In this text, the moral, ethical, aesthetic and communicative problems of documentary film-making are explored through knowledge and experience in the field, studio, editing room, theatre and television. This revised edition increases the discussion of video, adds a new chapter on fundraising and international marketing, provides more writing examples, and gives more attention to production development. An internationally renowned documentary film-maker with more than 60 films to his credit, including the Peabody Award-winning "Out of the Ashes", Rosenthal has written a book which addresses the realities involved in the making of a documentary. Rather than dealing with theory or hardware, Rosenthal tackles the day-to-day problems from initial concept through distribution. The organization of the book follows the process of making a documentary. Part 1 discusses ideas, research and script structure; parts 2 and 3 go over preproduction and production; part 4 explores editing and narration writing; and part 5 discusses distinctive forms of documentary, including cinema verite and documentary drama.
The concluding chapter offers a perspective on the entire process involved in the making of a documentary.