Danielle Beverly joined UTA in August and is an assistant professor of cinematic arts. Beverly began her career in Chicago public television.
A new way to cater to student experience has made its way to UTA, as a new documentary production class will open in fall 2026.
Advanced Cinema Production: Documentary will be a semester-long class that touches on anthropology and conditions of human experience, said Danielle Beverly, assistant professor in cinematic arts. Students will make a film with a partner in a classic two-person documentary crew.
Beverly has been making documentaries since 2005, and UTA will be the fifth university she has taught them at.
During an interview for UTA’s art department, Beverly presented on filmmaking, which excited her colleagues and led to her teaching the course.
“The process, in some ways, was greenlit when they brought me on because they knew this was my specialty,” Beverly said. “This was a way to kind of say, “We’re bringing someone in who does this work already and who can bring it to our students.’”
The course’s only prerequisite is Cinema Production 1. Upon the completion of the documentary course, Beverly said, students will know how to work with a camera almost as an “extension of their body.”
Grading will be based on factors including technique and if the final product reaches human interest. Beverly said the class will look at rough cuts and fine cuts throughout the course’s duration, with the final product being a film produced by the students.
She said the class is for everyone, from art students needing to take the class to students from other majors looking for an elective.
“One of the bonuses of making a documentary is meeting people, and hopefully they’re people that you form relationships with,” Beverly said.
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