Overview
In this unit, you will learn the history and theory of documentary, and about current trends in industry practice. Through a series of individual exercises, you will gain skills in project development, sound and vision capture, and documentary editing using industry-standard software. You will apply these skills in the production of your own short documentary. You will be encouraged to find your authentic voice and visual style, and will be introduced to the ethical and legal considerations for documentary practice.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Prerequisite: MMST11009 Digital Video and Audio
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2025
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Unit Coordinator Observations
More practice is needed prior to students creating their own documentaries.
Include more opportunities for students to refine their technical and operator skills in the early part of the term. This will enable students to be more familair with conducting interviews and will support them to work as solo/total filmmakers.
- Integrate a theoretical understanding of documentary practice and audiovisual skills in the creation of a completed documentary project.
- Apply documentary editing principles in the creation of a documentary using industry-standard editing software.
- Manage media files and workflow through the stages of development, pre-production, production, post-production and distribution
- Reflect critically on one's own professional documentary practice within an industry-standard ethical framework.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Practical Assessment - 40% | ||||
| 2 - Practical Assessment - 60% | ||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Communication | ||||
| 2 - Problem Solving | ||||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | ||||
| 4 - Information Literacy | ||||
| 5 - Team Work | ||||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | ||||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | ||||
| 8 - Ethical practice | ||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | ||||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
Additional Textbook Information
All texts and references for this Unit are available online. Details are available on the Unit Moodle website.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Access to digital vision and audio capture devices (a smartphone is sufficient)
- Students will require access to video editing software (Adobe Premiere Pro or DaVInci Resolve free version are recommended)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 7th Edition (APA 7th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
j.cattoni@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Introduction & Unit Overview
Defining Documentary
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Documentary Research & Development
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Documentary Interviewing
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Visual Storytelling & Stylistic Approaches
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Compulsory Attendance Week 4 Tutorial for Peer Review of Story Ideas
Module/Topic
Ethical & Legal Frameworks
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Documentary Pre-Production
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Shooting Your Documentary
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Post-Production 1
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Compulsory Attendance at Week 8 or 9 Tutorial for Rough-Cut Feedback
Module/Topic
Post-Production 2
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Compulsory Attendance at Week 8 or 9 Tutorial for Rough-Cut Feedback
Module/Topic
Post-Production 3
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Post-Production 4
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Distribution & Professional Practice
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Practical Assessment
Documentary research and development is the cornerstone of professional filmmaking. The process involves building relationships with potential participants, identifying stories and participant suitability, researching related documentary topics, exploring potential narrative approaches and styles, capturing test footage, and undertaking preliminary planning before formal filming begins. This phase is crucial not only for creating engaging content but also for managing production risks, schedules, and ethical considerations. For university students, engaging in proper development helps avoid common pitfalls such as unfocused storytelling, limited access to subjects, or superficial treatment of topics. Industry agencies require evidence of project development as the first step on the pathway to content creation, making these skills essential for students aspiring to work in the industry. This assignment supports students to learn these important skills which can be applied to a wide range of content creation scenarios. Creativity and experimentation are encouraged.
Please note the following details:
- The subject of your documentary can be of your own choosing, but must be about someone other than yourself, although you can appear as an on-screen secondary character. Students are encouraged to choose a subject and theme that has potential impact from a social, environmental or cultural perspective.
- A framework of weekly exercises, from Weeks 1-5, is provided to guide students in this process. These exercises build on each other to generate the necessary documentation and audio-visual elements to fulfill the requirements of the Assignment.
- The weekly exercises include but are not limited to:
- undertaking a research interview and visual sequence exploring the proposed style
- completing a draft pitch deck, production plan, and safety report (templates are provided)
- developing a data management plan
- engaging in peer review and self-evaluation.
- The weekly exercises are to be completed in the DGTL12014 Assignment #1 Submission Template provided in the Assessment Tile on Moodle.
- Compulsory attendance is required at the Week 4 tutorial to give and receive feedback on story ideas.
