Introduce Yourself: Sign In Here First

Hey Everyone.

I'm new.
I must get connected.

I'm an emerging documentary filmmaker.
Maybe – like many of you,I have a film that I need to figure out how to get off the ground.

My day job is as an investigative reporter...

So, here goes.
Anyone – tell me where to start.

In the meantime, I'm checking out the site and familiarizing myself.
I hope to share my film and upcoming projects with many of you soon.

Peace and nice to be here.

Hi Tracy. You already started by joining The D-Word ;-) Do check around and read some of the topics (like Fundraising!). Also, if there's something specific you need to know, try our search engine. Chances are we've already discussed it.

Hi everyone. I'm an aspiring filmmaker from the US and I just moved to Barcelona to teach English. I'm really interested in connecting with some documentary filmmakers here so a friend suggested I check out this site. I'd love to get more experience and would be happy offer my help on someone's film project in exchange for a little mentorship. If you know of anyone based in Barcelona that might be interested, please let me know. (eve.richer at fulbrightmail dot org)

Thanks!

PS Here's a link to a web series I made about an English teacher living in small town Spain: www.pueblotheseries.com It's part doc/part fiction.

Welcome, Eve. Enjoy Barcelona, one of my all-time favorite cities. If you do an "advanced search" in our database to find members in Spain, you'll find many who live in Barcelona. You can then click on their profiles to find their contact info.

Hi all,
Thanks for having me in this great community of filmmakers! I am in the process of making my first (documentary) film, which I have been working on for several years solo. I am at the point of getting serious about it – shifting from having lots of footage to creating a story line, working with other experienced people, and completing it and getting it seen.

I know I will have lots more questions in the future. But what's on my mind right now is how I best to work with an experienced editor/producer whom I have found to make sure everything is kosher. What kind of agreements should I have in place and how to transfer files in a way that protects my ownership of the footage? If there's a place I should look in past posts, please let me know.

Thanks so much in advance for your collective wisdom!!

Jung Min

Hello. My last stop through was several months ago, so I am saying hello again. I am based in DC, and working on a project in Philadelphia, so I look forward to some face to faces in those cities. It is fantastic to know that d-word is still here after all these years and growing stronger. I updated my profile and added a picture, and will continue being more active in this community.

Great to have you back with us, Malkia. You were missed.

A warm welcome, as well, to Jung Min. I honestly think the best agreement to have with partner on the project is one you hand-draw up. It doesn't have to have any legalese. But it should be clear-cut. Here're some more in-depth thoughts on the matter.

Hi everyone! I'm proud to be in the company of talented people who utilize filmmaking to bring important messages to the world.

This year has been a special one for me – where I've dedicated my time and money to a non-profit feature-length documentary about the Japan earthquake and tsunami ("Pray for Japan").

I've learned a lot in the process and now have to deal with getting the film out there – which is overwhelming. I'm sure I will learn even more on this site – which I had joined it 8 months ago!

Thank you for having me here as part of your community.

Cheers!
--Stu

Glad you found us, Stu. Welcome and good luck with your film.

Thanks Doug!

In reply to Doug Block's post on Sun 13 Nov 2011 :

Thanks so much Doug!! I will follow your advice!
Jung Min

Hello! I am a documentary filmmaker based in Rome. I am developing a new project with a small company called Tailsfilm Production which looks at the relationship between access to energy and poverty in the developing world through the work of a mechanical engineer who has invented a cooking stove that is also a tiny portable refinery. His aim is not to sell stoves but to help set off a process through which millions of people can become self-sufficient (and carbon negative) in energy terms. We may need to work with stringers through the development process to gather material from a range of countries in Africa and Central America.

A little about me: I was born in Italy but grew up in New York City, where I started working in the mid-80s correcting proofs for The Nation magazine. I then moved to London for a Master's degree and stayed for ten years working on documentaries mostly for Channel 4 until 1999. I then returned to my roots and have been based in Rome, making films mostly in co-production and with the support of the EU's MEDIA Programme since. I work as a freelance producer, writer and executive producer while developing my own projects. I was most recently executive producer for Gustav Hofer and Luca Ragazzi's documentary Italy: Love it or Leave it (www.italyloveitorleave.it). I have just come back from the Italian Doc Screenings in Florence where Fernanda Rossi gave a workshop and talked to us about how useful the The D-Word could be especially in the development stages of a film on global themes, so here I am.

A warm welcome to The D-Word, Vania. You should straightaway check out our Members' Only Topic on International Co-Pros

Welcome, Vania. Always good to follow the wise Fernanda's advice. And great to have another member from Rome, one of my very favorite cities.

