Introduce Yourself: Sign In Here First

Hi all,
I've just decided to re-pursue a passion I've had since I made my
first doc fim in '89. Worked in the industry for two years in
Montreal and Paris and then had to get a "real" job to pay my
student loans. Here I am, eleven years later, loans paid off and a
film burning to be made inside me.

I'm looking forward to getting to know what I'm about to embark
on...words of wisdom...(no need for the warnings, I've already
gotten lots of them from friends and family!).

Welcome, sucker, er, Donna ;-) Just don't take out any loans to make
your doc, ok?

Seriously, I admire your persistence and passion. Good luck and hope
we can help.

Hello Everyone,
This is my first time being registered for such a thing as this one
is. And it is nice to be here!
Ok, Let's see... I am a great documentary lover... I have a nice and
interesting experiences in producing and financing documentaries...
and I think I know world documentary scene quite well...
I am coming from a small country, from the Balkans, and I am looking
forward to talk to you...

All the best

Aleksandra

Nice to have you join us, Aleksandra. We would like it even better
if you would join The D-Word Community, which is our ongoing
discussions for documentary professionals from around the world:
www.d-word.com/join.

That goes for all other doc professionals out there.

Yes Aleksandra. We need more Balkan spirits in the D-Word Community.

Thanks for welcoming me, Doug!
I already sent an e-mail (subject: acces) to The D-Word Community,
and I am waiting for the answer...
Let's hope the best.
Aleksandra

Also, thanks to Erica for the support!
The Balkans spirits are now here!
Let's enjoy!

Hello! This is my first time on the discussion board. I am a
documentary filmmaker doing a program on the activist/historian
Howard Zinn auther of "A People's History of the United States."
We are trying to find the donnet fund. Does anyone have an idea
where they are?

My name is Denis Mueller, I'm new here, and I am producing a
documentary about Howard Zinn the activist/historian. He is
known mostly for his book "A People's History of the United
States." I'm looking for the Donnet Fund. Can anyone help me?

Welcome, Denis. If you accidentally double post again, you can
simply click on the yellow Erase button to the top right of the post.

You can write to the Donnet Fund at 302 West 12th Street, #10E, New
York, NY 10014, attn: Jackie Donnet.

hello all,

well after turning 30 this year, i decided to rethink my career and
take the big jump to go back to school to pursue documentary
filmmaking (for love if not for money). i'm trying to build up some
knowledge and experience before applying, so i'm currently taking my
first documentary filmmaking class through an extension program. it's
been an *interesting* initial experience to say the least. i'm glad i
came across the d-word and think this list will be a great resource.

Welcome, Aileen. Glad you realize this is a "labor of love" kind of
career. Hope you saved your pennies from the previous one ;-)

Lotsa luck.

Good to have you here, Will. But pleeeease join us at The D-Word
Community, where all of our members hang out.

Just email me your Utne user name and password and I'll register you.

Hello. I'm Churchill Roberts, professor and co-director of the
Documentary Institute at the University of Florida.
www.jou.ufl.edu/documentary I teach courses in documentary film
history and, along with three colleagues, produce documentaries for
the PBS network. Our most recent documentary, "Freedom Never Dies:
The Legacy of Harry T. Moore," aired last year on PBS. I enjoy
discussing documentary and learning what others are doing. When we
are not teaching, my colleagues and I travel a great deal and, when
we don't have a shoot, try to attend documentary conferences. My
colleague Sandra Dickson will be attending a RealScreen conference in
New York this month and next month I'll be going to Berlin for the
World Congress of Producers of History. My other two colleagues
(lucky devils) will be going to Sundance. In July I visited the
Munich Film School and was most impressed with the faculty and
students there. I look forward to corresponding with
you.

Welcome, Churchill. We'd love to have you join The D-Word Community
(www.d-word.com/join).

