J283 Video Reporting and Storytelling (Section 1)
This is a required course for all students who will continue on to the short form Video or Documentary thesis concentrations. Meets Tuesdays in Upper Newsroom (106) from 9am–1pm Meets Thursdays in Rodriguez Room (127) from 10am–1pm It will meet twice a week. The course is structured around 2 simultaneous modules: Module 1: Technical sessions designed…
Read MoreJ284 Documentary Production
J286 History and Future of Documentary
The History and Future of Documentary explores the evolution of U.S. documentary film from the 1920s to new developments in the space. We will examine how cultural movements and innovation have shaped documentary film, current trends, and the future of the field. In addition, we will cover producing documentaries for broad audiences and on documentary…
Read MoreJ284B Documentary Production
Journalism 284B is the second semester of a year-long intensive documentary production workshop where second-year students develop and produce their thesis films. Students combine rigorous research and reporting with cinematic storytelling, and we work with the styles of cinematography, lighting, sound, and editing unique to documentary film. Guest filmmakers may conduct master classes on various…
Read More“I felt hate more than anything”: How an active duty airman tried to start a civil war
(Pictured above: Steven Carrillo is charged with murdering a Santa Cruz County deputy sheriff and a security officer guarding Oakland’s federal courthouse. Credit: FRONTLINE) This story appeared in ProPublica on April 13, 2021. It is part of a collaboration between Berkeley Journalism’s Investigative Reporting Program, ProPublica and FRONTLINE that includes the documentary American Insurrection, airing 10 p.m. Eastern…
Read MoreIRP reporter reflects on “The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez”
One year ago, the searing six-part docuseries “The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez” began streaming on Netflix. The film, based on reporting by Garrett Therolf of Berkeley Journalism’s Investigative Reporting Program (IRP), examines the brutal 2013 death of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez by his mother and her boyfriend and how misguided policies fail to protect children in peril. Brian Knappenberger is the…
Read MoreJ284 Documentary Production
“Agents of Chaos” documentary nominated for Writers Guild Award
“Agents of Chaos,” a four-hour HBO documentary about Donald Trump and Russia’s interference in the 2016 election based on reporting by Berkeley Journalism’s Investigative Reporting Program (IRP) and Investigative Studios, has been nominated for best documentary script at the Writers Guild Awards. The film was streamed in two parts and each of the two-hour segments were nominated individually. The film…
Read MoreJ219 Kickstarting Your Career
“Kickstarting Your Career” is designed to give students the real-world skills necessary to thrive in the journalism industry that fall outside the scope of their academic coursework. The acquisition of these skills will help increase the likelihood that students will be equipped to make a smooth transition into the working world, prepared to endure the…
Read MoreStickup Kid
What happens when we lock up juvenile offenders in adult prisons? “Stickup Kid,” a PBS Frontline digital exclusive by 2013-2014 IRP fellow Caitlin McNally tells the story of Alonza Thomas, who was sent to adult prison in California at age 16. Alonza Thomas didn’t start out as a stickup kid. He grew up in Bakersfield,…
Read More