The Bronx Documentary Center (BDC) Films Scholarship Program is a unique opportunity for traditionally underrepresented documentalists to participate in a free one-year documentary program. Notable figures that have appeared in the series include Rudolph Giuliani, Ed Koch, Mario Cuomo, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Allen Ginsberg, Alfred Kazin, Brendan Gill, Martin Scorsese, Pete Hamill, Bella Abzug, Niall Ferguson, Marshall Berman, Fran Lebowitz, Leslie E. Stern, Philippe Petit, Donald Trump and David McCullough.The first half of the series was shot on 16 mm film and edited in a traditional way. However, the second half was edited digitally on Avid workstations.
This allowed the filmmakers to manage the enormous amount of archival material included in the film. After the events of September 11th, an eighth episode was produced focusing on the World Trade Center and its role in New York City's history. The film was well-received by critics. Caryn James of The New York Times praised the film for its rich imagery and coherent theme. However, she also noted that its lenient length and pace tested the patience of even its most serious viewers.
Frank Rich of The New York Times referred to episode 8 as “a beautifully made documentary” that captures “the violence of its sudden destruction” in minute detail. The emergence of “anti-documentaries” has also been a major trend in documentary filmmaking. These films are designed as feature films with scripts that are up to the task. Creative non-fiction is another idea that has its roots in the presence of the filmmaker and visible exhibition of the process. For example, filmmaker Buba filmed his own efforts to make a fictional film in his hometown of Braddock, Pennsylvania starring one of his former documentary protagonists. William Jersey was hired by the Evangelical Lutheran Church to make a film about racial tension among its ranks.
The first major period of documentary cinema lasted from 1960 to approximately 1980 when filmmakers responded and promoted social progress by merging the personal and political in their art. The most advanced documentaries from an artistic point of view are those in which participants interact with filmmakers in a striking way. The second revolution in documentary cinematography began when lightweight digital video became available on cameras and mobile phones. This turned the camera into a virtual extension of the filmmaker's body and integrated cinematography with daily and private life. The BDC created their Scholarship Program to help expand the portfolio of traditionally underrepresented Bronx documentary filmmakers into the film profession and enable them to obtain employment in creative industries. Cinematography is an incredibly powerful tool for young people to express their creativity, hone their narrative skills, develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and communicate their ideas in new and innovative ways.
Taking advantage of relatively new technology, portable video equipment, Raymonds team up with police officers working in South Bronx which had the highest crime rate at that time. Documentary filmmaking is an art form that has been around for decades, but it has recently seen a resurgence due to advances in technology and access to resources. The Bronx Documentary Center (BDC) Films Scholarship Program is an excellent example of how documentary filmmaking can be used to empower traditionally underrepresented documentalists by providing them with free access to resources and training. Notable figures such as Rudolph Giuliani, Ed Koch, Mario Cuomo, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Allen Ginsberg, Alfred Kazin, Brendan Gill, Martin Scorsese, Pete Hamill, Bella Abzug, Niall Ferguson, Marshall Berman, Fran Lebowitz, Leslie E. Stern, Philippe Petit, Donald Trump and David McCullough have all appeared in BDC's series.
The first half was shot on 16 mm film while the second half was edited digitally on Avid workstations which allowed for more archival material to be included. After 9/11 an eighth episode was produced focusing on the World Trade Center's role in NYC's history. The film was well-received by critics who praised it for its rich imagery and coherent theme but noted its lenient length tested even its most serious viewers' patience. Anti-documentaries have also been a major trend as they are designed as feature films with scripts up to task while creative non-fiction has its roots in visible exhibition of process. William Jersey was hired by Evangelical Lutheran Church to make a film about racial tension among its ranks while Raymonds team up with police officers working in South Bronx which had highest crime rate at that time. The second revolution began when lightweight digital video became available on cameras and mobile phones which turned camera into virtual extension of filmmaker's body integrating cinematography with daily life.
BDC created their Scholarship Program to help expand portfolio of traditionally underrepresented Bronx documentary filmmakers into film profession enabling them to obtain employment in creative industries. Cinematography is incredibly powerful tool for young people to express creativity hone narrative skills develop critical thinking problem-solving skills communicate ideas in new innovative ways making it an invaluable asset for those looking to break into industry.
