Introduce Yourself: Sign In Here First

Hello,

I am a partner in the law firm of Abdo Abdo Broady & Satorius and
practice entertainment law.

I have worked extensively with documentary filmmakers and
organizations including Independent Television Service and TPT. I
have provided legal counsel to many documentary filmmakers who have
won Academy Awards and nominations, Peabody Awards, Emmy Awards, and
numerous awards at the Sundance Film Festival.

I have served on the Board of Directors of the IFP MSP since July,
1987; president 2002-2004. I was instrumental in organizing the IFP
National and serve on that board.

I have also produced documentary films and have a MA in film
production from the University of Iowa. I am an active member of
the American Bar Association's Forum on the Entertainment and Sports
Industries and serve as the Associate Editor of the ENTERTAINMENT
AND SPORTS LAWYER. I just returned from the Sundance Film Festival
where I chaired a seminar on “Independent Film Financing” co-
sponsored by the American Bar Association and IFP.

You can find out more about me at our website at www.abdoabdo.com.

dan modestly didn't mention that he's representing esther robinson's
terrific feature doc, "the danny williams story" (which i happen to be
producing with esther). in no way did he solicit this but he has my
unqualified endorsement. welcome, dan!

Thanks Doug. It was great to see you at Sundance last year. But I
missed running into you this year. Esther is wonderful and the
project is wonderful. I am glad to be working with you on it.

ditto, dan. was too busy working on a new film (apart from esther's)
to do sundance this year. alas.

noticed you registered for the community. look forward to continuing
the conversation there.

this is great. Finally on UTNE. I am a doc film maker who does mostly
stories of rockers. I am working on the story of the late great Laura
Nyro. If anyone here has film, photos or stories of her please contact
me. Mostly what I am struggling with is funding (of course!) I would
benefit emmensely discussing funding. How? Grants drive me nuts. But,
have to do I guess.

welcom, nyrogrl. good luck with your film. you should read the
recent conference we did here on fundraising for docs:

LINK NOT IMPORTED-

Thanks for the hello Doug. Your links were very important to the film
I am trying to launch. Thanks so much.

You're quite welcome. The other archived conferences will be very
helpful, as well. Particularly Jan Rofekamp's on selling in the
international marketplace:

LINK NOT IMPORTED-

Hola! Just joined. The mission of my production company, Eyes of the
World Productions, is to use the power of media to raise awareness of
social issues. We're in LA. Right now, I'm making several
documentaries. Among
them are Her Meth Secret: The High Highs, the Low Lows (the powerful
way the methamphetimeine epidemic spreading across America impacts
women), Comparing Notes: Building an Arab & American Sisterhood
(women in both cultures share best practices to deal with their
challenges). Always looking for collaborators that want to have some
fun, make some money, and make positive change in the world. Contact
me for more info if you're interested!

welcome, emily. see you joined the community, as well, so i'll greet
you there, too ;-)

My company is called "FlyingPoodle Productions" kinda says it all and
nothing.

hi all

im a student in melbourne, australia. i'm on holidays at the moment,
waiting for the school year to start. got a dv camcorder for my
birthday just recently and thought i make a lil documentary on a local
workshop educating kids on the elements of hip hop music.

meanwhile, just doing some research on how to get things started and
happened to stumble across this forum... feel a lil 'ameaturish' tho,
but we all gotta start somewhere :)

Welcome to The D-Word Forum, J (?) and Christian!

worse places to start from than somewhere, christian ;-) welcome.

{erased by dbblock Tue, 22 Feb 2005 01:23:47 GMT}

jay, the classifieds is, in fact, the proper place for this. i
erased your post because you double posted there.

kyoko, i also erased your post because you posted the same thing in
the mentoring room (where it belongs) and i've answered you there.
please, folks, do NOT post the same thing in two different topics.

Hi, all. I've just gotten into video production as a facet of my job
working with a nonprofit. We're using video for internal communication
and are starting a project to produce educational videos for
commercial distribution. The experience has gotten me really excited
about the possibilities of documentary videomaking, and that's why I
ended up here. I live near Durham, NC, the home of the Full Frame
Documentary Festival - will any of you be attending?

not i, but welcome to the d-word, michael. have fun in production
and at the festival. it's a great one.

Michael, I may attend.

good to have you here, ross.

hey all, i'm new here as well. i'm working on two projects right now
and decided to try and connect with other doc filmmakers. my web sites
are: writinghome.com, and beingMEdia.com. if anyone is willing to
share, i'm really interested in seeing sample funding proposals. also,
i'm interested in meeting people in the chicago area who are working
on documentary projects...

welcome to the d-word, basil and good luck with your projects. judith
helfand's grant-winning proposal for "a healthy baby girl" is online.
hope it's helpful:

www.jewishculture.org/film/healthy_baby_girl.html

{erased by dbblock Mon, 14 Mar 2005 03:03:39 GMT}

sheesh, luckily we don't get much spam here, but this is what happens
to it. gets immediately erased. so don't bother, folks.

Hallo everybody! I want to introduce my self, Im also new and Im very happy to be in
a place where people share the same passion for documentarys. I'll see you often
around the site . here is my web page: http://www.inthecosmos.com
Greeeting!
Jacqueline.

welcome, jacqeline. glad you found us.

Jacqueline, tell us more yourself. Interesting website. Are you
based in Mexico or Germany or elsewhere?

