Introduce Yourself: Sign In Here First

Hi everyone,

I am a budding documentary director/producer/entrepreneur. Recently I've decided to focus my career towards (mostly made for TV) educational/informative/socially relevant documentaries. I would like to create my own production company that develops and produces programming for the likes of NatGeo, Travel, History Channels, etc... I have no idea where to get started!! I would really appreciate any insight from anyone in this field.
thanks!

Hi I'm Tom Lennon (Thomas Lennon in writing, as in credits.) I've already had an introduction of sorts – Doug Block said, "Tom Lennon is a good friend, and a D-word member who never posts." Fair enough. But I want to get the D-word habit, because I'm stunned by how vigorous and helpful the conversation is. I've been a documentary filmmaker for a long time – started out indie, then to ABC News in the eighties when people like Marcel Ophuls were there, Alan and Susan Raymond – then out on my own, where I did a lot of work for Frontline and the American Experience that I was v. proud of. In the last five years, I've had one foot in documentary, and the other in ...what to call it... public service media, I guess – Ruby Yang and I did a lot of AIDS awareness spots in China, the first such campaigns ever aired in China. I want to keep a foot in both worlds if I can...that's me. Looking forward to ducking in and out of this conversation.

Thomas and Ruby also took home an Oscar for their work in China, as he humbly fails to mention.

Welcome, Amy, Shima, and Tom! Tom, I believe we had a few drinks together a few years ago at the Bohemian beer garden. Maybe once the weather warms up a bit, we should revisit that idea...

Yes, welcome Amy and Shima. And Tom, what can I say? Winning an Oscar is certainly quite an accomplishment. And getting you to finally post on the D-Word is perhaps my finest accomplishment. Welcome aboard, matey!

Welcome to all the new members and enthusiasts.

Amy, I did a study year abroad at Trinity a long time ago and it was the only time where I ever really connected to my faith of birth – perhaps because it was the only time where I felt like such an obvious minority. Look forward to hearing more about your documentary and knowing more about the state of Judaism in Dublin today.

Tom – whatever happened with your film, "Tongzhi in Love"? I saw a screener of it last fall and thought it was a complete knockout. Has it been playing festivals?

Hi, I'm Steve Kennedy and I've got a small problem. I'm pitching a fire safety & environmental video in Santa Cruz, California and there's one Steve Kennedy who works for a County Supervisor as an aide and another Steve Kennedy who works in the data communications department at UC Santa Cruz. I think both of these guys live in Soquel. I got the feeling the town ain't big enough for all three of us.....so whaddya think I call myself "Hollywood" Kennedy so people get the picture? Your flaming comments are welcome in the GuestBook at
http://www.canonbal.org . Wish me luck on my funding proposals and keep the cameras rolling.

Steven "Picture" Kennedy?

John F?

Steve Kennedy, Your Video Remedy?

James, Doug, Andy: Thanks for those greetings and all those good words. I'm actually writing from True/False FF, where "Tongzhi in Love" is playing. We were short-listed for the Academy Awards, so we had a v. good shot at a nomination (8 films on the shortlist) but we didn't make the cut. now we're sending around to FF. The 30 minute length makes that hard. I love that length – as a viewer, I love watching shorter work, esp for documentary – but to market it is really tough.

Market it? You pick up the phone and say "Sheila darling, how are ya?"

hi my name is Jack and i am living in israel and going to try to work on ideas for making docs here and about this area. i hope it all works out and hope to make a doc on skydiving as well.

Hi,
I am an Independent Filmmaker seeking co producer for my projects.
you can find my work at
http://youtube.com/robinfilmmaker
http://robindasichapore.blogspot.com

Welcome to The D-Word, Jack and Robin.

Ditto. Good to have you both here.

Hi everyone,
My name is Brett Story, I'm a documentary filmmaker and journalist recently relocated to brooklyn from montreal. I'm currently working on a film about the paralysis of petrochemical workers in an industrial city south of Toronto in response to a major epidemic of cancers – a study, really, in post-industrialization and alienation.... I'm also working on a series of experimental super8 docs about cities. some of them are up at www.brettstory.blip.tv. anyway, great to be here, and looking forward to getting to know the forum....

Hi,
My name is Jennifer Cherry. I teach writing and use videography/photography as an escape from reading student papers. I've decided to stop gazing longingly at all the documentaries being made by others and try to make a short one of my own. I've secured permission from my kids' school and parents to follow the track team this season. I'm kicking around some ideas as to what I want to focus on, so hopefully I'll get it figured out soon--the season begins tomorrow! Most likely, I'll be flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants this go around. I'm sure I'll be asking lots of questions as I get further into this little venture.

welcome to the d-word, brett and jenn. glad you found us.

hi,
I used to lurk out here a lot,but never really had much to contribute, cause I wasn't working on a movie, and jeez, the regulars here can answer pretty much any question that gets posed. I've been off in the wilderness for a year or so and now I'm working on two movies at once. They are both about music. One is half in the can, the other is a collaboration about a defunct punk band with hundreds of fans that I'm organising over a popular social networking site. The second one is really snowballing out of conrol as I type.
So my days are shooting interviews and using the crap out of he razor tool in FCP, scrambling to pay rent in the bay area, and now spending time with you fine folks here on the d-word.

hey, we're all scraping by in here, craig. glad to see you come out of the lurker's darkness and into the light of day.

hi,
I am a new member and hopefully this will be a inspiring forum for me.
Greetings from Wiesbaden

Greetings back at you, Juergen. Welcome to the always-inspiring D-Word.

Welcome all. Love the photo, Craig.