The Scouting Difference: Development, Direction, and Evaluation of a Documentary Film

• Main Author: Strickland, Kirk E.
• Format: Others
• Published: BYU ScholarsArchive 1982
• Subjects: documentary; film; director; direction; evaluation; Boy Scouts of America; Film and Media Studies
• Online Access: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/7049; https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=8049&context=etd

There is a need for supplemental reference material of an in-depth, specific nature to suggest methods of general application to the novice film director. Because film production is such a highly collaborative art, craft, and business with limited opportunities open to beginners, the novice director can benefit a great deal from the documented experiences of another. This study will provide insight into the practical role of the film director in motion picture production. In this way, this study can influence directorial practice in a positive manner by offering a forewarning of potential production challenges and help the novice to avoid similar pitfalls as well as to capitalize on any successes realized. This study will characterize some important attributes a director may find it helpful to develop in facilitating his work with artistic, technical, and administrative specialists. This study also suggests means by which a filmmaker can work with producers and clients in making a film for a specific persuasive purpose. In doing so, it will suggest possible methods of defining a film's intent, methods of realizing this intent through the various production phases of scripting, filming, and editing, and methods of evaluating the success in conveying the intent to the target audience.