Hallo, here I talk a little more about my self:
Im based in Germany since one year an a half in a little city called Bamberg, Bavaria.
for the moment i'm working as a free-lancer but I have to say that in this town is not
so easy to have something to do with video and specially with documentary.
Nevertheless I have the opportunity to work around Germany. My last documentary
was in Hamburg and now I'm in the post production ( long but satisfied work). I travel
to Mexico very often and I try to do it also around Europe. I have to say that my
interest for documentary began mainly because of traveling and because of a feeling
of engagement with our plantet ( and also because is a very funy and creative tool).It
is not easy to choose video as a tool but I find it really efficient when one knows how
to use it.....

jacqeline, you should register for the d-word community of
professionals. this is our public forum, where there's far less give
and take with other doc makers. to join, go to:

www.d-word.com/community/join

I just joined the D-word community. I read a recent article about
this in the IDA and thought it would serve a tremedous help in
my current doc. I will be posting here and hope to find some
creative ideas...my brain is fried after a year of shooting and planning.

Bests

welcomes, anthony.

Hi everybody.
I posted my project on the mentor section, but wanted to say thank
you for having such a place to come and seek guidance and
inspiration. I admire those who "do it." You did it. Now I want
to join your ranks.
All my best,
Christopher K.

glad to have you here, christopher. thanks for the compliments.

Hello Everybody - Just joining up here and in the D-Word community and wanted to say hi.

I'm about to go into production on my thesis film for my MFA which will be my first feature
length documentary. I'll be shooting it throughout the Rocky Mountain West for the next
year or so. I've been making short independent documentaries for a number of years
(mostly from the perspective of my anthropology background) and have been supporting
myself as a freelance shooter, final cut pro editor, and dvd author. I have a very strong
connection (and commitment) to Verite style observational filmmaking. I guess it's my
anthro roots.

I'll be poking around here a bit, asking questions and answering others when I feel
qualified.

All the best,
Zac

welcome, zac, and look forward to "seeing" you in the community, as
well.

Greetings

My name is Octavio and I am a first year MFA doc. student at City
College in New York City. David Davidson and Andrea Weiss are my two
Doc. professors.

I am starting the pre-production phase of my graduate thesis. I have
many questions, production and structural, and will be seeking help.
So thanks for being here and I look forward to joining your community.

Hello, Octavio. Welcome. Never heard of "pre-production" on a
thesis. Shows you're getting into the film mindset.

greetings, octavio.

Hey folks,

I'm new to the forum, so I'm doing the intro thing...

I earned a BA in Photography (1990) and an MFA in Film (1993). My
thesis was a documentary. My intention was to make my way as a
documentary filmmaker, but things didn't turn out that way. I found it
impossible to secure funding for my own projects, so I started cutting
tv commercials to pay the bills. The problem was, I was working 80+
hrs/wk in commercials, so I didn't have any time for my docs.

Then I had this idea: why not take some other sort of job that's only
40 hrs/wk and pays better? Then I can make docs on evenings and
weekends (oh, and also spend time with the wife and kids!). So I
became a web developer. Well; that turned out to be 80+ hrs/wk too!
Ugh. But the pay was good, so I stuck with it for 8 years.

So to get to the point... I've been doing everything BUT make docs for
the last twelve years, and I've had enough! I quit my day job in
January, and I'm pursuing doc work full time. I put together an
entry-level Avid workstation, and I'm cutting a 30-min piece for a
nonprofit called Musicians for World Harmony. It's pro bono, but it
feels great! I'm so happy to be back.

I just hope I can figure out how to make some money (just a little
bit, please!), so that I don't have to go back to corporate yuck.

Cheers,
Ron

hey ron, welcome to the d-word and the d-world. finding a way to
earn a few bucks that allows you the time to work on your docs is
always the big question. hope you have a goodly amount saved up ;-)
good luck and keep having fun!

Welcome, Ron. Where are you?

Sorry, I forgot to mention where I live. I'm currently in Ithaca, New
York (about 4 hrs from NYC). I'm interested in relocating to a place
where I have access to more resources and potential collaborators. But
I have to balance that with my family's desire to live a rural
lifestyle (we raise dairy goats). It's a difficult balance.

Anyone interested in starting a documentary filmmaker's commune
somewhere in rural america? :-)

-Ron

i went to cornell, ron. perrrrty area...

howdy,

My name is Skip and in a month I'm finishing up my undergrad at the University of Texas
where my focus has primarily been documentary production. I've made a couple shorts
and shot a feature last summer about a group of bicyclist that rode from Texas to Alaska
in order to raise money for cancer research. Put that on hold during the school year, but
this summer and months to come afterwards I'll be in post. My primary interest is in
producing science and nature docs, but if any story (such as the bike one) moves me
enough, i am willing to work on it. I'm also a member of Filmmakers for Conservation.

Joined up because I am want to further/start my career in the Doc business. Thought this
looked like a great place to learn from others in the business and network. I'm looking for
opportunities to get more experience and hopefully paid. I'd love to keep just doing the
indpendent thing, but I don't think its the best route for me until I gain more experience
and can myself on feet.

skip

welcome, skip. good luck in the real world (and getting paid) :-)

Howdy, Skip. Hope Austin's as good for docs as it supposedly is for
fictional features.

Hi Guys,

Just introducing myself, my name is Laura McHugh and I a currently a
final year student at the University College Winchester. I am coming
to the end of my degree in Screen Production which specialises in
documentaries, to be honest I am joining this site primarily to gain
research for my dissertation – so be nice, please!

Laura

aw shucks, i was gonna bite your head off, laura ;-) welcome and
good luck w. the dissertation.