“There may be twenty valuable books on documentary. But
everyone knows to start with this one.”
– Richard Randall,
documentary filmmaker: Soul of the Delta
“I thoroughly enjoyed the second edition of the book. Hampe
maintains a concise narrative style without sacrificing his sense of humor. He
simply focuses on how to tell a story. With a growing number of markets, media,
and platforms his discussion of ethics and credibility should be required
reading for all documentarians. Investing a few hours of time will pay many
dividends to his readers.”
– W. Clark Bunting,
president, Discovery Networks U.S. Production
"Guided by Barry Hampe's first edition, I embarked into
the world of documentary filmmaking with zero background but lots of practical
advice. The result was an award-winning film, The Kidnapping of Ingrid Betancourt (with co-producer Karin Hayes).
Now into my third documentary, I find Making
Documentary Films and Videos, Second Edition, has become an even more
valuable handbook."
—Victoria Bruce, documentary
filmmaker
"Barry Hampe's Making
Documentary Films and Videos, Second Edition is a joy to read. With his
welcome emphasis on the primacy of the idea, Mr. Hampe guides the nascent
filmmaker amusingly, clearly, and concisely through all the pitfalls of
documentary construction. I recommend it heartily."
—Prof. Alan Rosenthal,
filmmaker and author:
Writing, Producing and Directing
Documentary Films and Videos
“The second edition is more than an improvement on the
previous version. We enlarged the bullet points at the start of the chapter on
research and stuck them up on the wall. That's our Bible from now on when we
start a new documentary."
—Henk Lamers,
documentary filmmaker, Loftmatic, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
"When I started to make my first documentary film, I
ordered six books from Amazon. The best, by far, was Hampe's Making Documentary Films and Videos. This new edition is
fabulous. The thing that sets this book apart is that Hampe is a real writer, a
beautiful writer. Even someone not interested in documentary film would enjoy
reading this book."
—Caren Cross,
documentary filmmaker, Lost and Found in
Mexico,
San Miguel de Allende,
Mexico
"In this second edition, Barry expands and deepens his
original premise that visual evidence, truth, and ethics are the
documentarian's only silver bullet. Audiences and critics will choose to act,
react, or pass based on the veracity of the presented evidence. Play by the
rules or break them, but know the potential consequences by reading this book."
—Richard Dixon,
producer/director, Rare America
“Enjoyable and practical, with a valuable emphasis on
documentary truth and the nature of visual evidence.”
—Sheila Curran Bernard,
filmmaker and author: Documentary
Storytelling
"When I first outlined a course on creating media for
education, I anticipated needing several texts, one each for the design
process, production techniques, and professional standards and ethics. Then I
discovered that Hampe's first edition covered it all, with an accessible,
engaging, and admirably concise approach. Now I look forward to teaching with Making Documentary Films and Videos, Second
Edition, which continues these strengths while updating to include more
contemporary trends and examples."
—Joseph Blatt, Harvard
Graduate School of Education
"If I could read only one book on the subject, it would
be Making Documentary Films and Vide,
Second Edition. The brief history of the documentary genre gave me a sense
of being a participant in this fascinating, open-ended field of inquiry."
—Robin Johnson,
documentary filmmaker, Bodega Bay, California, and Cajarc, France
"I have wanted to make documentaries since I was a kid
watching travelogues at the Shrine Auditorium. Making Documentary Films and Videos was my guide in understanding the
process. I used this book as a reference for the steps I needed in order to
make an idea into reality. From preproduction to post, I referred to this book
to keep me on course."
—Susan Shankin,
first-time documentarian...
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