BEA2015

“Defining the Documentary” is an ongoing series exploring issues concerning the documentary. This year we will take on the important, and challenging, question of “If we can’t agree what a documentary is, how can we decide if one deserves an award?”  Following a brief introduction, we will break into groups, each with its own moderator, and discuss a number of the issues raised – allowing all attendees to participate in the ongoing conversation to explore the meaning of “documentary.”

Moderator: Evan Johnson, Normandale Community College
Panelists: Thomas Mascaro, Bowling Green State University
Dan Kimbrough, Misericordia University
Michael R. Ogden, Central Washington University
Christopher Shofner, University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point
Ralph Beliveau, University of Oklahoma

This session honors the winners of the Faculty and Student Festival of Media Arts Documentary Competitions. Selected works of this year’s award recipients will be exhibited.

Faculty Competition Chair: Choonghee Han, Hope College
Student Competition Chair: Jes Therkelsen, California State University-Fresno

Faculty Documentary Competition
Short Form Video or Film Documentary
Best of Competition:       Sanjeev Chatterjee, University of Miami; On Cities III

Award of Excellence:       Thomas A. Nelson & Jason McMerty, Elon University; The Story of Marion Ellet

Award of Excellence:       Cory Byers & Ashley Seering, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville; Chainsaw Carving

Long Form Video or Film Documentary
Best of Competition:       Samuel E. Ebersole, Colorado State University - Pueblo; Art in the Elements

Award of Excellence:       Michael Whalen, Santa Clara University; The Farmer & the Chef

Student Documentary Competition
Short Form Video or Film Documentary
1st Place:                            Max Maddox, Asger Ladefoged, Jarod Taber & Ben Mitchell, San Francisco State University; Taxi 2.0

2nd Place:                          Richard Adams, Amber Bradford, Justin Carroll & Bung Nan, Middle Tennessee State University; Le Debut

3rd Place:                           Miriam Ward, Maxwell Reide, Steven Sirianni, Allaura Pagano & Alexandria Fontanez, SUNY New Paltz; The Superman Letters

4th Place:                           Hunter Brothers & Kristin Kohlmeyer, University of Oklahoma; Thirty

Honorary Mention:          Matthew J. Grcic, Loyola University Chicago; Discovering the truth with Tanner DeMita

Honorary Mention:          Vianka Villa, Edward Hernandez, Chris Smith, Aidan Cooney, Arizona State University; Garden City

Honorary Mention:          Brian Binder, Brian Mezerski & Amory Parks, Elon University; forte - documentary

Honorary Mention:          Kristen Hwang, Kassandra Gonzalez & Jacob Tibi, Arizona State University; Thicker Than Water

Honorary Mention:          Alex Glass, Dani Thompson, Alanna Delfino, Amanda Salvucci, Ben Susman, Shannon Clash, Kara Dixon, Steph Martinez & Taylor Lewis, University of Maryland; Viewfinder: Overcoming Obstacles

Honorary Mention:          Marley McDonald, Dan McNew, Abby Rigglemanc & Art Pekun, James Madison University; Won't Pipe Down

Honorary Mention:          Ryan Greene, Evan McGillivray, Brian Mezerski & Matthew Mintzer, Elon University; ELN: Behind the Scenes - Election

Honorary Mention:          Jacqueline Eaton & Djoeke Roorda, Mount Royal University; Theater on the Rails

Long Form Video or Film Documentary
1st Place:                            Stefica Nicol Bikes, The University of Technology, Sydney Australia; Dyeing China

2nd Place:                          Olivia Ash, Amanda Brasgalla & Taylor Lunka, Pacific Lutheran University; Waste Not: Breaking Down the Food Equation

3rd Place:                           Mauricio Casillas, Carolina Marquez & Cammeron Neely, Arizona State University; Until the Southern Border is Secure

4th Place:                           Diane Hodson & Jasmine Luoma, Wake Forest University; unmappable

Honorary Mention:          Alex Lancial, Arizona State University; Breaking the Spectrum

Honorary Mention:          Dustin Askim, Conor Ballantyne, Max Barnum, Eric Clements, Jess Field, Shane Gillette, Sergio Gonzalez, Keith McGlothlin, Hunter Meek, Matt Miller, Evan Rau & Lauren Robinson, University of Montana; Distracted: Eyes off the Road

Honorary Mention:          Tiffany King, University of Arkansas; Paws in Prison

Honorary Mention:          Scott Ramsey, Kisa Clark, University of Arkansas; Courageous Journey: The Story of Dr. Jocyelyn Elders

Honorary Mention:          Eric Juth, Michele Ferris-Dobles, Wake Forest University; Ghosts of Johnston County

Honorary Mention:          Kate Walker, University of Montana; The Missouri Compromised

Honorary Mention:          Erik Yde O'Brien, Laura Kattelman, University of Utah; Magna: An American Story

Honorary Mention:          Daniel Henkey, Alyssa Becker, University of Arkansas; Tapping the Ozarks: A Story About Beer

Due to popular demand, Jon Alpert, the legendary documentary filmmaker, will return to this year's BEA Convention. Alpert, a fifteen-time National Emmy Award winner and two-time Academy Award nominee, will speak about the responsibility of filmmakers as well as ethics in filmmaking.  Through producing his highly acclaimed documentaries for over forty years, Alpert understands that documenting particular individuals can be thought of as exploitation. What are the responsibilities that we must be aware of when filming particular individuals?