Hello from Maine, everyone. I work on documentaries when not at my day job (which itself is also a lovely pursuit), right now am in early production on a film with/about the Somali immigrant community here in southern Maine, and the story of one young man's political ambitions in particular. We're calling it Home Country. Here's the preliminary trailer – http://vimeo.com/32058940

I'm also working with the subject/co-director of that film on another related project, a web series we're currently pitching. If that funding comes through, the series will be a travelogue about the Somali diaspora across the U.S.

Really enjoying reading everyone's thoughts here on D-Word.
alyce

Great to have you here, Alyce. Welcome aboard.

Hello everyone. Just heard about the site and had to join. I'll keep it short, I'm not writer. I am a 23 year old DP based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. I've been shooting for about 5 years now, 3 professionally. I'll leave a link to some of my work and keep it at that.

http://vimeo.com/alexhorner

Shoot and Edit, I also do some producing on this.
http://www.redbullusa.com/winchsessions

Hi everyone. My name is Ryan Scafuro, co-producer and director of photography for the upcoming feature doc "Bending Steel." The film is about Chris Schoeck, an introverted, small statured man, who is training to become an olde-time strongman. We are currently in post, and just finished a successful kickstarter campaign raising over $25,000 for finishing costs. Signed up to take a look at other indie projects people are working on.

Here's the kickstarter video we put together, please don't mind our inexperience in front of the camera, but it's the most concise edit we've done that presents the subject matter and gives a scope of the project.

http://vimeo.com/30524657

If it interests you, we are up for Indiewire's Project of the Month, you can read more and vote here:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/decide-who-gets-to-talk-to-the-sundance-institute-vote-for-indiewires-november-project-of-the-month

Ryan.

Hi All,
I'm Nick Jordan, a film-maker from the UK. Thought I'd join this site to connect with other professionals, as I've just made my debut feature-documentary 'Between Two Rivers'. Please see http://www.betweentworivers.net for more info, including trailer and clips. Hoping to meet some of you at festivals in 2012!

Alex, Ryan, Nick, a warm welcome to The D-Word!

Hello all,

I am Eric Gulliver, an editor and graphic designer currently living in Boston, Massachusetts. I currently work as an assistant editor for FRONTLINE over at WGBH. I recently finished work as a co-producer and cinematographer on my first feature length documentary entitled Peace and the Quiet (www.peaceandthequiet.com) with fellow D-Worder Beth Balaban. I am pleased to be a part of this non-fiction community and hope to contribute to the various post forums in the future!

I'm back on the D-word after an absence of two years. What happened in those two years? I was let go of my tenure track University teaching position. Honest I had students that liked me but the lazy ones gave me poor student reviews which led to a non renewal of contract. What is even more strange, I was hired because I have a MFA in documentary filmmaking but I was never assigned to teach any film classes. Instead because of my animation skills I was assigned to teach graphic design. Which I had to dust off old art skills.
I began painting and have gotten into the Artists of Hawai'i Art show 2009 and 2011 at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. Anyone who is an artist of note and lives in Hawai'i has been in this show.
The most important thing is I decided to finish my feature length documentary, "Alan at Work" which is on Indiegogo. DO a search for it. The campaign expires January 24 2012 and I am no where near my funding goal.
I spent the summer of 2010 logging all the footage- about 50 hours worth. Then life intervened and I got back on the project summer 2011. I hired Fernanda Rossi, the documentary doctor and she saved my documentary. I will send her my latest cut and hope for the best. I was open to any direction she gave me. If she thought it was a short, I would have made a short. She said the documentary was at least an hour long and after story editing- the length was 56 minutes. I found footage and added back a few scenes following her structure. Now the length is 80 minutes which I will cut down to 70.

Hi, everybody—

I’m new to the D-Word, new to the world of documentary filmmaking, and I have a ton of questions. I’ll confine this post to question number 1 but first a few words of introduction.

I’m a writer in Los Angeles, working in collaboration with a veteran European filmmaker on the development of a doc film project that’s been accepted into IDA’s Fiscal Sponsorship Program. On page one of the FSP Agreement it says that as Project Manager I’m required “to obtain appropriate liability insurance for all aspects of the project in an amount of not less than $1,000,000, which shall name IDA as an additional insured.”

I’d like to ask folks with experience in this area where I should (and maybe also should not) go to inquire about such insurance, how much I should expect to pay, if there are some plans better than others, etc. Any and all information will be appreciated.

Many thanks, and it's great to be part of this group--

Steve Cooper

P.S. Thanks to Lisa Hasko of IDA for telling me about the D-Word!

Welcome, Eric and Stephen, and welcome back, Lowell.

Stephen, would work much better if you ask questions like this (and any others) in The Mentoring Room. This is just the topic to introduce who we are to each other.

That said, a number of people here, including myself, have recommended the Charles Whelan Insurance Agency. You might want to give Charles a call.