The Craft of Carpentry: A Short Documentary

For our third-semester film course, we produced a short documentary, The Craft of Carpentry, exploring both the practical and professional aspects of carpentry. The task required us to document a craft of our choosing in under four minutes, handling all stages of production from concept to final edit.

Initially, we considered stonemasonry and carpentry, but ultimately chose carpentry for its tangible processes and creative possibilities. Our film followed the construction of a table, highlighting essential steps such as wood selection and examining typical career paths within the trade.

We collaborated with Schreinerei Wörner, a local carpentry workshop in Lorch, which provided us with both expertise and access to authentic working environments. This partnership enabled us to film most of our material in a single evening using two cameras and multiple microphones provided by the university.

Composition study showing interplay of light and shadow

Filming the carpentry process at the workshop

The project not only deepened our technical skills in cinematography, sound recording, and editing but also strengthened our teamwork and organisational abilities. After an intensive post-production phase, we delivered a polished documentary with a final runtime of 3 minutes and 27 seconds, showcasing carpentry as both a practical craft and a professional journey.

Composition study showing interplay of light and shadow

Behind-the-scenes camera setup during filming