners at CDS since 2003. She was an editor for Gatewood: Facing the White Canvas and directed and edited SAF’s Levante: Theater for Social Change and a PSA that aired on Univisión. Her short doc, Gemini World, recently won the Carrboro Film Festival Audience Award. She is a recipient of the Martha Nell Hardy Award for Outstanding Teaching, UNC–Chapel Hill.



Anytown USA
Randolph Benson

This is an advanced seminar in which students will work in pairs to produce long-form documentary videos. Each pair of students will produce and edit an eight- to twelve-minute video on a chosen topic within an interesting small town, village, or community. The students will be encouraged to explore genre, technique, form, and personal artistic vision. In the third week we’ll travel to the location and spend the weekend in production on our short docs. On Saturday night we’ll view our “dailies” to plan Sunday’s shoot. The community will be pre-selected, and some potential story topics will be pre-produced; however, students are in no way bound to any set topic from the outset. At the conclusion of the course, the short documentaries will be edited together to become a full portrait of the community, and a gala screening and party will be held: attendance mandatory. Permission from the instructor to register for the class is required.

Some videomaking experience is highly recommended. Prerequisites can include Directing Your Documentary, The Five-Minute Doc, Visual Storytelling, Final Seminar in Video Documentary, and the summer Video Documentary Institute, among others. Participants are encouraged to provide their own video cameras with external microphone input. Participants will also be responsible for all personal costs while on location: food, lodging, travel, etc.

Date: Wednesdays, January 24–March 14
7–9 p.m. (18 hours)
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $345
Enroll by 1/10: $320
Course ID: 10798

Randolph Benson is a graduate of Wake Forest University and of the North Carolina School of the Arts School of Filmmaking. His film Man and Dog has appeared in eighteen film festivals in seven countries and has garnered numerous awards, most notably a Gold Medal in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Student Academy Awards. His work has been featured on the Bravo Network, the Independent Film Channel (Split Screen), WTTW-Chicago, UNC-TV (NC Visions), and Telewizja Polska S.A.–Poland. He received an Eastman Kodak Excellence in Filmmaking Award at the Cannes Film Festival.



Intermediate Documentary Video Editing with Final Cut Pro
Simone Keith

Learn and discuss video editing techniques using the advanced features in Final Cut Pro. Find out what makes a smooth cut, understand the proper use of effects and transitions, and explore sound mixing while editing your next documentary project. Basic Final Cut Pro skills are required and access to a portable FireWire hard drive is desirable. Text: In the Blink of an Eye by Walter Murch; recommended: Final Cut Pro HD for Dummies.

Date: Mondays, March 12–May 7
6:30–9 p.m. (20 hours)
Course fee: $285
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Enroll by 2/26: $265
Class ID: 10800

Simone Keith’s short documentary Heavier Than Air has screened at numerous festivals and aired on UNC-TV. A native of Brazil, she has been making documentaries and video essays since arriving in North Carolina ten years ago. Keith has earned two Telly Awards and has collaborated on The Wonder of It All, a UNC-TV documentary about the life of George Beverly Shea, which was nominated for a regional Emmy. She currently works at North Carolina State University, where she is the videographer and editor for In the Garden with Bryce Lane.



Directing Your Documentary
Randolph Benson

Making documentary films is more than pointing a camera at a subject, recording an event, or conveying interesting information. Your film will be a historical document that not only tells the story of your subject but reflects you as an artist. Directing a film means making difficult choices, from initial story concept to first screening. These choices, similar to those made by narrative fiction filmmakers, involve the range of available tools and techniques. Use this course to prepare for the choices you will make about how best to design your production, develop your aesthetic, and capture your story on film. Through selected film clips, readings, in-class production instruction, and weekly assignments, you will gain an understanding of the art of directing a documentary film while developing the skills you’ll need to fulfill your vision. By the end of the term, you will be expected to complete a “mini-documentary” of approximately two to three minutes in length, combining all of the methods and techniques learned in the course. You will need access to a video camera and a tripod.

