Documentary Bootcamp – seven week intensive in-person filmmaking course, 5/27/26 – 7/8/26

April 6, 2026

Documentary Bootcamp is a seven-week, immersive learning experience covering the fundamentals of documentary filmmaking from pre- to post-production. Participants learn storytelling principles, the aesthetic and technical skills for image making and sound recording, scripting, interviewing, and editing. Knowledge and skills are developed through presentations, discussions, in-class and at-home or in-community exercises, and reviews. Students will plan, shoot, and edit a short documentary film during the class.

You will:

  • Produce a short documentary;
  • Learn how to pick a great story and engage your audience through the lived realities of your characters and scenes;
  • Acquire the aesthetic and technical skills needed to record moving images and sounds that are editable and stimulate the eye and ear;
  • Practice the art and craft of interviewing and how to avoid unusable answers;
  • Develop, script, and organize a project from start to finish.

Start Date: 5/27/26

End Date: 7/08/26

Wednesdays, 6:30-9:30 pm

In person at MassArt, Tower T330, 621 Huntington Avenue Boston, MA 02115 USA

Price: $670

REGISTER

Prerequisites: No previous experience needed.

Equipment and Materials: Participants can use production equipment provided by MassArt, or their own. Phones are not recommended. For post-production, all registrants are provided free access to Adobe Premiere Pro at MassArt, using their MassArt Net ID to download and set it up on their own computer. Please make sure your laptop computer meets the minimum specifications required by Adobe Premiere Pro.

Requirements:

  1. General digital literacy.
  2. If students use their own production equipment, they are expected to know its basic functionality and a tripod is required. It is best for students to take the class before deciding to buy production equipment, but for documentary production equipment recommendations see Lived-Reality Documentary Filmmaking Equipment.
  3. An external hard drive is required to store and edit your media.

Course offered through MassArt Professional and Continuing Education

Instructor: Michael Sheridan, filmmaker and educator, director of Community Supported Film and SheridanWorks.

See examples of student work.

Please be in touch with any questions.

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