Description
A New History of Documentary Film, Second Edition offers a much-needed resource, considering the very rapid changes taking place within documentary media. Building upon the best-selling 2005 edition, Betsy McLane keeps the same chronological examination, factual reliability, ease of use and accessible prose style as before, while also weaving three new threads - Experimental Documentary, Visual Anthropology and Environmental/Nature Films - into the discussion. She provides emphasis on archival and preservation history, present practices, and future needs for documentaries. Along with preservation information, specific problems of copyright and fair use, as they relate to documentary, are considered.
A comprehensive survey of English language documentary film and video from beginnings to the present.
About the Author
Betsy A. McLane is the Director Emerita of the International Documentary Association. She holds degrees in cinema: a BFA from Ithaca College, MA and Ph.D. from The University of Southern California School of Media Arts. She has taught courses on film and documentary at Loyola Marymount University, The University of Vermont, Emerson College, The University of Southern California and California State University, San Bernadino, Palm Desert Campus. She is a Past President of the University Film and Video Association, and most recently served as the Project Director for The American Documentary Showcase, a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the US Department of State.
Reviews
A New History of Documentary Film is a vital and essential narrative about the evolution of an art form, from its earliest manifestations around the birth of the moving picture to its modern-day diffusion of genres and sub-genres in the digital era. This new version brings readers up-to-date in this so-called Golden Age of Documentary, while providing a rich and lively tour over a century of innovation and provocation. As any good history evinces, this New History tells us where we've been and where we're going. --Thomas White, Editor, Documentary Magazine
Betsy McClane makes an important contribution to documentary history. She does an especially good job at shining a light on careers that were previously overlooked. - Thom Powers, documentary programmer (Toronto International Film Festival; Stranger Than Fiction)
Now in an updated second edition with additional material on Experimental documentary, Visual Anthropology, and Environmental/Nature films, A New History of Documentary Film is a scholarly, chronological evaluation of how documentary media has changed through the decades. A handful of black-and-white photographs (plus a few color plates) illustrate this extraordinary compendium that shines a spotlight on little-known pioneers in filmmaking as well as offering a solid overview of the medium, from the twenties, to the tumult of two world wars, to the postmodern era. An index rounds out this excellent resource for media studies courses, and fascinating browse for lay readers interested in learning more about nonfiction films throughout history. -- James A. Cox * The Midwest Book Review *
Carefully streamlining and judiciously rearranging the first edition, McLane - sole author of the second edition - provides a stronger context for its expanded and deeper exploration of recent documentary and the key issues affecting its current production and distribution. This enhances the dramatic shape the original gave the story of the documentary's development and gives the new edition greater immediate relevance. -- Edward Landler * CineMontage Book Review *
In her newly updated edition of A New History of Documentary Film, Betsy McLane, director emerita of the International Documentary Association, manages to be both exhaustive in scope and concise in approach. She offers an account of the genre's history as context for the current state of documentary film, while also considering the future of non-fiction films. -- Carley Johnson * Directors Guild of America Quarterly *
this revised version of A New History of Documentary Film is undoubtedly a useful reference for the scholars and students in documentary film studies as well as documentary enthusiasts. * Media International Australia *
Book Information
ISBN 9781441124579
Author Betsy A. McLane
Format Paperback
Page Count 448
Imprint Continuum Publishing Corporation
Publisher Continuum Publishing Corporation
Weight(grams) 706g
Finally, A History of Documentary Film retains and updates the recommended readings and important films and the end of each chapter from the first edition, including the bibliography and appendices. Impossible to talk learnedly about documentary film without an audio-visual component, a companion website will increase its depth of information and overall usefulness to students, teachers and film enthusiasts.
A comprehensive survey of English language documentary film and video from beginnings to the present.
About the Author
Betsy A. McLane is the Director Emerita of the International Documentary Association. She holds degrees in cinema: a BFA from Ithaca College, MA and Ph.D. from The University of Southern California School of Media Arts. She has taught courses on film and documentary at Loyola Marymount University, The University of Vermont, Emerson College, The University of Southern California and California State University, San Bernadino, Palm Desert Campus. She is a Past President of the University Film and Video Association, and most recently served as the Project Director for The American Documentary Showcase, a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the US Department of State.
Reviews
A New History of Documentary Film is a vital and essential narrative about the evolution of an art form, from its earliest manifestations around the birth of the moving picture to its modern-day diffusion of genres and sub-genres in the digital era. This new version brings readers up-to-date in this so-called Golden Age of Documentary, while providing a rich and lively tour over a century of innovation and provocation. As any good history evinces, this New History tells us where we've been and where we're going. --Thomas White, Editor, Documentary Magazine
Betsy McClane makes an important contribution to documentary history. She does an especially good job at shining a light on careers that were previously overlooked. - Thom Powers, documentary programmer (Toronto International Film Festival; Stranger Than Fiction)
Now in an updated second edition with additional material on Experimental documentary, Visual Anthropology, and Environmental/Nature films, A New History of Documentary Film is a scholarly, chronological evaluation of how documentary media has changed through the decades. A handful of black-and-white photographs (plus a few color plates) illustrate this extraordinary compendium that shines a spotlight on little-known pioneers in filmmaking as well as offering a solid overview of the medium, from the twenties, to the tumult of two world wars, to the postmodern era. An index rounds out this excellent resource for media studies courses, and fascinating browse for lay readers interested in learning more about nonfiction films throughout history. -- James A. Cox * The Midwest Book Review *
Carefully streamlining and judiciously rearranging the first edition, McLane - sole author of the second edition - provides a stronger context for its expanded and deeper exploration of recent documentary and the key issues affecting its current production and distribution. This enhances the dramatic shape the original gave the story of the documentary's development and gives the new edition greater immediate relevance. -- Edward Landler * CineMontage Book Review *
In her newly updated edition of A New History of Documentary Film, Betsy McLane, director emerita of the International Documentary Association, manages to be both exhaustive in scope and concise in approach. She offers an account of the genre's history as context for the current state of documentary film, while also considering the future of non-fiction films. -- Carley Johnson * Directors Guild of America Quarterly *
this revised version of A New History of Documentary Film is undoubtedly a useful reference for the scholars and students in documentary film studies as well as documentary enthusiasts. * Media International Australia *
Book Information
ISBN 9781441124579
Author Betsy A. McLane
Format Paperback
Page Count 448
Imprint Continuum Publishing Corporation
Publisher Continuum Publishing Corporation
Weight(grams) 706g
