The Mentoring Room - Ask the Working Pros

Thanks, Leah. Appreciate that. I gave a talk to a documentary class last night about personal docmaking and it really gave me the chance to think through some of my beliefs about the genre. Maybe we can open up a special topic here about it.

By the way, you certainly would qualify for Member status here, so I recommend that you apply . You also should fill out your user profile more extensively.

In reply to Megan Conkey's post on Sat 29 Sep 2007 :

Megan, I'm producing a documentary right now about AIDS and Women in America. Write me at jkgaskins@yahoo.com. I'll give you more details.

Leah, I took my thoughts one step further and have started to list "ten rules" about personal docmaking on my blog . (Sorry for the double post, folks, but Enthusiasts can't see the Directing topic.)

Hi everyone,

Am a newbie and loving the D-word already =)
I had a question about finding stories. I am interested in working with refugees and immigrants but these are sensitive topics. And since I just moved to NY, I do not have an inside person who could get me great access to these people. I tried going through the non-profit organizations route but they are very protective and usually do not want to get involved.
Could you give me advice on how you would go about getting the great access that doco filmmakers seem to be able to get? Especially if you are not local?
Any advice would be appreciated.

T.

Time and patience are the tools of the doc filmmaker. Journalists don't usually have much of the former, which is why they tend to parachute in, look for their "story" and disappear just as quickly.

Take for instance a doc filmmaker like Kim Longinotto: whether she's shooting in Japan, Iran or Africa, she usually collaborates with a local who knows about the culture & language. James Longley lived for two years in Iraq to make "Iraq in Fragments", he gained the trust of his subjects over the many months he spent with them. You need to find a way to spend time with refugees, maybe you can even offer them something in return - language skills, whatever. If they get to know you as a person rather than someone who just wants something quickly, doors will open.

Thanks for that John. I know what you mean. I love the way Kim makes her films. They are beautiful and intimate and subtle. Sometimes it is hard to know, do you bring your camera with you all the time, from the very first day so your subjects can be accustomed to it or do you hold off until they trust you?

So, Ms. Veda, any particular reason why you changed your screen name to T?

Ciao all from caput mundi-home of cinecittà. Dr. Don Levine

Ciao, Don. We actually have another topic to say hi and introduce ourselves. Feel free to post any doc questions here.

I'm more a T and no one can pronounce it correctly to save their lives! Plus who can forget a letter of the alphabet =) Btw, Doug, are you doing another talk in NY anytime soon?

I know a bank whereon the wild thyme blows, where oxlips and the nodding violets grows quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine, with sweet muck- roses, and with eglantine: there sleeps Titania some time of the night lull'd in these flowers with dances and delight

Titanic (that's easier to pronounce), I'm speaking at the New School on Nov 19. Also doing a Q&A after a 51 Birch screening at the Rutgers Jewish Film Festival on Nov 4. Or else just come to Sheffield.

Well John, I see you have a poet in you just waiting to burst out =) I'm actually going to be one of the volunteers at Sheffield so I'll see you then Doug!

Quick question though, anyone ever had the dilemma of when to turn the camera on a subject? Some say you should do it from the first day so that they get used to it but other filmmakers disagree and say wait until they are comfortable with you and then bring the camera or just bring the camera but don't turn it on. Is there a right or wrong or just a judgement call?

Great that you'll be there, Titania. Look forward to meeting you and let's try to carve out a bit of time to talk when you're off the clock. And now get your butt out of the Mentoring Room because you're a Member and don't need to be here to post questions.

I'm a poet? W. Shakespeare don't know it...

where do members post their questions? I had posted a question about whether or not to bring the camera on the very first day of meeting subjects and when to turn it on? Should I post that elsewhere than the mentoring room?

I'd try creative topics>directing for that one...

Hello D-Word community,

I'm new to this and very excited to have found such a great resource. Here's my deal. I'm a first time filmmaker, I'm overwhelmed and I am looking for a co-director or co-applicant for some of the grants that I am applying for. I have a letter of support from my local PBS station and I'm considering a co-production with them - but I'm still unsure. I have adapted the book Evil in Modern Thought, by Susan Neiman into a documentary film. I have produced a wonderful interview with her and have a good idea of how the structure will fall together and I have a rough outline for the script. I used all of the money raised to produce the interview and I'm now starting the process of grant-writing, but many of the grants that fund my area of interest, require previous experience. I'm feeling very discouraged with fundraising and so much more is needed to finish making this dream of mine.

My website is www.knowingevil.com. This is an amazingly relevant and beautiful film. I will truly appreciate any advice I can get on finding a co-director or on finding help with fundraising and upping my chances for grants. I have clips to show that are quite good and will be on my website soon.

Thank you

Monica

Monica - I would avoid complicating things by doing a co-pro with your local station. I looked at your website and I have some questions for you.

Why is this a film? What is your connection to the subject? How will you visualize a book of philosophy? Is this really a biopic?

Hey everyone. I started reading through old posts in this thread, but thought it might be easier to just ask for the info I need. I am lookig to break into documentary filmmaking, and wanted recommendations for moderately priced equipment, in particular a digital video camera, computer and editing equipment. Thanks for any help you can provide. - Paul

Paul, the first question would be how much are you willing to spend on the equipment? :)

Well, I don't want to limit my options to what I can afford now. I'd rather get some price ranges from y'all, and then plan accordingly. No info yet on cameras, but so far people I have talked to have recommended going with Macs equipped with Final Cut Pro.

make sure you get a two-monitor setup. makes a big difference when editing...

In this part of the world we prefer PCs but, yes, Macs with Final Cut Pro are the trend where you are :)
You definitely need a two monitor set-up no matter what the system is.

Robert,

Thank you for your response. When I read the book I could see it visually. I had been entertaining the idea of a documentary film that would explore the work of Hannah Arendt and when I read Evil in Modern Thought and saw Neiman's interview with Bill Moyers' I had an aha moment and haven't quit obsessing since, as I was convinced that I could adapt this book as a documentary film (I wonder sometimes at my naivete!) I have succeeded in the writing and my proposal and treatment explain the techniques I want to use. The theme is centered on how 4 catastrophic events in western history have shaped the way we think about and approach the world, and is not a biopic. The Philosophers and their work surrounding the problem of evil will add to the structure, only as their work relates to the events i.e. Voltaire's coming of age novella Candide will be animated as he is naively headed to the Lisbon Earthquake of 1755 (which was the symbol for evil at this time period, as nothing else could kill so many people at once.) There are many engravings and paintings from this era. I have many more visuals but I don't want to take up this space! My connection to this subject is a long story - basically I've been concerned about the problem of evil in philosophy, most of my conscious life - without knowing that this was what I was concerned with until my last couple of years of college. I've since come to realize that most of us are, though we may not frame our concerns in this way and I want to connect an audience to the great philosophers and writers of the modern world as a way of validating our human experience against the overwhelming insanities of history.

Thank you Robert!