Hello All,
I am a newby to this scene. I have a background in various media
(audio, still photography, graphics,and of course video). Doing docs
has always been something that I wanted to do but never had the
resources until about 3 or 4 years ago. Docs are,(in my humble
opinion)an incredibly important tool for voiceing topics and
information that mainstreem media can't or won't do justice to. I
hope to contribute my two cents before I check off this planet.I have
two projects I am working on. One being a look at the Jazz history of
Baltimore from the grass roots to the present.Your forum is
invaluable because this kind of knowledge and insite can't be taught
or bought. I look forward to taking part in as well as learning from
your forum.

Sincerely,

John

Hey, John, it's nice to have you here and do take part. I applaud
your eagerness to leap into the daunting docu-making fray. It's a
long haul making a doc, so hold onto that spirit.

Oh that knowledge and insight could be bought...

Welcome Churchill (or do we call you Professor Roberts?) and John.
Sound like great projects. John, are you based in Baltimore?

Erica and Douug,

Thank you for the welcome. Dough, I just Hope with much help
determination,and inspiration that I can contribute something
meaningfull and informative. I look forward to the forums. Erica, Yes
I am based in Baltimore (Maryland).In hind site, I would agree that
it is possible to purchase knowledge and insite (the purpose of
college I would conclude). But that is just from a single instructor.
The total knowledge and insite available from so many sources and
experiences in a forum like this is priceless.Your Point is well
taken.

Peace,

John

I like the Baltimore (Maryland). Is there another Baltimore? (I'm
in Greenbelt, myself - that's why I asked).

Most colleges/film schools charge enough dough (not to be confused
with Doug) to provide more than one instructor. But life experience
and contacts with other likeminded filmmakers are indeed priceless.

Erica,

Believe it or not there is another Baltimore. Baltimore, Ohio. After
finding that out I dont assume anything anymore. Life experiences was
probably a beter term to use. These days with Ebay you can buy just
about anything.Untill next time.

Peace,

John

Hi everyone!

I'm currently in post production for my first (legitimate)
documentary on Activism (interviews and footage at the G8 leaders
summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada.) I've been trying to get into
the film industry for awhile and finally decided to make my start by
doing my own project. The learning curve was steep, thats for sure.
I look forward to future discussion here.

Cheers!

Welcome, Tom. Nice to have you join us.

Welcome, Tom. Nice to have you join us.

Hi, My name is Victor Huey, a Chinese-American film maker based in
New York. After working on IATSE Feature Film world for 25 years, I
have dropped out of that world to return to grad film school, to take
time off to work towards the completion of my epic 20 year
documentary film about the underground music scene in China,
entitled "Rocking the Great Walls.

Hello I'm from New York and I'm currently working on an Independent
film "Wonder Boy", but, I also have documentary films playing on one
of my websites. I'm looking for feedback and what it's like on the
film festivl circuit, if anyone is into that. I'm looking for
whatever help I can get from people. please visit us and watch our
works. www.webworkfilms.com

Thank you

Let me be the first to welcome you both.

Thank you

And I'll be the second. Chris, feel free to fire away with questions
in the Mentoring topic, but it's hard to respond to general ones. Try
to make them as specific as possible.

Victor, I applaud your tenacity. Like casting in fiction films, it's
75% of the battle in making docs. Keep us posted on your progress.

Ok question #1)Funding for documentary films. Do you guys know of
any way to obtain funds other then my own pocket.
#2)Also do you guys know of any good places to buy equipment from in
new york or online that has cheap prices.

I'll think of #3...

Thanks

thAnks for the encouragement...victor

B&H has good prices and a nice showroom.
Funding for docs falls into grants from foundations, commissioned
programs from broadcasters or cable, self-funded, filmmakers with
reputations who can get presales money from broadcasters or cable to
fund some or part of production.

