Tens of thousands of readers have benefited from Michael Rabiger's classic text on documentary filmmaking, now updated to reflect the revolutionary switch to digital video equipment and software. You will learn how to research and focus a documentary film or video idea, develop a crew, direct the crew, maintain control during shooting, and oversee postproduction. Practical work is emphasized, with dozens of exercises and questionnaires to help focus your ideas and give you hands-on practice. The documentary is treated as an important genre in its own right, as well as a useful prelude to directing feature films.

The fourth edition is a significant update. The book's emphasis has always been on concrete steps you can take to become a documentary filmmaker, and there are loads of new projects to help, along with assessment tables that allow you to gauge your progress. In addition, there is new material on location sound, the reality TV trend, top documentaries to see, and more.

Part 1: Introduction, History and Future
Part 2: Pre-Production
Part 3: Projects: Learning to See With A Moviemaker's Eye
Part 4 Technical Basics Before Shooting
Part 5: Projects: Learning Basic Shooting Techniques
Part 6: Production
Part 7: Projects: Developing Skills as a Director
Part 8: Postproduction
Part 9: Projects: Developing Skills as an Editor
Part 10: Aesthetics and Authorship
Part 11: Career Track
Part 12: Appendices, Glossary, and Annotated Bibliography
Index