Date: Mondays, April 9–May 28
7–9 p.m. (16 hours)
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $250
Enroll by 3/26: $230
Course ID: 10801

Randolph Benson is a graduate of Wake Forest University and of the North Carolina School of the Arts School of Filmmaking. His film Man and Dog has appeared in eighteen film festivals in seven countries and has garnered numerous awards, most notably a Gold Medal in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Student Academy Awards. His work has been featured on the Bravo Network, the Independent Film Channel (Split Screen), WTTW-Chicago, UNC-TV (NC Visions), and Telewizja Polska S.A.–Poland. He received an Eastman Kodak Excellence in Filmmaking Award at the Cannes Film Festival.



Advanced Video Projects
Jim Haverkamp

This advanced workshop is for students currently working on a documentary video who would like instructor and peer support to move to the next level with their projects. Students will be required to show excerpts from their works-in-progress, and the course will be designed around the specific needs of the participants. With the instructor, students will explore narrative strategies and receive technical and creative guidance. This course is appropriate for anyone working in short- or long-form video documentary.

Date: Wednesdays, February 21–March 28
7–9 p.m. (12 hours)
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $345
Enroll by 2/7: $325
Course ID: 10803

Jim Haverkamp is an award-winning filmmaker and editor based in Durham. His credits include the documentaries Monster Road (co-producer, co-editor) and Armor of God (co-director), both collaborations with Brett Ingram. His other documentary and fiction films have screened in festivals across the country, and he was awarded a Filmmaking Fellowship from the North Carolina Arts Council in 2000. He is a former organizer of the Flicker Film Festival in Chapel Hill.



Intermediate Documentary Video Field Production
Simone Keith

In this course, you will learn how to negotiate technical problems in the field without compromising quality—choose the best location for your shot, work with available light, select the right microphone for the right situation, set proper audio levels, and “shoot in sequence.” We will also discuss proper framing and composition techniques and the advantages of handheld vs. tripod shots.

Date: Saturdays, March 3–17
10 a.m.–4 p.m. (15 hours)
One-hour break, please bring a bag lunch.
Materials fee: $15 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $285
Enroll by 2/16: $265
Course ID: 10804

Simone Keith’s short documentary Heavier Than Air has screened at numerous festivals and aired on UNC-TV. A native of Brazil, she has been making documentaries and video essays since arriving in North Carolina ten years ago. Keith has earned two Telly Awards and has collaborated on The Wonder of It All, a UNC-TV documentary about the life of George Beverly Shea, which was nominated for a regional Emmy. She currently works at North Carolina State University, where she is the videographer and editor for In the Garden with Bryce Lane.



Documentary in the Digital Age: Publishing Your Video Documentary on the Web
Carol Thomson

You have your short video doc finished and you want it to be seen. The Internet is one way to reach an unlimited audience, but you are not a Webmaster and you don’t know where to start. Learn the basics of preparing video for the Web, loading video to a Web page, and establishing a low-cost and easy Web presence by creating your won Blog. On Day One, we will discuss video compression and how to create a Blog. Video formats include QuickTime and an introduction to Flash video. On Day Two, you will bring in a short video clip on an external drive (six minutes or less, ready to import in Final Cut) and will then compress the video and publish it on your Blog. Experience with Final Cut required.

Date: Saturdays, May 19 & June 2
10 a.m.–5 p.m. (12 hours)
One-hour break, please bring a bag lunch.
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $210
Enroll by 5/4: $195
Course ID: 10805

Carol Thomson has been creating Web sites and multimedia works since 2000 when she began her documentary studies in Australia. Carol completed her Certificate in Documentary Studies at the Center for Documentary Studies in 2005. She is working on a multimedia documentary, Bridging Rails to Trails: Stories of the American Tobacco Trail, which will be published on the Web and as a CD-ROM. A work-in-progress version can be seen at http://bridgingrailstotrails.com. Thomson’s Web and multimedia company, FireStream Media, LLC, is located in downtown Durham.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Fundamentals of Documentary Photography
Ava Johnson

Beginners will benefit from this exploration of darkroom techniques. We will address camera basics, learn about film developing, darkroom printing, and how to select a series of prints. Our goal is to begin a documentary project and complete five finished prints by the end of the course. The spirit of the class is to take risks, explore, and have fun. Text: Black and White Photography: A Basic Manual by Henry Hornstein.

Date: Thursdays, January 18–March 1
No class on February 15
6–9 p.m. (18 hours)
Materials fee: $5 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $250
Enroll by 1/4: $230
Course ID: 10812

Ava Johnson is a performer, artist, and activist living in Durham. She received her BFA in photography from the Savannah College of Art and Design and her MFA in studio art from UNC–Chapel Hill. When not questioning mainstream thinking or making up funny songs, she is the public information coordinator at CDS, and one of the founding performers of the Cuntry Kings drag/performance group.



