Introduce Yourself: Sign In Here First

Hello everyone. I'm a current film student at Columbia College in Chicago. I've completed (99%) my first short film documentary on the exploitation and corruption within the Chicago taxi industry.

Would love to receive some professional critique before I entered it into film festivals.

www.cabslaves.com

Greetings D-word,

My name is Kevin Sarnoff. I've been a cinematographer for the last fifteen years shooting feature films, commercials, promos and the occasional doc. Last summer, armed with an abundance of optimism, a fair amount of magical thinking and no shortage of ignorance, I traveled to a remote part of Nepal to film a doc which was to be my directing debut. Angry villagers and altitude sickness threw a wrench into my master plan but left with me some tremendous footage. I'm trying to piece the film together now and map out my next steps. Documentary is my true love and I'm in awe of the work many of you do. I am thrilled that a community such as this exists and very happy to be a member.

Some stills from Nepal project:

http://www.kevinsarnoff.com/#mi=2&pt=1&pi=10000&s=0&p=0&a=0&at=0

You need to copy and paste that entire link to get to the proper site...

Here's the entire link to the site. Some very impressive images there, indeed, Kevin. Welcome to The D-Word.

Greetings! My name is Marcus, I'm currently working on my first documentary project. I've come to this site to seek knowledge in this art.

I'm also a US Army Combat Veteran who is aspiring to become a stand-up comedian. Over the past year I’ve documented some of the struggles I've face in addition to seeking mental rehabilitation.

The Documentary will include struggles with re-integration, transition, depression, alcoholism, addiction, PTSD and impact on family.

I’ve already started filming. Just have no idea what I'm doing...

Welcome to the club, Marcus. Most people starting on their first doc have no idea, either. Hope you'll feel free to ask questions in The Mentoring Room, and go thru our archives to read some of the conversations we've held here over the years. Should help a lot. Meanwhile, welcome to The D-Word, as well.

Hi All! Just joined. Delighted to be a part of the group. I've been a documentary filmmaker for 12 years and a television news video editor for 22 years. All of the sordid details may be seen at www.YouTube.com/NicoleFilms.

Looking forward to seeing you where I hang out most on Twitter @Nicoleedits. Have a wonderful week!

Great to have you with us, Nicole. We're equally delighted.

Thank you I have been. What's stressful is that some of the best footage I should be capturing is going on right now. In reply to Doug Block's post on Tue 21 Aug 2012 :

Hello D-Worders. To Doug et al, thank you so much for maintaining this community. I haven't even qualified as a lurker since I signed up a while back, but am finally playing catch-up. I'm now lurking at breakneck pace. I kicked it off with Fernanda Rossi's excellent 5-day discussion about loglines and pitching. It's archived here: http://d-word.com/topics/show/189?pos=1

Part of the reason I haven't been lurking till now has been my first documentary as writer/director, which has occupied nights and days for most of the past 2 years. I'm pleased to report it is finished and has been very well received on the festival circuit. I just created the film page here: http://www.d-word.com/documentary/508-The-Movement

Much like the production process on our film, my approach to learning this craft has been a bit back-assward and I look forward to future discussions like Fernanda's to help me play catch-up. Doug, by the way, I found the format and presentation of the archived discussion very easy to follow. Nice job to you and all the folks who make this site easy to use. Keep up the good work. Cheers, Greg

Thanks, Greg. Glad you're posting, at long last. Congrats on all the success of your film on the festival circuit – do you have any other kind of distribution lined up?

My producer tells me there is much in the works for "The Movement" that we can't announce yet and he says to hold my horses for now. I'm not good at that, so I've been polishing up my own first narrative feature screenplay, writing the book on the story behind The Movement, and starting a trickle of work for my other filmmaker friends. I guess you could say this latest chapter of my indie filmmaking career (namely actually writing and directing projects like our doc) has got me hooked. Hope to be in this space for a lifetime. Or more. Cheers, GH

How nice to have a producer. You're already a big leg up on most first-timers.

He has a couple of pretty good narrators for a first-timer, too. Welcome to d-word, Greg. I grew up going to Warren Miller films before every ski season (with Warren narrating in person, of course).

Awesome, Andy. Working there (WM Films) was a dream from way back for me. I used to sell tickets to the film to support our high school ski team. You can't imagine the spine tingles sitting in the recording studio as Warren read our script. Three generations of Millers were involved in this film! One challenge I'm facing is how do I return to everyday life after this crazy ride. I like my everyday life, but it's a far cry from the heady buzz of releasing our film. Still trying to get my head around it...
It seems like tuning into the conversations here at the D-Word is going to be a good way for me to slow down and view this as a lifelong craft I'm pursuing that's going to have its ups and downs.
Any long-time D-Word folks have any suggestions on how and where I should get started within the resources of this site and this community?