I'm currently filming my second documentary. The first was
funded by Fox, this one is funded by my credit cards and the
kindness of friends. I produced commercials for 8 years, so
there are some people who owe me favors and are pitching in
on this! I'm hoping to find some insights on this site by others
who have been there. (Specifically where to get cheap
equipment)

Welcome to The D-Word, Tricia, and don't forget to join us in our
humble filmmaker hang-out {LINK NOT IMPORTED} as well.

More info at www.d-word.com/community

Hi! -- Finally succeeded in logging onto this list serve. looking
forward to reading about distribution here, esp. as I"m looking
forward to beginning that phase of documentary post-post production
in the near future. I'm nearing completion on a documentary I've
been obsessed with for eight years. I forget who I'm paraphrasing
but someone said he pitied people who were not obsessed by
something. Not sure I agree -- I would love to feel my time was my
own -- but it does take some of that quality to get one of these
things done.

My documentary? It's a personal doc, and it's a family documentary
and it's about my brother, who was born with a very severe
developmental disability, and who was institutinalized at a young
age.

To make this description short, I'll refer anyone who wants to know
more to my website: www.withoutapology.tv/

Looking forward to reading, and writing more later.

Susan

Greetings and welcome, Susan. Just so you know, The D-Word is NOT a
listserve, which is when the posts come to you as emails. You have to
log on here because it's web-based. And all the posts are archived
according to topics.

Hi all,

I'm Pamela Turner and while I don't work in documentary, (I'm an
animator)I teach in an undergraduate video and animation
area (at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA)and often
advise students regarding grants, distribution, and graduate schools.
I am very interested in the documentary film and find that when at
film festivals I inevitably veer towards them when having to choose
screenings. So I am sure this forum will be educational for me!

But no grades here, Pamela ;-) Welcome.

Hello, I'm a filmmaker with one short film completed so far. I do
most of my work in Cuba and live in Los Angeles. I come from a
background in digital art and technology. I was a digital arts
artist and consultant on "Babe", "Coca Cola Polar Bears". Now I
am a emerging filmmaker wondering how to finance this habit.

My short autobiographical film "Havana Witch Club" screened at
the Cineaccion Film Festival and the Berkeley Film and Video
Festival where it won Best of Show for experimental .. though I
entered it a documentary. One woman's real life can look pretty
experimental, I guess.

Looking forward to sharing information with others here on all
related topics.

hi everyone,
this is veena almad from india. i am a student of mass media and
wish to be a film maker. i also like know filmmakers like you all and
would like to take suggestions for my future.
I have assisted in ad film production and also going to asisst
in editing but i dont know how to work on real film please advice me
how to join a production house of film.

looking forward to talk to you.
veena almad
india

Hi. I am a new doc producer, working on my first project
"Fulani for All Fifty."

Fulani for all Fifty is a one-hour historical
documentary giving voice to a team of ordinary people that brought
the first black woman to the U.S. presidential ballot in all fifty
states for the 1988 election.

We are currently in production, and learning our way around
distribution alternatives.

Hi Jennifer, Veena, Lisa. Nice to have you joining us and hope
you'll learn a whole bunch about distribution this week (sheesh, it's
10:40, NY time, on the first day of our panel and no one's shown up
yet - do distributors just sleep late :-?)

Veena, we'd be happy to answer any questions you have in The
Mentoring Room {LINK NOT IMPORTED}, but you'll need to be a bit more specific. What
do you mean by "real" films, exactly? Do you include documentaries in
that category (some don't, you'd be surprised)? And are you looking
to relocate? If so, to where?

Hi. Im also a relatively new doc producer working in DV. I have
several co-productions currrently being shopped at various cable
networks. I am also working on a feature about a Needle Exchange in
Manhattan. I also have exhibition experience.

Hi.

I'm Brigid Kelly. I'm about to start post production on a film about
a 31 year old man with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. We are
setting up a G4 with Final Cut 3 and want to start digitizing this
week. I'm sure I'll be asking lots questions about post
strategies.

Welcome, Stephen and Brigid. Happy to try and answer your questions.