Beyond Basic in Photo
Ava Johnson

Intermediate to more experienced photographers will benefit from this “next step” in black-and-white photography. There will be some class time in the darkroom, but students are expected to come to the darkroom outside of class. We will be looking at and discussing other photographers’ work as well as critiquing student photos. As always the spirit of the class is to take risks, explore, and have fun. Text: Black and White Photography by Henry Hornstein.

Date: Thursdays, April 5–May 24
6–8 p.m. (16 hours)
Materials fee: $5 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $250
Enroll by 3/22: $230
Course ID: 10814

Ava Johnson is a performer, artist, and activist living in Durham. She received her BFA in photography from the Savannah College of Art and Design and her MFA in studio art from UNC–Chapel Hill. When not questioning mainstream thinking or making up funny songs, she is the public information coordinator at CDS, and one of the founding performers of the Cuntry Kings drag/performance group.



Documentary Photography as Fine Art
G. Douglas Vuncannon

Where do documentary photography and “fine art” converge? And how does one come to terms with the statement “every photograph is a self-portrait”? Going beyond the realm of composition and craft, class discussions will strive to identify elements of still photography that have the power to transcend the simple recording of images. We will explore these themes and encourage each participant to develop a personal thesis on documentary photography’s relationship to fine art. Through presentations and discussions, students will become familiar with the approaches of such photographers as Dorothea Lange, W. Eugene Smith, Walker Evans, Andre Kertész, and Mary Ellen Mark. Students will develop their own photographic vision through weekly assignments and have the opportunity to share their work during classroom critiques. During the sixth week of class, students will meet with the instructor in individually scheduled meetings.

Section 1
Date: Tuesdays, January 16–February 27
6:30–9 p.m. (16 hours)
Materials fee: $5 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $255
Enroll by 1/2: $235
Course ID: 10815

Section 2
Date: Wednesdays, February 28–April 11
6:30–9 p.m. (16 hours)
Materials fee: $5 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $255
Enroll by 2/14: $235
Course ID: 10816

G. Douglas Vuncannon is a visual artist and composer who has worked as a freelance photographer and writer since 1995. His short documentary films have screened at numerous film festivals in the United States and Canada. In 2000, the Durham Arts Council awarded him an Emerging Artist Grant. His photography and writings have appeared in the Independent Weekly, and he is currently working on a documentary project made possible by a grant from Duke University’s Freewater Productions.



The Traveling Camera
Larry Siegel

How can you learn to travel and photograph in a comfortable, compact way, and how do you arrive in a new place and start photographing? Students will be assigned to photograph their own neighborhoods, and then swap neighborhoods with their classmates and photograph anew. Whether your passion is travel, photography, or both, learn how to return home with more than the average “tourist” photos. This class is also valuable for people photographing close to home who seek to gain confidence in their ability to interact and photograph their environment.

Date: Tuesdays, February 27–April 10
6–8 p.m. (16 hours)
Materials fee: $5 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $255
Enroll by 2/13: $235
Course ID: 10847

For most of Larry Siegel’s life he has been involved with still photography: as a photographer, teacher, and gallery director. His work has been shown in the United States and abroad, in Canada, Mexico (he worked two years as photographer for the 1968 Olympic Games), and Italy; and his photographs have appeared in many publications. His work is held in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, among others. He has also received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York and New Jersey State Arts Councils. Siegel taught at the School of Visual Arts in New York City for eleven years as well as in Mexico, Italy, and Spain. He founded the Midtown “Y” Gallery in New York City, which he directed for ten years, and in 1959 he founded and directed the Image Gallery, the only photography gallery in New York City at the time.



Advanced Photography Projects
Leah Sobsey

This advanced workshop is intended to deepen a student’s engagement with specific projects or photographic techniques. This course is offered by different photographers each term to provide the opportunity to receive multiple perspectives on a student’s work. This advanced workshop focuses on creating exhibition-quality photographic work and learning what it takes to exhibit in commercial galleries, alternative spaces, museums, and not-for-profit spaces. We will discuss how to apply for grants, fellowships, scholarships, and artist’s residencies that are most relevant to your work.

