Culture and Documentary Film Production
The specialization “Culture and Documentary Film Production” focuses on highlighting cultural data and practices through digital audiovisual media. The direction seeks to specialize postgraduate students in the specifics of design, production (research, organization, filming, editing), distribution and critical analysis of documentary films, with themes that are related to cultural and industrial heritage. Emphasis is placed on the theory and history of the arts, the work of specific artists, the themes of popular culture, as well as broader contemporary Greek and international practice, which prescribes specific norms and forms in producing documentary films with cultural content.
Winter Semester
7 ECTS
COURSE CODE ΙΣΘ100
Eirini Stathi
The course focuses on the connection of film theory in general with the practices and methods of documentary and explores the contemporary production of documentaries of a political, biographical, autobiographical, historical, environmental, etc. nature, through specific films that will be screened and analyzed. The ultimate goal of this course is for students to be able to analyze specific film texts in today’s multidimensional documentary production. The course will provide appropriate knowledge of connecting the particular genre and style of contemporary documentaries with fundamental theories of cinema and will provide a deep understanding of the connection between theory and practice.
8 ECTS
COURSE CODE ΣΕΝ100
Despina Poulou, Konstantinos Aivaliotis
The creation of a documentary begins with a persistent interest in a topic/idea. The outcome of the creative process depends significantly on dominant aspects of the documentary, such as the power of the narrative and the “gaze” that visually captures the meaningful content. For the creative approach of the aforementioned elements, a multitude of basic theoretical and applied/technical knowledge of the different stages of documentary creation is necessary. Within this context, the course is an introduction to the principles and stages of documentary creation, starting from the conception of the idea and reaching its implementation. It approaches central issues and basic knowledge of the necessary research and its different types (archives/documents, field, etc.), the scriptwriting process (treatment), directing issues (use of camera, selection of shots/frames, lighting, etc.), while it is also delving into basic rules that ensure narrative continuity when audiovisual material is connected at the stage of montage. The course tool is screening and analysis of indicative documentary excerpts, while particular emphasis is placed on the students’ applied tasks/exercises that aim to test theoretical and laboratory knowledge, in a collaborative framework for feedback on the results.
8 ECTS
COURSE CODE ΜΟΝ100
Despina Poulou, Alexandros Spathis
The post-production stage is the final part of the work to complete an audiovisual project. Editing (or a montage of) a documentary is a process that requires perseverance and creativity, since a significant part of the story of the project is “constructed” during the connection of the filmed footage. Given the power of montage to create narrative continuities through the assembly of fragmentary elements, the purpose of the course is to familiarize students with basic principles related to the management of shots for the production of meaning through the correlation and juxtaposition of audiovisual data. Within this context, the aim is to make students familiar with basic digital editing tools offered by any computer software, thus allowing the organization and processing of the component elements of a documentary, which concern the image (shots, animation, photographs), the sound (narration, contemporary interview audio, music) and the graphics (titles, visual effects, etc.). Emphasis is placed on issues related to workflow, the evaluation and classification of primary material, while ways of connecting image and sound to create an audiovisual narrative are analyzed.
7 ECTS
COURSE CODE ΠΔΝ100
Evangelia Sampanikou
This is an interdisciplinary course with articulated lectures on specific audiovisual arts topics that will be developed each academic year. The instructor will focus on cutting-edge issues regarding the development of audiovisual arts at a theoretical and applied level. Each academic year, the course will be structured either into thirteen purely theoretical lectures (online), or into seven online lectures and six thematic workshops in which students will present their works (online) in collaboration with the instructor (which they will have already posted on eclass). The topics of the lectures will cover a wide range of arts, such as photography, video, documentary, audio productions, etc., while they will also discuss storytelling, storyboarding, or production techniques and problems. The course moves towards a direction of collaborative student-teacher coexistence and in its ideal form will be extremely flexible.
Spring Semester
6 ECTS
COURSE CODE ΙΣΘ200
Stathi Eirini
The course focuses on connecting cinematic theory in general with the practices and methods of documentary filmmaking and will explore contemporary documentary production of political, biographical, autobiographical, historical, environmental, etc., nature, through specific films that will be screened and analyzed. The ultimate goal of this course is for students to be able to analyze specific film texts in today’s multidimensional documentary production. The course will provide appropriate knowledge for connecting the particular genre and style of contemporary documentaries with fundamental theories of cinema and will offer a deep understanding of the connection between theory and practice.
8 ECTS
COURSE CODE ΣΕΝ200
Despina Poulou, Konstantinos Aivaliotis
The course, as a continuation of the first, proceeds to study more specific issues with the script, direction and cinematography in documentary films. Divided into two parts −theoretical and laboratory, it explores the specificities of anthropological, social, historical and cultural documentary, focusing on issues with the techniques of how to research social issues, how to use historical and news archives, field research, the production of compilation films, etc. Part of the course lectures are dedicated to masterclasses, in which renowned Greek documentary directors talk about their work and converse with the students. The laboratory part of the course focuses on the students’ narrative method of observation and creation, of a relevant project-exercise which is developed gradually over the course of the semester and evolves based on the progress presentations and feedback from the instructor.
6 ECTS
COURSE CODE ΜΟΝ200
Konstantinos Aivaliotis, Alexandros Spathis
In the second part of the montage and editing course, specific issues of image and sound processing are analyzed, always focusing on the particular needs of a documentary and with emphasis on the processing and optimization of image and sound elements (stabilization, color correction & grading, noise reduction), the combination of shots with compositing, the use of typographic elements for the creation of titles and subtitles, as well as the final sound mix. The course is a completion of the cycle that follows basic montage and editing techniques and focuses on topics such as editing multi-camera footage, and on special issues of compositing and the integration of animation techniques in documentary. The course is divided into two parallel axes, the technical and the theoretical one.
7 ECTS
COURSE CODE ΠΔΝ200
Evangelia Mademli
As a continuation of the first part, the course maintains its interdisciplinary character and modular structure, insisting on focusing on central issues that concern the field of audiovisual arts and documentary in particular. To this end, based on theoretical (online) lectures, it covers a wide range of topics: (1.) It focuses on documentary production issues, emphasizing financing, screening, promoting, distributing as well as legal issues and ethical issues. (2.) It presents contemporary documentary trends, exploring the possibilities, specificities and characteristics of interactive documentary. (3.) It examines theoretical issues with the creation of audiovisual work for a museum or an exhibition event. And finally, (4.) it opens up to issues with sound design, examining the morphological processing of sound in combination with issues with communication, aesthetics, ideology and ethics.
SPRING SEMESTER ACTIVITIES
Every year, as part of the course “Screenwriting, Directing, and Cinematography II,” students specializing in “Culture and Documentary Film Production,” accompanied by instructors from the postgraduate program, visit, watch, and actively participate in the Thessaloniki International Documentary Film Festival (TiDF), as part of an organized and funded threeday activity of the program. The TiDF is one of the most important Greek cultural events, as it showcases the latest international film productions. It provides opportunities for direct engagement with the works of creators from diverse cinematic trends and cultures, including watching first-run films, participating in Q&A sessions with filmmakers, and taking part in parallel events. The postgraduate program, recognizing the importance of education through direct contact with the subject, covers part of the students’ travel expenses, ensuring their participation without additional financial burden. The Thessaloniki International Documentary Film Festival Action strengthens the program’s connection to professional reality, offering students unique opportunities for networking and development in their field. This participation includes watching screenings, analyzing works, and engaging in activities and discussions related to documentaries.