A warm welcome to all the new faces.

Jennifer, do you mind if I send you an e-mail asking you about
working/studying film in Cuba?

I think I have to sign in here to join the Distribution discussion,
but I"m not sure. I'm not very good at this internet stuff all the
time.

It would be great if all people who are planning to join the
discussion in our online panel, MAPPING THE DISTRIBUTION LANDSCAPE,
would quickly introduce themselves here.

This, of course, does not apply to the actual panelists since they
were introduced in the topic itself {LINK NOT IMPORTED}.

In order to avoid chaos, Doug lets us "normal folk" only read (and
not post) in that topic for the first two or three days, but he will
open up the discussion to all of us after the first couple of rounds
...

Hope this makes sense to you now, Nina.

Hello.

You can click on cinecitizen above to find out more about me.

Pleased to meet you all.

Eric Stacey here. Just returned from the IFP Market where I was
pitching a feature project, but also plan to continue making
documentaries... since 1997, I've co-produced one 6 hour series for
PBS, a half hour one off on the health effects of air pollution, which
aired
on about 15 PBS member stations, and a 1 hour doc on Waldorf education
methods used in a number of public schools across the U.S. I'm
looking forward to sharing and learning here, but signed up especially
for the Virtual Doc Conference with Albert Maysles and Susan Fromeke.

Welcome everyone!

Eric, are you aware of our private forum for professionals?
More info at www.d-word.com/community

Thanks Ken. I've just sent email to the D-Word Community.

You're welcome, Erin :-)

I'm sure Doug will handle your access request shortly.

Joining discussion late. But happy to be joining.
I'm an independent documentary producer based in Charlotte, NC. Always
looking to learn more from other producers and to find effective means of
distribution.

Are we to sign-in here? If so:
Rod Pyle
Cinema Pacific Productions
Pasadena, CA
TV and sell-thru docs. Also affordable visual effects for non-
fiction (my partner and I worked on Star Trek:DS9 in a previous
life...).

Email is rod@cinemapacific.com

Office Manager/Awards Coordinator/Web Mistress for the
International Documentary Association. I look forward to
learning from and contributing to this community.

Hello all,
I'm just finishing my first documentary "In the Eyes of a Child"
about two non-profit organizations in Brazil which help street
children and women with domestic violence. I am curious about
the distribution of documentaries and just about to start
submitting to festivals.

Eric, Beverly, Rod, Sarah, Holly, thanks for saying hi and letting us
know more about yourselves -- and help us get a sense of who's
checking out the panel discussion. Welcome.

hello from jim of animalcharm, a nomadic, autonomous, off-
braodcast channel of video remix anarchy. I also spent 8 years
as the equipment and facilities manager of Kartemquin Films in
Chicago, IL, most well known for "Hoop Dreams". They have a
new feature directed by Steve James coming out in early 2003,
called "Stevie." I currently live and work in Los Angeles,
freelancing on a variety of fronts, most recently as a cameraman
in Vietnam with Renee Tajima-Pena for a CPB/Kartemquin
documentary series on immigration, tentatively titled, "New
Americans." I have worked as cameraman & sound recordist for
many of the series segments including those produced by
Vangie Griego, Gordon Quinn, Jerry Blumenthal, Steve James,
and Peter Gilbert.

Welcome, Jim. Those are great doc makers you've been working with!

Once again, let me remind those of you with professional experience
to join The D-Word Community and be part of the ongoing discussions:
www.d-word.com/join.

When you register, we ask you to tell us about your professional
background. Feel free to cut and paste what you've written here.