Date: Wednesdays, March 21–April 25
7–9 p.m. (12 hours)
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $350
Enroll by 3/7: $325
Course ID: 10817

Leah Sobsey is an artist and educator. She received her MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2001 and completed the Resident Certificate Program at the Maine Photographic Workshops in 1997. Her work has been exhibited widely and is in private collections across the country. She has taught at the San Francisco Art Institute, Duke University, the Maine Photographic Workshops, and she currently teaches at UNC–Greensboro.



Ready, Set, Show!
Larry Siegel

How do you know if you’re ready to take your photographs public? Is it better to have a solo show, participate in a group show, or collaborate with one or two other artists to show your work? Larry Siegal, whose experience includes founding and directing the Midtown “Y” Gallery and the Image Gallery, both in New York City, will help you think through such details as how to work with the press and invitations, catalogues, and posters. He’ll also give you important feedback on pricing and selling prints, limited editions, and how to deal with critics and reviews.

Date: Saturday, March 10
1–5 p.m. (4 hours)
Materials fee: $5 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $75
Enroll by 2/23: $65
Course ID: 10848

For most of Larry Siegel’s life he has been involved with still photography: as a photographer, teacher, and gallery director. His work has been shown in the United States and abroad, in Canada, Mexico (he worked two years as photographer for the 1968 Olympic Games), and Italy; and his photographs have appeared in many publications. His work is held in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, among others. He has also received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York and New Jersey State Arts Councils. Siegel taught at the School of Visual Arts in New York City for eleven years as well as in Mexico, Italy, and Spain. He founded the Midtown “Y” Gallery in New York City, which he directed for ten years, and in 1959 he founded and directed the Image Gallery, the only photography gallery in New York City at the time.



Alternative Process Workshop
Leah Sobsey

This course will explore a variety of historical and contemporary photographic processes. We will discuss Platinum Palladium printing, Vandyke printing, Albumen printing, and more, and we will do hands-on printing with negatives that participants bring to class. The hands-on techniques will be devoted to Cyanotype printing (blueprint), Polaroid Transfers and lifts as well as liquid emulsion printing, which can be painted onto any surface including paper, canvas, tile, and stone. Step outside of the traditional silver gelatin print and explore the endless possibilities with alternative processes. Students will need to bring black-and-white negatives and color slides to the first class.

Date: Saturdays, April 21 & 28
12–3 p.m. (6 hours)
Materials fee: $35 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $190
Enroll by 4/6: $175
Course ID: 10818

Leah Sobsey is an artist and educator. She received her MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2001 and completed the Resident Certificate Program at the Maine Photographic Workshops in 1997. Her work has been exhibited widely and is in private collections across the country. She has taught at the San Francisco Art Institute, Duke University, the Maine Photographic Workshops, and she currently teaches at UNC–Greensboro.



Legal Issues for Photographers
Daniel Ellison

This course will provide an introduction to copyright issues specifically of concern to photographers. Who owns the rights to your photographs? Who owns the rights to archival and other old photographs? The class will also discuss “rights of publicity” and “rights of privacy.” A variety of release forms and other contracts will be reviewed. Students will be expected to bring in samples of their own photographs for discussion of their work and their work process.

Date: Saturday, February 17
9 a.m.–2 p.m. (4 hours)
One-hour break, please bring a bag lunch.
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $90
Enroll by 2/2: $80
Course ID: 10819

Daniel Ellison is an attorney in private practice in Durham. He has been working with artists and nonprofit arts organizations for over twenty years. A longtime supporter of the Center for Documentary Studies, he is a frequent speaker and writer on a variety of arts law issues. He is a past president (and executive director) of the North Carolina Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts and former chair of the North Carolina State Bar Association’s Arts Law Committee. He developed Durham Arts Place, which recently celebrated its tenth anniversary of providing affordable artist studio spaces.

INSTITUTES

Documentary Happening Institute
Various Instructors

Now in its eleventh year, the Documentary Happening is a community festival where documentary artists come together to see and discuss work, to learn and be inspired. This year, we’ve added a new element—the Documentary Happening Institute!

