Course: Documentary Immersion, DOCU 10100
Attributes: Liberal Arts (LA)
Professor: John D. Scott, Associate Professor of Television and Digital Media and Director, Documentary Studies and Production Program
When do students enroll: Fall semester, first year.
What it covers:
This course introduces students to the concepts and ways that they can make profound nonfiction work that can change how people see the world. We watch recent documentaries and we interact with influential people making nonfiction work in many different settings. This year the course focused on both veterans and newcomers to the field.
This semester students had the chance to interact with Emmy-Award winning filmmaker Jeff Orlowski-Yang, director of The Social Dilemma (2020) and Chasing Ice (2012). Students also experienced one-on-one interactions with recent 2020 Doc Studies graduates Shyala Jayasinghe who is working at Ken Burns’ company Florentine Films and Alisha Tamarchenko who is working as a video specialist at the Smithsonian Institution.
How it is taught:
This year’s class enrolled mostly Documentary Studies and Production students. The 15-student class is discussion based. Students are required to write about the documentaries we screen. They also create a video essay that explores an issue raised in discussion by one of the guests visiting our class.
Why I teach this course:
I was a member of the founding team that developed the documentary studies and production degree. I currently serve as the program director. I love teaching this course for two reasons: first, because I can interact with the incoming class; and second, because I can delve deeper into exciting new works and innovative people in the field of documentary.
Interesting backstory about this course or me:
This course was designed with new incoming students in mind. We wanted to bring to life the goals and aspirations of the documentary studies and production degree experience. Our goal was to introduce students to their peers in the program, alumni, and the larger communities of documentary beyond Ithaca College.