The Mentoring Room - Ask the Working Pros

hey doug...ok good, do you know of any good books that cover the
business side of documentary...all of mine just touch very briefly
and aren't much help. i want to have a document in front of me that
i can show him so i can explain this.
yes, they are helping distribute it--it will be sold in tower
records, indie record stores, on their website, at their shows, etc.
but i will be putting it in the festival circuit and we'll see if we
can get it to some art houses first...maybe we'll make a tv cut too.

Hello there people!

I have a big question. I am involved in a project that is most likely
going to be shooting overseas. Now, having looked at Michael
Moore's "Farenheight 9/11" and how politically charged it is, I am
wondering about his need for release forms concerning Senators,
Congressmen etc. I doubt he got permission from some of the people he
interviewed.

Now my problem is this, (If things go well) I will be interviewing
politicians from countries other than here in the States....what sort
of rules apply?

all sorts depending on where the doc will be shown. e.g., which
countries. You need a signed release as protection for your film.
The other rules apply to what you can and can't ask depending on who
you are talking to. Politicians have handlers. Expect them to set
rules.

Hi there everyone,

I have one specific question and one general neurosis:

Question---Where can I find a good comprehensive release form
online? Or do you any of you have a standard release that I can use?

Neurosis---for my film I will be shooting in the waiting room of an
emergency department. I have gotten permission from the hospital to
do this, but they are requiring that someone from their marketing
dept. be with me all the time. Any suggestions on how best to handle
this situation? Will people really talk to me with a marketing rep
around?

thanks,
Cameron

Hey, I'd love to participate in the political documentary forum, but
for some reason no text box appears when I go to that topic, even
though I do get a text box in all other topics. Anyone else having
this problem? Is this maybe why there are no comments yet?

Cameron

It hasn't started yet, Cameron. It runs from Mon, Aug 9 to Fri, Aug
13. Until then, it's "read only."

HI all. I've been working on a film by myself for about a year and now have
found someone i want to bring on as an assistant producer/associate
producer type. of course i don't have any money, and i'm wondering what i
can offer to keep their interest. deferments? percentage of any money they
raise from grant bodies, etc.? or should i just pay them a nominal amount (i.e.
$75/day)?

this is someone with no experience in docs but great experience as a writer,
etc. i.e. someone who deserves to be paid. what's usual? what's fair?

hard to keep an assoc. or ass't producer without paying something.
you could do a partial deferment. and/or % of funds raised. or,
better yet, make him or her co-producer and pay them nothing ;-)

thanks doug. but by making them co-producer what percentage of the rights
do i have to cough up? i've worked for a year now on this and i'm not quite
prepared to give up 50 percent just yet.

John, do you have anything you could barter? Shooting one of your
AP's scripts, for example?

hmm. interesting idea, which i will float to her. thanks for the suggestion.

john, you don't give up any percentage of the rights to a co-
producer. they don't get ownership. there are many arrangements but
one example is: a small fee + % of all funds raised (10% is
reasonable) + a small profit share (10%).

Hi everyone,

Does anyone have any pointers on creating a good four-six-minute
preview reel for a documentary film. The goal is to raise money for
completion funds. Thanks!

cynthia, contact fernanda rossi, who gives workshops on trailers and
samples. she's great and offers a free 20-minute consult, too:
http://documentarydoctor.com/workshops.html

are you the cynthia hill i knew in ny about, oh, 5, 6 years ago?

Thanks. We are trying to bring Fernanda Rossi to our university
(University of Florida) to conduct a seminar for our students and to
help us with our current project. Thanks for the tip.

Cindy

i guess not ;-)

hi! i've come up with an idea for a documentary which will consist
mainly of conversations with different people from as many different
areas as i can travel to and i'm wondering how i can break up
something like this to make it interesting visually. finding all the
right people and taking the time to interview, film, edit, etc. is a
task in itself, but who wants to watch a bunch of interviews back to
back? i was going to try to include sound bytes of famous/deceased
people with some artsy old footage of them while the quotes play, but
other than that i'm not too sure what to do.
i want what the people say to be the film's emphasis so i can get
their messages out there, but i kind of also want to show my journey,
how i happen upon some of these people... like it's a film about a
quest for knowledge or something.
any advice?

Take a look at documentaries on similar themes to see how other
filmmakers have dealt with the traveling journey film and how to make
it visually appealing. Three which come to mind that you should be
able to find on Netflix or at the video store are Sherman's March
(Ross McElwee), The Journey (Eric Saperston), and "Pop and Me" (Chris
Roe). There are many others but my brain is fried, so maybe some
other folks have some suggestions.

What goes along with winning an award at a fim festival? Is there a
cash prize, distribution, or just a pat on the back?

Depends on the festival. Some offer cash awards or some kind of
certificate/trophy. Others just a pat on the back. Certainly
winning an award at a top-tier festival is a huge advantage towards
getting distribution.

I recently produced a 45 minute historical documentary. The History
Chanel is looking at it now (have no idea what such a film would
sell for). One of the funders of the film has approached me about
backing a small production companey. I'd really like to do it ( and
get out of my bar job) but am having trouble proving that such a
companey could support itself producing documentaries.

Would we just try and form a relationsip with ditribution companies
and then produce films we think they will buy? Would we make films
and take a chance on the festival circuit? I figure we would have to
make about $120,000 a year to support the operation (2 small
saleries, equipment, rent etc.). Would this be
possible selling 1 or 2 films a year? Any advice would be great. I'm
trying not to let my enthusiasm detroy my ability to be realistic

Edward

If you make commissioned docs for cable or corporate clients you
could create a viable business plan. Don't think that you can make
docs for the festival circuit with the hope that someone will pick
them up for distribution.

Dear Mr. Goodman,

Thank you for the info regarding the business plan and the festival
circuit. Would it be best for us to have an agent that markets our
concepts to distributors. If so...how can one get a list of such
agents.

Thanks,
Edward

edward, there aren't agents for docs, per se. there are sales agents
for selling to international television. and there are sales reps
(usually entertainment lawyers like John Sloss) who help build up buzz
and broker deals with distributors. but these are for the most
compelling and noteworthy docs of the year. you're selling a pipe
dream if you think this is a viable business.

Is there a technical forum for doc topics?

Question: How to best transfer PAL mini-DV footage to VHS-NTSC for
viewing copies with TC. Is there an inexpensive multi-format VCR or
a good gizmo to use with a DV deck while making transfers to VHS-
NTSC? Alternately, how about burning and using DVDs of footage for
logging and transcribing?