Come to Durham for over three full days and four fabulous nights of documentaries, documentaries, documentaries. Select one of three tracks—photo, audio, or video. Learn from media gurus John Biewen, Alex Harris, Barrett Golding, Karen Michel, and Tom Rankin (more to be announced!). It’s an opportunity to mix and mingle with your documentary makin’ peers and to learn advanced skills. A major focus will be the art of editing—whether it’s audio, video, or selecting a sequence of images. How can we best create compelling narratives? What are the rules? When should we break them? You’ll have ample opportunity to receive focused feedback on your work, both in individual and group settings. Participants will work primarily within their medium, but there will be plenty of cross-fertilization, with classes on merging photography and audio, ways to create multimedia documentaries, and thinking critically about the art of documentary on the Web.

Note: Registration for the new Documentary Happening Institute includes all of the traditional Happening events (Friday evening/Saturday/Sunday). For more information on the Documentary Happening Institute, and bios of all our instructors, please go to the CDS Web site at http://cds.aas.duke.edu/events/happinstitute.html.

Limit 16 in each track: photo, audio, video.

Date: Wednesday to Sunday, January 31–February 4
Begins 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday
9 a.m.–5 p.m. Thursday–Saturday, plus evening presentations
10 a.m.–2 p.m. Sunday (16 hours)
Course fee: $325
Course ID: 10850 (photo), 10861 (audio), 10860 (video)



Hearing Is Believing I: An Audio Documentary Summer Institute
John Biewen

The Center for Documentary Studies presents a weeklong, morning-till-night immersion in audio documentary work. You’ll learn hands-on skills in recording and digital audio mixing; discuss issues such as the ethics of documentary work; explore varied uses for audio documentaries (it’s not just radio anymore); and hear accomplished producers play and talk about their work in evening presentations. During the week you’ll work with a fellow student to produce and edit a short audio documentary, from the first interview and sound-gathering to the final mix.

Computers and editing software will be provided for your use in completing your institute project. Students should bring field-recording equipment, including recorder, microphone, headphones, and tapes, minidisks, or flash cards. No experience in audio production is required. A basic comfort level with computers is desirable. The institute counts as 40 hours toward the Certificate in Documentary Studies.

The institute will be led by John Biewen along with other staff members of the Center for Documentary Studies. Visiting artists will also join the institute faculty; past instructors have included Chris Brookes, Neenah Ellis, Deb George, Karen Michel, Dmae Roberts, and Judith Sloan.

Register early; spaces are limited.

Information packets and schedules will be mailed to registered students at a later date. The enrollment fee includes lunches and one dinner.

Date: Sunday to Saturday, June 17–23
This 7-day intensive starts Sunday, 3 p.m.; Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. (plus evening presentations); concludes Saturday, 3 p.m. (40 hours)
Course fee: $775
Enroll by 6/1: $745
Course ID: 10820

The Durham News reports on the summer 2007 audio institute

Association of Independents in Radio profiles the CDS audio institute in the summer 2007 issue of AIRspace

Summer 2007 audio institute documentaries on iTunes

John Biewen is the audio programs director at the Center for Documentary Studies; he was formerly a correspondent-producer for American RadioWorks, the national documentary unit of American Public Media. He has produced a large body of work on economic and social issues, as well as investigative reports and historical documentaries. His reporting has won numerous honors, including the Robert F. Kennedy (2000, 2001), Society of Professional Journalists (Sigma Delta Chi), Edward R. Murrow (RTNDA), and (American Bar Association) Silver Gavel Awards. A graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, with a degree in philosophy, he lived and taught in Osaka, Japan, from 1985 to 1987.



Literacy Through Photography
Wendy Ewald, Denise Friesen, Katie Hyde

The Literacy Through Photography (LTP) Basic Workshop is open to anyone with a desire to learn how to bring together photography and writing. The workshop is appropriate for anyone seeking a collaborative approach to documentary work, or wanting to explore new approaches to documentary photography. Educators, artists, community workers, and researchers have adapted LTP methodologies in communities and schools around the world. This workshop is a wonderful opportunity to engage photography as an art form and educational medium, a mode of self-exploration, a way to connect visual literacy to verbal and written communication, and as a tool to facilitate community dialogue.

Throughout the week, participants receive hands-on instruction as they carry out assignments based on LTP’s core themes: self-portrait, community, and dreams. Participants will learn to process film and to print photographs in the darkroom. Both inexperienced and advanced photographers will have an exciting opportunity to creatively explore and produce their own work.