Hello to the D-Word community.

My name is Peter. I have been engaged in the world of production on a somewhat limited basis for many years, but am just now taking on a relatively serious project. I live in Northern California and am a fairly recent member of the Capitol Film Arts Alliance.

I graduated in 1969 from Fresno State University with a BA degree in Radio-Television Broadcasting. I did some on-air work at a small radio station for a while, but did not break into the local TV market. Instead, I did a stint in the military and went back to graduate school to earn a law degree. After working full time for a number of years as an attorney in the environmental field, in 1995 I took on part time event videography, moving into the world of DV and desktop editing and doing a number of small projects. I have also spent the last 16 years in public access TV, crewing on numerous studio and field productions, in addition to serving on the board of directors of the local access organization for the last 8 years. Since 2005, (about the time I partially retired from my attorney career) I have been looking for a viable documentary topic.

It was not until a year ago that I acquired the equipment to support a 2K workflow that would provide minimum acceptable production values. I also found myself fully involved in the sports world. I am deeply enmeshed in what is essentially event videography, with a demanding shoot schedule and lots of travel. One result is that I have discovered a compelling story line that I want to take on and produce as a full-length documentary. It deals with the world of rowing, a very robust, competitive and established sport, but it still seems to fly largely below the radar here on the West Coast. I have some hard shooting deadlines coming up very soon, so I need to get moving with a lot of development and pre-production loose ends.

Welcome, Peter. Pretty wide range of experiences you bring to The D-Word, and to making docs. The world of rowing seems filled with potential as a subject, or just a setting.

In reply to Gregory I Hamilton's post on Sun 26 Aug 2012 :

Yeah, d-word is a great resource, and can develop into a tangible, real-world community if you get into it and meet people. There are plenty of places to start, so just pick some topics to browse and don't get overwhelmed by how much is out there. Sounds like you're in the distribution phase of your film, so maybe dive into the marketing and distribution thread, and you'll find some great conversations. You can always try to find other d-worders in your area to meet up with in person. Go up to the "people" tab, and do an advanced search by location. I see one other user in Steamboat Springs, and plenty more around Colorado.

Hello Everyone.
I am the author of a new book on social change and am here to suggest my work as a topic to filmmakers. The book is called "Creating Sustainable Societies: The Rebirth of Democracy and Local Economies". Essentially, it is a blueprint for remaking our financial, economic, and governance systems so that they are more sustainable and better able to serve the common good.

As most people are aware, our society, and the planet, are in serious trouble. The book offers a practical strategy for change, based on demonstrating new systems at the local level. It has potential to fundamentally alter the course of our history. Rather than a finance and economic system driven by greed, we could have one driven by cooperation. Rather than a governance system corrupted by money, we could have one where all people have an equal impact on the political process. There is a viable path to real change, and I need your help conveying this message to the world.

You can view the book trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDO7JOsCaHA. More videos are coming soon. I welcome any discussion or interest. If you live in LA/Orange County, and have interest in the project, I would be delighted to meet in person.

Hello All,

I spent a few days lurking around the perimeter before registering; lo and behold, I've found my tribe. My name is Andrea and I've enjoyed reading a number of bios and introductions. What I love about film is that it's a collection of snapshots that extrapolates a possibility beyond the immediate and like so many of us, where we’ll end up is not where we’ve started. I knew I wanted to write when I was about 8 years of age but my parents weren't sure what could be done with writing(I guess the same could still be argued, lol). Instead of majoring in English I went to the other "E" – economics and though I've enjoyed my career, the isolation of the human experience within the numbers was too numbing. I retreated to my minor, sociology, and there I've found much more fulfilling work.

Adding a little more detail than my bio lists, my dad passed away in May so I relocated to my home state of Louisiana to support my mom. Here I hope to focus on producing more of my stories as well as my father's – while searching through his belongings, I found a folder chock full of news clippings and his story ideas. So maybe Dad was okay with writing after all. It has explained much of why I can’t walk away from this process.

I’m very appreciative for this platform. Looking forward to getting to know you –

Welcome to The D-Word, John and Andrea. Very sorry for your loss, Andrea.

Welcome, Andrea! I love the story about your Dad and stories. Welled my eyes up, in a beautiful way. May his soul rest in peace. And welcome again, join the discussions :)

In reply to Doug Block's post on Thu 30 Aug 2012 :

Thank you Doug for the welcome and your sentiments

In reply to Niam Itani's post on Thu 30 Aug 2012 :

Thank you Niam. I am looking forward to the discussions on this board