Richard Chisolm is an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Deeply committed to the stories and adventures of real people, Chisolm has worked for PBS, National Geographic, BBC, Discovery Channel, HBO, and many other media platforms. In addition to a national cinematography Emmy (1998), he is the recipient of a Peabody Award, a duPont-Columbia University Award, two Kodak Vision awards, and four CINE Golden Eagles. He has taught film courses at the Johns Hopkins University, Towson University, and the Maryland Institute College of Art. Chisolm lives near Baltimore with his wife, Meg, and their son, Jasper.

Part 1: Professional Identity Formation 1. Motivations: Why Make a Documentary? 2. A Big Umbrella: The Expansive Universe of Documentary Filmmaking 3. The Mutable Nature of Truth: A Documentary Paradox 4. The Burden of Originality: Avoiding Anxiety in the Pursuit of Uniqueness 5. Facing Stigma and Double Standards: The Social Status of the Documentarian 6. A Matter of Conscience: Taking Responsibility for Project Choices Part 2: Issues of Production 7. The Delicate Art of Fundraising 8. Relational Filmmaking: Fostering Trust and Collaboration with Participants 9. Big Stories in Small Packages: Deciding What to Include and How It Will Fit 10. Mission Control: The Necessity of Flexibility 11. Handheld Cinematography: The Human Camera 12. A Blessing and a Curse: The Film Festival Game Part 3: Conversational Portraits 13. An Anatomy of the Documentary Interview 14. Wrapping Up