Introduce Yourself: Sign In Here First

Hello folks,

I am STOKED that I came across this community of doc enthusiasts/professionals and I'm hoping to make some friends and connections through this site. I'm Brandon Watts, a freelance shooter/editor and sometimes director. I have 6 years of video/broadcast production experience and I'm really looking to get into documentary production. Whether it be assisting on shoots and editing or brainstorming on new ideas. I have a camera, light kit (Cool Lights), laptop and editing software (Avid,Final Cut,Premiere). If you need help on your production or want to work together on getting something started please feel free to contact me as I'm looking to gain as much experience as possible. I have a passport and will travel anywhere for a good story. Here's a link to my work:
www.vimeo.com/wattsbrando

On there you will find my first attempt at producing a documentary titled, "The Sound of Progress". I'm very proud of it because it was my first shot at it and I was able to tell a story even though doubts flooded in throughout the process.

At this point, I'm willing to work for no pay just to get more experience and make my resume look interesting. I look forward to meeting and discussing things with you. Take it easy!

In reply to Stacy Jill Calvert's post on Wed 28 Dec 2011 :

Hi Stacy, welcome....My in-laws are from Edwardsville, IL and my father in law is a fellow Saluki!

Glad you found us, Brandon. Welcome.

Because this topic is open to the public, I edited your email address to include the (at) and (dot). Otherwise, unwelcome spammers might well be at your door.

Hi Doug, I appreciate that.

Happy New Year D-Word-ers! Rachel Raney here, I'm a documentary filmmaker and public tv/radio producer... I spent eons in the Bay Area (at CIR and KQED for starters) and now live in Durham NC. I've recently become interim Exec Director of the Southern Documentary Fund. SDF offers fiscal sponsorship/support for projects made in or about the American South. We review new proposals four times a year, our upcoming deadline is Jan 15:

http://southerndocumentaryfund.org/apply-for-sponsorship/

So to all y'all Southern docmakers out there, check us out, join our community. We're on Facebook, you can subscribe to our newsletter, and hopefully, come to an event or screening sometime. Let us know if you're out there, and what you're working on. Also if you come to the Full Frame Festival in April, we host the Work in Progress screening on Sunday...

I'll try and post more regularly here about our goings on, take care everyone, Rachel

Really great having you here, Rachel, and having the SDF represented. An invaluable program. Say hi to my buddy Cynthia Hill. And all of our great friends at Full Frame!

Hello I'm Megan Clancy a deaf journalist who interviewed deaf and normal hearing Koreans in Seoul and Los Angeles. Please contact me if you are interested to help me with networking.

Welcome to The D-Word, Megan!

Hi Rachel! You forgot to say how awesome you are and how much the Bay Area misses you, so thought I would add that quickly for you!

In reply to Doug Block's post on Wed 28 Dec 2011 :
Aww! Not sad at all! :)

In reply to Nick Verbitsky's post on Tue 3 Jan 2012 17:58 UTC :
Hi Nick! Small world! I'm going to be a two-time saluki when I get out of here (someday!) :)

In reply to Stacy Jill Calvert's post on Sat 7 Jan 2012 :

I wish they had digital documentary courses when I was at SIU...actually would have had to have been called analog documentary.

Hi everyone,

My name is Oggi Tomic, I'm originally from Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and currently based and working in London and Cambridge (UK).

I have recently completed a course (BA Hons) in documentary film and TV at the IFSW. I am professional camera and sound operator with my own equipment looking to collaborate on any current and future productions so please get in touch.

Best wishes to you all in 2012!

Oggi

Welcome Oggi – hear good things about your work (as it happens, as well as being one of the Co-Hosts here at The D-Word I also work at the Newport Film School in Wales, formerly the IFSW). Always good to have the next generation of filmmakers join our community.

Hi John,

Thanks – look forward to getting to grips with this community and get in touch with people. Hope all is going well at IFSW.

Hi everyone,

I'm French-American based between Paris and New York (mostly Paris for the last few years).

I'm going to Houston on the 24th of January for 2 weeks to do a research/trailer trip on a documentary about women who fall in love and marry prisoners who are either on death row or sentenced to life without parole. I am particularly interested in the dichotomy between these love stories and a judiciary system that is not built on rehabilitation or redemption, and does not encourage social reintegration. I am hoping that these love stories will allow for a greater reflection on forgiveness and reinsertion, in contrast to a prison system that is often times built on a vicious and violent cycle from which it is difficult to break.

An integral part of the film will be the weekly radio program called the Prison Show (recently profiled on NPR's All Things Considered), which, as its name indicates, is a radio show that discusses the Texas criminal justice system. It's a fascinating show, which has listeners who call in and leave messages for inmates, hosts and airs weddings by proxy, among general conversations about death row and prisons in Texas.

I'd love to meet any Houston doc filmmakers while I'm in town, or hear about anyone's experiences filming in prisons. Also, I'll probably need a PA for a couple of days work (paid), so if anyone has any advice on any of these fronts, I am open to all suggestions.

Many thanks!
Gabriella

www.gabriellakessler.com

Welcome, Gabriella. You can do an Advanced Search on the top of any page to find D-Word members from Houston. Good luck with the film, sounds like a really fascinating one.

Hello, I'm a Producer/Director/Screenwriter based in Karachi, Pakistan.In my other life, I was a print journalist, but I now work full time in documentary film production.
Issues I've worked on include madressa education, the police system in Pakistan, workers and union issues, the environment.
All the best

Tehmina

In reply to Doug Block's post on Tue 17 Jan 2012 : Thanks for the words of encouragement Doug! Will check it out now.

In reply to Tehmina Ahmed's post on Wed 18 Jan 2012 :

Welcome to D-word, Tehmina & Gabriella!

Hi All,

I'm new here. I am currently making a documentary about a network of controversial adolescent drug abuse programs which I was a member of for five years. We've just released a pitch trailer to try to raise the funding for the project and launched an IndieGoGo campaign. I'm hoping to find some guidance here on how best to run the campaign and make the film as good as possible.

Best,

Jacob

Welcome, Tehmina! Very glad that you found us, and hope you'll feel free to leap right into the discussions.

Welcome, as well, Jacob. You might want to check out this special discussion we held here on Crowdfunding with Jennifer Fox and Katherine Nolfi.

Thanks Doug. I read the entire thread yesterday and shared it with the rest of the team working on our film. I found it to be very insightful.

Ah I forgot to introduce myself and went straight ahead to the mentoring forum. Anyway,

Hi Everyone,
I'm a writer / director based in Melbourne, Australia. Straight out of film school (Australian Film Television and Radio School) where I majored in directing, I'm currently working on a documentary on the Maoist movement in India and the underlying issues of land, tribal rights, mining and development. There is a rough trailer online at:
http://vimeo.com/31587060
I'm working on getting production support before filming the second part of it. Finally, James Longley's Iraq in Fragments is a strong inspiration and my all time fav documentary.

Best,
Ajay

In reply to Jacob McEndollar's post on Thu 19 Jan 2012 :

Jacob, link to your campaign and trailer? (nevermind, I see it in the mentoring page)