The Documentary Site

(formerly Reality Film)

11 Books to Read on Documentary Production

Yes, it goes to 11!

Writing, Directing, and Producing Documentary Films and Vidoes, Alan Rosenthal. 3rd edition. Carbondale: Southern Illinois Press, 2002.

Directing the Documentary, Michael Rabiger. 4th edition. Focal Press, 2004.

The Documentary Filmmakers Handbook: A Guerilla Guide, Genevieve Jolliffe and Andrew Zinnes. New York: Continuum, 2006.

Making Documentary Films and Reality Videos: A Practical Guide to Planning, Filming, and Editing Documentaries of Real Events, Barry Hampe. New York: Owl Books, 1997.

Documentary Storytelling: Making Stronger and More Dramatic Nonfiction Films, Sheila Curran Bernard. 2nd edition. Focal Press, 2007.

Cross-Cultural Filmmaking: A Handbook for Making Documentary and Ethnographic Films and Videos, Ilisa Barbash and Lucien Taylor. University of California Press, 1997.

Documentary in Practice, Jane Chapman. Polity Press, 2007.

Introduction to Documentary Production, Searle Kochberg, ed. Wallflower, 2002.

Documentary in the Digital Age, Maxine Baker. Focal Press, 2005.

The Art of Documentary: Ten Conversations with Leading Directors, Cinematographers, Editors, and Producers, Megan Cunningham. New Riders Press, 2005.

Documentary Filmmakers Speak, Liz Stubbs. Allworth Press, 2002.

My list for watching at least one documentary a week for an entire year