Introduce Yourself: Sign In Here First

BEN KEMPAS. I TYPE IN CAPITALS FOR TWO REASONS.
FIRST I DONT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT WHAT TO CAPITALIZE.
I NOTICED THAT SOME WORDS THAT ARE CAPITALIZED IN
ENGLISH ARE NOT IN FRENCH. same as spelling some
french words that are used in the english language example
colour/color. number two it speeds up my typing. but good point.
I never realized that. also in script writing they want you to
capitalize for easier reading of parts. shouting? perhaps but you
haven't lived till you are in charge of 75 women inmates who are
all PMSing at the same time. I remember some women warning
me ahead of time. this way i could change my tactics. it was a
great job I learned a lot about human behavior. its just hard for
me to believe that lower case is easier to read than caps? ever
try reading a script in lower case? oh well this is good dialog.
this is how you learn diferent points of view and cultures. by
cultures I mean in diferent ocupations. I am curently working on
a comedy series "HOBO BOB FOR PRESIDENT" it will run
paralel to the other presidential race. all actors are homeless
people. but I will use this idea in one of the episodes. alain

There is a reason lower case is easier to read as any printer will
tell you. Cover up the ascenders and descenders (the parts of the
type and are above an e or m in the line) and it's still very
readable. Upper case is only easier on the eye because it's larger
but less readable because your eye must identify each letter to read
it as a word. With lower case, many words become familar blocks that
are grasped more quickly.

Scripts use UPPER case because the format was designed back in the
days when typewriters were used. No bold, italics, bad underlining.
So the choices to separate dialogue from description were limited.
Unaware of any script format (that's in correct format) that uses
upper case for dialogue. Descriptions are often written in upper
case but then you don't have to read those - dialogue must be read
by the talent - hence it's in lower case with initial caps.

Alain, if you're not sure about when to capitalize, you can always go
all lowercase which is still easier to read than all uppercase.

Paragraph breaks are also helpful for the folks reading. Also no
need to sign name with each posting since we see your name at the top.

Don't take this all that we are YELLING at you. You are very WELCOME
to D-Word. Your prison project sounds AMAZING!

Thank's all of you for the comments. it was very helpful no one
else has pinted that out to me. anyway does anybody know of
anyone else who is doing a project like mine. I would like to
trade notes. I am having a very hard time with my former
employer in co-operating with me. Im thinking of having
someone else do the inquires for me. what do you think ? any
suggestions?

Hello people!
I am new too.
I was out and about and i found this place. I am a film student, but
i love documentary. I am currently directing a 3rd year class
project. Its an ethnographic expository type of doco about being
young and black in a predominantly white place (etc. you know how
that one goes).

I would like to tell everybody that my crew sucks, I am running out
of time, my non-actor actor doesnt 'act', my editor dumped us, i
have half a script and NO BUDGET. Pheww!

And I would like to share with you that... I have two essays due
about doco ethics - poor Nanook of the north!

Anyone out there willing to help me before i quit school, buy a
camera and moove to Africa?

Not me, I'm afraid, but a warm welcome to The D-Word anyway, Joanna.
If you love docs, why not consider making 'em.

No actors! No scripts! Need I say more? ;-) Okay, no budgets,
either, but you have experience with that now.

Doug,
Thank you for your welcome...

I hear you. I really hear you... please pay me to do that for the
rest of my life. Just to cover my 4 basics, - roof, food, wine and
tapes!
I wont even have to edit! it would be MY STUFF! awwwww... UTOPIA.

Thanks and take care!

Hi there,

My name's Viktor but I use my middle name (Zion) in forum. But i'm
happy with people addressing me by either one - it happens in my Real
Life all the time.

I live in New Zealand, in the South Pacific. I'm new to documentary
as I specialise mainly in broadcast television news and current
affairs.

I currently work for a large TV broadcaster, helping produce and
direct a weekly 59 minute live multi-cam studio current
affairs/magazine programme. (Boy that was a long description!!). The
programme focuses on stories from the Maori community of New Zealand.

What's Maori? Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. I'm
Maori myself and within the company I work for we have our own Maori
programmes production unit.

I've always liked documentaries, ever since I saw Trinh Minh Ha's
work. I'm planning to begin developing proposals for documentaries
shortly, to be made via the department I work for. I suppose it's a
little like a workshop/lab here because it affords us the opportunity
to experiment, make mistakes, work through concepts etc.