Workshop participants will learn the methods that LTP uses to teach creative writing and photography. Sessions focus on learning technical skills, viewing photographs, completing writing and photography exercises, and developing curricula. Participants will have an opportunity to discuss their own ideas for future projects. Individuals who have designed and successfully implemented their own LTP inspired projects will also present their work to the group.

NOTE: Participants will be provided with cameras for each of their projects. Digital formats will NOT be supported for this workshop.

Date: Monday to Friday, June 25–29
8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. (30 hours)
Course fee: $720
Enroll by 6/11: $695
Course ID: 10821

The summer 2007 LTP workshop is full.

Wendy Ewald, who has worked with children in many countries and in various communities within the United States, is the creative director of the Literacy Through Photography program at the Center for Documentary Studies. She has received numerous awards for her work with children and photography, among them fellowships from the Fulbright Commission and the MacArthur Foundation. Ewald has written nine books, most recently American Alphabets.

Denise Friesen first attended a Literacy Through Photography workshop in 1998 as a teacher in the Durham Public Schools. A National Board Certified teacher, she implemented LTP in her fourth- and fifth-grade multi-age classroom for five years. She also helped to curate the retrospective Who Am I?: A Decade of Literacy Through Photography in Durham, 1990–2000. Currently, Friesen oversees the LTP program in the Durham Public Schools and works closely with undergraduate students, teachers and students—including at-risk students and those identified with learning disabilities. She brings her eight years of teaching experience to LTP workshops and to an undergraduate LTP course she co-teaches with Wendy Ewald.

Katie Hyde has been involved with the Literacy Through Photography program since she studied with Wendy Ewald in 1998, and is currently the program’s director. She has traveled nationally to teach LTP workshops at major museums (e.g., The High Museum of Art in Atlanta and The Queens Museum of Art in New York), at schools, and with community organizations. She has also taught at Penland School of Crafts in Western North Carolina. Hyde earned her doctorate in sociology at North Carolina State University; her fieldwork has focused on recent Latino/a immigration in North Carolina, women’s activism in Russia, and girl’s education in rural Nepal. At Duke, she teaches an undergraduate course called Sociology Through Photography, and she collaborates with Wendy Ewald to teach a course focusing on children’s self-expression and race and gender issues within education.



Hearing Is Believing II: Making It Sing
John Biewen

An intensive six-day workshop for students who’ve recorded interviews and gathered sound and are ready to construct a four- to ten-minute audio documentary. This course is designed for those who are ready to begin editing their project and have a basic grasp of audio editing software, or for individuals who have completed Make That Audio Doc and/or the one-week Hearing Is Believing summer institute and are ready to try a more ambitious project. This time you’ll bring your own recordings to the institute. You’ll get lessons and personal guidance from seasoned radio documentary producers as you structure and script your piece, record your narration tracks (if any), and mix your documentary on ProTools.

The institute will be led by John Biewen along with other staff members of the Center for Documentary Studies. Visiting artists will also join the institute faculty; past instructors have included Chris Brookes, Neenah Ellis, Deb George, Karen Michel, Dmae Roberts, and Judith Sloan.

Register early; spaces are limited.

Information packets and schedules will be mailed to registered students at a later date. The enrollment fee includes lunches and one dinner.

Date: Monday through Saturday, August 13–18
This 6-day intensive starts Monday, 6 p.m.; Monday–Friday 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m. (plus evening presentations); concludes Saturday, 2 p.m. (35 hours)
Course fee: $775
Enroll by 7/31: $745
Course ID: 10822

Summer 2007 audio institute documentaries on iTunes

John Biewen is the audio programs director at the Center for Documentary Studies; he was formerly a correspondent-producer for American RadioWorks, the national documentary unit of American Public Media. He has produced a large body of work on economic and social issues, as well as investigative reports and historical documentaries. His reporting has won numerous honors, including the Robert F. Kennedy (2000, 2001), Society of Professional Journalists (Sigma Delta Chi), Edward R. Murrow (RTNDA), and (American Bar Association) Silver Gavel Awards. A graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, with a degree in philosophy, he lived and taught in Osaka, Japan, from 1985 to 1987.