What is acceptable when documenting someone else’s life? How do we assess what is the realm of journalism and what is not?  This is an excellent opportunity to “meet” the celebrated filmmaker who pioneered video journalism decades ago, and is still very much active today.

Moderator: Ryoya Terao, New York City College of Technology

Moderator: Ryoya Terao, New York City College of Technology

Many filmmakers focus on stories that stem directly from their own communities and produce films ranging from issue driven documentaries to character driven films. This panel will examine the documentary filmmaker working in his or her community and revealing the story as an insider. Panelists will share their experiences and insight on collecting, preserving, interpreting, critiquing and sharing the stories of their own communities. 

Moderator: Helena Vanhala, Robert Morris University
Panelists: Cigdem Slankard, Robert Morris University
Brian Plow, Ohio University
Jason Brown, Valdosta State University
Kristine Mirrer, Ph.D., Kean University

The Documentary Division focuses on scholarship, teaching, and creation of documentaries, and radio-TV-Internet delivery of documentary film/video. We seek to expand international documentary literature and illuminate genres, methods, creators, and interpretative/analytical approaches to documentary. Our members share an appreciation for methods of teaching and producing documentaries, including exhibition. Our goal is to be a nexus for media scholars and critics, faculty, and professionals in documentary fields, as well as other associations, festivals, and broadcast organizations that research, produce, and archive documentaries at international, national, regional, and local levels.
Moderator: Dan Kimbrough, Misericordia University
Panelists: Leah B. Mangrum, Angelo State University
Jes Therkelsen, California State University - Fresno

In the not too distant past, storytelling films were largely the province of Hollywood and documentary was primarily used in news reporting. Robert Drew (1924-2014)—recognized as the "father" of Direct Cinema (or, American Cinéma Vérité)—sought a new method of creating a visual narrative that would make documentaries more gripping and exciting in a way that takes advantage of television's ability to draw audiences into dramatic stories with immediacy.Taking advantage of lightweight cameras and synchronized sound, Robert Drew and his associates (Ann Drew, D.A. Pennebaker, Richard Leacock, Albert & David Maysles, Hope Ryden, Jim Lipscomb & Greg Shuker) embarked on an experiment to develop a new type of documentary, "…it would be reporting without summary and opinion; it would be the ability to look in on people's lives at crucial times from which you could deduce certain things and see a kind of truth that can only be gotten by personal experience" (Drew, 1962). Documentarian Michael Moore has stated, "All of us who make nonfiction movies can trace our lineage to what he [Drew] created." Each scholar on this panel will present a retrospective of the impact Drew Associates have had on American documentary, how it has evolved since the seminal TV documentary "Primary" (1960) launched the Direct Cinema revolution, and whether or not recent innovations in newer, lighter and higher quality equipment are poised to do the same for contemporary documentary style, form and function.
Moderator: Michael R. Ogden, Central Washington University
Panelists: Thomas Mascaro, Bowling Green State University; Visceral Vérité: Drew’s Yanki, No!, The Children Were Watching, and Editorial Faces of the Kennedy Years
Michael R. Ogden, Central Washington University; Inventing Direct Cinema: How the Technology of Primary Changed Documentary Storytelling
Mary C. Schaffer, California State University – Northridge; The Impact of Drew and Associates on Today’s Documentarians

This panel discussion features graduate students from various programs presenting their research in documentary studies, including dissertation research, papers in progress, and articles for consideration. Graduate Students will present summaries of their key questions and findings.
Moderator: Jes Therkelsen, California State University - Fresno
Respondents: Gregory N. Luft, Colorado State University
Susan L. Brinson, Auburn University

With the growing popularity of Point-of-View (POV) videos, compact high-definition cameras are being used for acquiring time-lapse, underwater, and aerial drone footage (e.g., "Brinno" and “GoPro cameras) for creative storytelling purposes. Electronic Field Production (EFP) students must understand how to use these exciting new tools effectively for creating powerful visuals in often-extreme conditions. The panel focuses on the practical realities involved with EFP applications for these new POV technologies: camera mounting options, underwater use, compression technologies, editing issues, and legal-ethical concerns with drone platforms. This session will demystify these POV technologies and provide useful teaching tips for EFP instructors contemplating using them for creative video production.
Moderator: Peter B. Seel, Colorado State University
Panelists: Patricia Amaral Buskirk, University of Hawaii at Manoa
Steven Weiss, Colorado State University
Joe Champ, Colorado State University
Brent M. Foster, California State University, Fullerton

The Radio Documentary form is as old as the broadcast medium itself. Though today largely vanished from commercial airwaves, thousands of producers across the world use the form today on public and community networks to share insight and activism.  In 2013, the Radio Documentary Review was founded as an online journal. In this panel, its founding editor and early contributors comment on the journal's intent and criteria. Samples of documentary radio are played and critiqued. Audience comments will take up the future and dynamics of the documentary/podcast form.
Moderator: David Dunaway, University of New Mexico/San Francisco State
Panelists: Siobhan McHugh, University of Wollongong, Australia; Radio Documentary in Review
John Biewan, Duke University; Reality Radio
David Dunaway, University of New Mexico/San Francisco State; Criteria for Evaluating Radio Documentaries