Please see full details on the unit website (Moodle)
Submission Requirements via Moodle
1. A completed DGTL12014 Assignment #1 Submission Template, saved as a PDF, that includes a shareable link to a single 1080p 25fps, (MP4) of your audio-visual materials.
2. PDFs of your pitch deck, production plan, data management plan and safety report.
Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence agents (Gen AI)
Within this assessment, the use of Gen AI agents is as follows:
• Gen AI can be used for written content editing.
Please refer to the Moodle Assessment tile for specific details.
Week 6 Tuesday (22 Apr 2025) 11:59 pm AEST
Two weeks following submission
Attention to completion of requirements of task
Quality of creative and story development
Visual and technical exploration
Standard of documentation and presentation
- Integrate a theoretical understanding of documentary practice and audiovisual skills in the creation of a completed documentary project.
- Manage media files and workflow through the stages of development, pre-production, production, post-production and distribution
2 Practical Assessment
This assessment requires that students produce a short documentary of 3-5 minutes duration (+/- 10%), to a standard suitable for entry into a film festival. The subject of your documentary can be of your own choosing, but must be someone other than yourself. However, you can appear as an on-screen secondary character. Students are encouraged to choose a subject and theme that has potential impact from a social, environmental or cultural perspective. It is an expectation that students adhere to their risk reduction plan and conduct themselves in a professional and ethical manner. Students are required to complete the required documentation and attend a compulsory rough-cut screening in Weeks 8 or 9 to receive and give feedback. A 350-word reflective self-evaluation is required using the framework provided in the Assignment #2 Submission Template. Creativity and experimentation are encouraged.
Please note the following details:
- Students are encouraged to develop their own 'lens' by exploring a distinctive style, identifying themes that resonate, and exploring audio and visual elements that enhance the story and connect with audiences.
- The completed documentary is to include an interview in vision and audio or audio only, accompanying b-roll footage, and at least one vérité scene edited to create a cohesive story in vision and audio.
- The completed documentary should primarily be a visual story, edited to achieve a seamless flow, and be structured for narrative logic and satisfaction.
- Compulsory attendance at the Week 8 or 9 tutorial to receive feedback on your documentary rough-cut from peers and teaching staff. Guidelines on the process are provided by the Unit Coordinator.
- The final documentary is to be 3-5 minutes in duration (+/- 10%) and exported as a single 1080p 25fps video file in MP4 format.
- It is an expectation that the finished documentary will be colour corrected and graded and sound-mixed as per industry standards.
- The completed movie must have an opening title, end credits, with all third-party materials correctly credited.
- Copies of all completed permissions including release forms, materials release if needed, location agreements, music license details etc. are to be submitted. This documentation is provided in the Assessment tile on Moodle.
- Students are required to provide evidence of media management in the Assignment #2 Submission Template.
- Students are required to complete an EPK (Electronic Press Kit) suitable for a film festival (template provided).
- Students are required to complete all fields in the Assignment #2 Submission Template.
Submission Requirements via Moodle
1. A completed submission template, saved as a PDF, that includes a shareable link to a single 1080p 25fps video (MP4) of your completed documentary
2. Completed Assignment #2 Submission Template, saved as a PDF
3. PDFs of completed permissions including release forms, materials release if needed, location agreements, music license details and an EPK (Electronic Press Kit) suitable for a film festival
Please see full details on the unit website (Moodle)
Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence agents (Gen AI)
Within this assessment, the use of Gen AI agents is as follows:
· Gen AI may only be used as specified in the assignment instructions.
Please refer to the Moodle Assessment tile for specific details.
Review/Exam Week Monday (9 June 2025) 11:45 pm AEST
Two weeks following submission
Attention to completion of requirements of task
Impact of creative storytelling
Visual, audio and technical execution
Standard of documentation and presentation
Engagement with self and peer evaluation
- Apply documentary editing principles in the creation of a documentary using industry-standard editing software.
- Manage media files and workflow through the stages of development, pre-production, production, post-production and distribution
- Reflect critically on one's own professional documentary practice within an industry-standard ethical framework.
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