Hi folks blake from australia livin in germany here
i am aperforming artist about to turn doco maker well an extension of that
world actually.
Check out http://standstill.va.com.au
for what i do pics etc
basically i do event entertainment and stree theatre
nice to be here
looking forward to participating
seeya
bb

Thanks for the intro, Blake. Welcome. We can use a little more
street theater in here ;-)

Saludos a todos. Rich Potter checking in. I'm a young filmmaker
currently living and working in Panama City, Republic of Panamá. I do a
bit of everything--fiction, doc, commercial--in DV and edit with FCP on
G4's. Primarily signed on for the distribution discussion, thinking of
the half hour narrative short we just completed, but I see there's more
going on here than just that. Look forward to learning a few things
from you all.

Bien.
Rp.

Goodmorning. I've been making films for more than 20 years. I did a
dramatic version of a play I wrote about Edith Wharton called "Songs
From The Heart" which aired on BRAVO and many PBS stations, a
documentary about Nicaragua in 1990, and have just finished a feature-
length documentary about GE and PCBs.
Thanks for hosting this,
Mickey Friedman

Just finished the IFP Market in New York with our Hudson River Film
and Video production "Manhood and Violence: Fatal Peril" about a
violence-prevention program in the San Francisco County Jail that
reduces violent re-arrests by 80%, You watch part of the process as
these men are transformed. Just started to apply to festivals.
Wanted to check out this forum to see what it was about. If we have
questions later how could we get in touch with you or other
panelists?

Ask away in The Mentoring Room {LINK NOT IMPORTED}, Michelle. Welcome to you,
Mickey and Rich.

I'm Fel Blake from Sydney, Australia, and I've accidentally started a
documentary production company. I have a slate of three at the
moment, an investor is waving money at me, I have a bit of equipment,
a lot of contacts and I've written scripts/ treatments for two docs,
but that doesn't change the fact that I don't have a clue!
I have a degree in film and work in the development side of the
industry here in Australia, but have little production experience.
I hope to commence production on my first Doc (DV, shooting in the
M.E.) next March.
Thanks for having me at this forum- I look forward to chatting with
you all, and learning from those better informed than myself!
- Fel.

Hi, Fel. Congrats - having an investor waving money at you is FAR
more important than having a clue ;-)

Producing docs is 80% hard work and persistence, 20% good ol' common
sense. I'm sure you'll do just fine, but we're happy to help in
whatever way we can.

I suggest you join The D-Word Community: www.d-word.com/join

Hi. I'm Alysa Nahmias from New York; currently producing and
directing a doc about the history and architecture of the National
Art Schools in Cuba (see www.ajnafilm.com). I'm a first time
filmmaker happy to be in dialogue with all these experts.

Hola!
Is this Cuba week or something?
I am Bette Wanderman and my film " A CUBAN LEGEND" just finished a
week's run at a theatre in New York. I literally just came back from
the theatre with the spoils which are, 2 movie posters, 3 trailers , 2
DVtapes and the tour de resisitance, a great The New York Times
review!. I hope to find some tips on distribution in other
territories and different media.

Best!
Bette
www.cubanlegends.com

Welcome, Alysa. Nice to have you here. And kudos, Bette, and good
luck with the rest of the run. Hope the Times review opens some
(theater) doors!

Hello all,
I'm putting together a proposal for a short on
girls and civic/public expression. Just starting the process actually,
and looking around for good resources/guidance. A workshop leader at
Women Make Movies in NYC recommended this forum, so here I am.
-Christina

Well, you got a good steer, Christina ;-) Welcome to our virtual
corner of the world.

Hello to everyone on the forum,

I'm organizing a new networking group for NYC producers and directors
(both documentary and narrative film). The group focuses on bringing
together producers and directors in the independent filmmaking
community, with the goal of getting directors together with the right
producers for their project and vice versa. We'll be meeting on a
monthly basis, and our first event is this coming Tuesday, Oct. 29, a
cash bar Happy Hour at the Screening Room, 54 Varick Street, on the
2nd Floor Lounge, from 6:30 - 8:30 pm. If you're interested in
attending or would like to be placed on the mailing list for future
events, send me an e-mail at digitalnyc@hotmail.com with info on your
previous or current projects, to facilitate introductions.