Still though, lots more to learn, especially from other parts of the
world. Looking forward to reading people's thoughts here.

Greetings, Viktor/Zion. Glad you found us and hope you find this
place useful.

Viktor, just discovered you already registered for The D-Word
Community. This is the public forum, not the community. Make sure to
introduce yourself once you're there (hit the link on the top right of
the page to get there).

Hi Doug,

Thansk for the welcome. Yeah I applied earlier today - didn't think I
would get a response until tomorrow!

I'm supposed to be working, well I suppose I am - researching Don
Lenzer's wonderful discussion you guys had about on shooting in the
field etc...what a treasure trove of information.

Yup. Many other goodies archived there, as well. I see you've made
yourself at home in the community discussions. We'll continue to talk
there.

Hi, I am an actress/comedian who decided one day to take my hi8
camera and document the everyday going ons of myself and another
comedian. I've been filming for the last year and am now is post-
production in my kitchen studio(Kitchen Table Films). It's truly a
grassroots project as I am wearing all the hats, producer,director,
lights, sound, catering etc. I am so eager to learn all I can. My
project is called "2 Bees from Oakland."

Sounds like a great idea, Laura. Nick Fraser, who runs the
Storyville doc strand for the BBC, complained to me recently that
there just aren't enough funny documentaries out there. He's someone
you might want to approach when you have a strong sample tape (or
rough cut, if you're not making a sample).

Anyway, welcome to The D-Word Forum. You might want to register for
the private D-Word Community where all the working doc makers hang
out: www.d-word.com/join. There's an extra step involved.

Thank you for the welcome/advice. How can I reach Mr. Fraser?

Don't want to give out his info in the public forum, Laura. But he's
easy enough to find. Google "Storyville, BBC" and you should find it.

Thank you, understood. I am so grateful to have come across this
website/community. (So excited!!!!)

Hi, I'm new to this forum.
I tried and failed to register in the community forum anyhow
I'll try again later. I have worked for a couple of documentary
filmmakers and am now about
to venture for the first time on my own.
I am scared of being unprepared but at the same
time am very excited.

I have my PD 150, a wireless mic, my on board mic
and hope to survive this adventure.

If anyone has any magic words of advice
I would really appreciate it.

Welcome, Shirli. Here's your magic words of advice:

JUST DO IT!

Those are good ones!!!!

I am running into stupid technical problems.
I wonder if someone could shed some light

I got two power2000 sony NP-F950 replacement batteris
and they are acting weird. My camera
shows that they are full when they are not....
the running time is not accurate...and I don't
want to take any chances.

Does anyone have any experience with these batteries?
Should I return them and never again
touch non Sony batteries? Some people here
have told me that they are inferior and can cause
damage to my camera...

what do you think???

I'd try running the batts til they drain then charge. Then drain and
charge again. It might be a memory issue. Or call the company. If
neither works, get Sony batts (I assume you have a Sony camera).

BTW, in the future, ask any specific questions like this in the
Mentoring topic.

Hey everybody.
I'm sitting outside an internet cafe at 2 am in seattle using
free airport internet service. I'm still all geeked out about it. Just moved to
Seattle from Colorado hoping to find a more active community for
filmmakers(and a job).
Got my MFA in Chicago at Columbia college, made one long doc and a few
shorts. Struggling to get to the next plateau, but enjoying the climb. It's really
cool to see so many folks talking about doc. jk
ps. what's the deal with the different forums?

Hi everyone

Its Joanna 'first time doco maker' here!

I have this problem with my doco. I have finished filming, and im
done capturing in final cut pro.

My problem is that while i was going over the rushes etc. I found
that most of my really good takes are rushed and short. There are no
talking heads, so sound isnt a problem for now. Except i will have
problems with the voice over later.

Is there a way to make my doco flow better? What kinds of transition
effects can i use to make my timeline cuts smoother and less
intrusive to my audience. Or is there a particular style that
someone can refer me to?

Welcome, James and Joanna. James, the different forums are special
periodic discussions we hold with guest doc luminaries. Joanna,
impossible to answer questions like that in a forum like this. I
suggest you hire a good experienced editor or consulting editor.

:(

Doug...
I am a one person show with no budget and I want to do this to the
best of my ability :) I am only a student.
I know its a little much..
But i was just wondering if there was anyone out there with anything
to share.