Documentary Video Institute
Randolph Benson, Jim Haverkamp, Simone Keith, Erika Simon, Carol Thomson, April Walton

In this eight-day intensive, you will be fully immersed in the process of documentary filmmaking. Working in small production teams (one instructor for every four students) led by experienced documentary filmmakers, you will be introduced to an array of tools and techniques as you collaborate with a partner to direct, shoot, edit, and screen a documentary short. By the time you arrive at the institute, we will have arranged for you to do fieldwork in the Durham community on a documentary subject; you will then work with your partner to decide the technical and creative approach you want to take with your project. We will also explore different documentary genres and discuss collaboration, ethics, and community outreach. Small group learning environments and personalized training will keep you involved and on track regardless of your previous experience level. In addition, nationally known guest instructors will teach classes and screen their work in evening sessions. Past visiting filmmakers have included Linda Goode Bryant (Flag Wars), Marco Williams (award-winning Two Towns of Jasper), Ross McElwee (Sherman’s March; Brightleaves),
and Alice Elliott (Academy Award-nominated The Collector of Bedford Street).

The Center for Documentary Studies will provide computers, editing software (Final Cut Express), and sound equipment. Basic computer skills are required. Participants should bring their own digital video cameras and lavalier microphones, headphones, and two DV tapes. If you have a tripod, please bring it to the institute with you.

Register early; spaces are limited.

Information packets and schedules will be mailed to registered students at a later date. The enrollment fee includes lunches and one dinner.

Date: Saturday to Saturday, July 28–August 4
This 8-day intensive starts Saturday, 3 p.m.; Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. (plus evening presentations); concludes Saturday, 3 p.m. (48 hours)
Course fee: $1,290
Enroll by 7/13: $1,275
Course ID: 10824

Jim Haverkamp is an award-winning filmmaker and editor based in Durham. His credits include the documentaries Monster Road (co-producer, co-editor) and Armor of God (co-director), both collaborations with Brett Ingram. His other documentary and fiction films have screened in festivals across the country, and he was awarded a Filmmaking Fellowship from the North Carolina Arts Council in 2000. He is a former organizer of the Flicker Film Festival in Chapel Hill.

Randolph Benson is a graduate of Wake Forest University and of the North Carolina School of the Arts School of Filmmaking. His film Man and Dog has appeared in eighteen film festivals in seven countries and has garnered numerous awards, most notably a Gold Medal in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Student Academy Awards. His work has been featured on the Bravo Network, the Independent Film Channel (Split Screen), WTTW-Chicago, UNC-TV (NC Visions), and Telewizja Polska S.A.–Poland. He received an Eastman Kodak Excellence in Filmmaking Award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Simone Keith’s short documentary Heavier Than Air has screened at numerous festivals and aired on UNC-TV. A native of Brazil, she has been making documentaries and video essays since arriving in North Carolina ten years ago. Keith has earned two Telly Awards and has collaborated on The Wonder of It All, a UNC-TV documentary about the life of George Beverly Shea, which was nominated for a regional Emmy. She currently works at North Carolina State University, where she is the videographer and editor for In the Garden with Bryce Lane.

Erika Simon has been teaching Final Cut to beginners at CDS since 2003. She was an editor for Gatewood: Facing the White Canvas and directed and edited SAF’s Levante: Theater for Social Change and a PSA that aired on Univisión. Her short doc, Gemini World, recently won the Carrboro Film Festival Audience Award. She is a recipient of the Martha Nell Hardy Award for Outstanding Teaching, UNC–Chapel Hill.

Carol Thomson has been creating Web sites and multimedia works since 2000 when she began her documentary studies in Australia. Carol completed her Certificate in Documentary Studies at the Center for Documentary Studies in 2005. She is working on a multimedia documentary, Bridging Rails to Trails: Stories of the American Tobacco Trail, which will be published on the Web and as a CD-ROM. A work-in-progress version can be seen at http://bridgingrailstotrails.com. Thomson’s Web and multimedia company, FireStream Media, LLC, is located in downtown Durham.

A native of western North Carolina, April Watson is the learning outreach coordinator at the Center for Documentary Studies. Her favorite part of the job is connecting people passionate about a project with the resources that will enable them to bring it to life. She is the producer/director of Standing at the Crossroads, a video documentary about sustainable farming in North Carolina. Walton is a freelance video producer and a board member for Student Action with Farmworkers.

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Untitled, from the series Raising Helana. Photograph by Lissa Gotwals, from her project for the continuing studies course Final Project Seminar in Documentary Studies. Gotwals's work from this series was published in issue 03 of Blueeyes Magazine.