Thanks.

i'm a producer with our new doc company in California called
Pacific Rimshot . We have a development slate of several
shows, and I'm looking to meeting other filmmakers and sharing
ideas.

doug block or ben should be along any minute to invite you to
join the professional side of this community.

welcome.

Welcome, Una and Mary. I've mentinoned it any number of times, but
anyone with professional documentary experience is welcome to join The
D-Word Community: www.d-word.com/join.

Hi there all. My name is Leslie Bielanski. I am President of LNB
Productions/IndieSource. I am a documentary filmmaker who started a
production company with my husband in January. We are documentary
producers who also rent digital filmmaking equipment. We were
recently at an IDA conference where we learned about this site. We
are excited to be a part of a this documentary community.

Hi everyone!
My name is Sy, and I am an forth year honours student studying in
Scotland. As part of my degree I am producing and directing a
documentry about Bengali dance. I discover this website by accident
and although most of you guys are halfway around the world, I feel I
can gain something from this site.
Cheers!

Welcome to The D-Word, Syeda (and all other newbies!)

Most of us guys are half-way round the world, but there is the
occasional Scot in here (three in total, plus myself counting as
honorary one).

Where in Scotland do you study?

Hi Doug--and Syeda!

I was trying to find an appropriate place to thank Doug for the Al
Maysles-Susan Froemke dialogue. A HUGE THANK YOU! After joining
early this year, I'd been too preoccupied with
equipment/funding/paying my rent etc. This reminded me why I was doing
all of the other stuff.

And of course I discover Syeda--a Bengali doing a project on Bengali
dance in Scotland. I am a Bengali from west of the Padma. What kind
of Bengali dance? Write me if you read this.

Thanks, Jayasri. Nice to hear from you again and hope you'll find a
little spare time to join us more often on The D-Word Community.

Lots of people have expressed their appreciation for the conference.
We'll definitely try to do more like it in the future (though Al and
Susan are one-of-a-kind).

Hi Doug and Jayasri!

I am studying in Dundee, a little town about a 30 minutes drive away
from the capital, Edinburgh. As for the Dance documentry, I am
directing a documentry about the bengali community here in dundee,
and the dance school that has arisen from it. I'm looking forward to
producing and directing it, as this is my first major project , and I
will be glad to recieve any comments or tips!

I was in Edinburgh many years ago but never made it as far as
Dundee. I look forward to seeing your doc, Syeda. I am sure your
University is putting you in touch with the doc community in the
U.K. You are lucky to have a lot of public support over there. I
have relatives in England and Wales--may be useful when the time
comes for distribution. Have you seen a Canadian doc called "Little
Red Dot" made by a South Asian woman? Not directly related to your
subject, but I just like the tone and style. I know she has a
website for it--see if you can take a look. Keep us posted on your
progress.

Dundee 30 minutes away from Edinburgh?? Must be a different Scotland ;-)

Syeda, any time you have a specific question just ask us in The
Mentoring Room. Good luck with your shooting.

Hi

My name is David Mowbray and I lead two related lives. After a career
as a science/environment journalist for the Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation (CBC) I moved into making and telling stories about
international development issues – especially science and environment
related in the worlds poorest countries. I have made one hour-long
documentary and many shorts. One -- "White Plague" -- was a finalist
in the educational category at the Yorkton festival a few years ago.
So my first life is as a filmmaker with my own small company based in
Canada called Baobab Productions Inc. My second life is as the Head
of Communications and Information at the International Institute of
Tropical Agriculture based in Ibadan, Nigeria, from where I am
writing this note. You can learn more about both my lives at:
www.baobab.net and www.iita.org (but only if you are interested :-))

Regards to all

Hi David. I sound like a broken record, but you (or any of the other
folks who've signed in here and have professional experience in the
doc field) are welcome to join The D-Word Community:
www.d-word.com/join.

This is one of our public Forums, dedicated to special conferences
mainly.

hi. my name is al santana. i've been making documentary films on and
off for 20 years. i'm looking for finishing funds for a doc. i'm
currently producing. this sounds like an interesting place to meet new
people.

Yup. Of course, you'll meet a bunch of folks all looking for the same
finishing funds ;-) Welcome anyway, Al.

Hello,
My name is Hayley and I am a film, tv and theatre student from York
in England. I'm currently working on two super 8 films i have shot
and have made other amateur digital doc and drama projcts in the
past. Im really only starting out right now, but feel this site could
be a great way to learn new things from more experienced people and
hopefully meet some likeminded souls. Im actually in the states
right now on student exchange and have been making a doc on P-Town in
Cape Cod, a fascinating corner of earth if you dont know it. I have
posted a question or invitation rather to anyone who knows or has any
opinions on Nick Broomfield's work as I am compliing a
biography/analysis of his work as it is a personal favourite to me.
I would grately appreciate hints on where to research and open
comments and opinions.

Looking forward to conversing soon...
Hayley x

Welcome, Hayley. Google search???

Hi Doug

I'm really interested in getting other filmmaker's opinions on the
self-reflexive controversial (if ones views it as controversial?)
work of Broomfield, his interview sytle, his ethical/unethical
approach....his choice of subjects..
Im not too worried about the facts as I can handle that bit of the
research pretty easily I think.

Thanks Hayley

Broomfield's only subject is himself.

Hi everyone,

I just learned about this resource by joining up with DocuClub and
reading the December newsletter. I am very excited that such a forum
exists. My name is Laurie and I have been working on a feature-length
documentary with my partner Nyla for the past 3 1/2 years. It's the
first film for both of us--it's been trial and error; blood, sweat
and tears. We have been working out of pocket (hence, the 3 1/2
years) and are working towards locking picture in early January.
Since this is my first project and I do not have a film background, I
will be using this forum to get some advice and meet some like-minded
people with a passion for film. Cheers!

Laurie

Welcome, Laurie. Hope to see you at the DocuClub screening tonight.
Good luck with your project and feel free to ask questions in the
Mentoring topic.

Thanks for the welcome Doug. I'll introduce myself tonight at the
screening. Looking forward to it.

Hello D-Word! I'm an indie filmmaker in Minneapolis embarking on my first
"real" documentary. I've dipped my foot in short docs and mocks, as well as
arty stuff and comedy. I'm doing a documentary on the subject of BLOGS
(short for web log) tentatively titled Blogumentary. I took a great doc. class
with Minnesota documentarian Melody Gilbert and she turned me on to D-
Word and Home Page, which I reallllllly want to see as it deals with similar
topics. I also work at the PBS station in the Twin Cities, so am fortunate to
have worked around a lot of documentary filmmakers I greatly admire.

I really loved the use of After Effects in "The Kid Stays In the Picture" and am
learning the software. It felt so fresh and fluid. I think the old "pan-and-scan" is
tired and documentary needs to be re-invented, and "TKSITP" shows one
possible path.

Cheers,
Chuck

Oh... my own blog is at http://chuckolsen.blogspot.com

Good luck, Chuck. As the maker of Home Page, I'm curious what your
approach to blogs is. I'm trying to get a DVD release for Home Page,
and I keep telling the distributors that blogging has made the film
totally relevant again. We'll see if they believe...

Thanks Doug. I don't really know my approach yet. I know I want to cover a
good cross-section of personal blogs, political blogs, and community blogs.
How do you make people in front of a computer screen compelling? I'm sure it
will all depend on finding interesting people to talk about their lives and why
they blog, follow them around. I want to be very expressive and stylized with it,
so the aesthetics of each 'vignette' reflects their personality. I'm hoping to
enlist a D.P. friend of mine who can do a much better job of that than I. Home
Page on DVD -- I'd be your first customer!