The Mentoring Room - Ask the Working Pros

In reply to James Longley's post on Tue 13 Jan 2009 :

thank you for the reply Mr. Longley.... i just had a chance to try the Sony PMW-EX3 as a friend is over to visit from the U.S. and i found it to be rather good, except for some minor details, i'll try and find a Panasonic HPX170 , unfortunately we do not have a vast range of camcorders, or anything but the commercially available consumer minicams in lebanon... well its more convenient for me to shoot directly onto solid state cards.
and as you say it's pretty much "drag-and-drop" to get the material off the cards and into hard drives for editing.... i found it so easy especially with the non-linearity approach to viewing the clips ...

thank you again...

In reply to Doug Block's post on Tue 13 Jan 2009 :

Doug,

Thank you very much. Mmmm, dirty work for me. That sounds fantastic. I will track Films Transit and Roco as best as I can.
And I am applying to those festivals, oh yes, I am applying those festivals. Thanks for the luck.

And good luck with all you are doing.

Best of the best,
naftali

In reply to James Longley's post on Tue 13 Jan 2009 :

Your welcome James. I enjoyed it.

I wanted to ask you, on some of your long shots it occasionally seems that you are shooting the footage with music in your head. It seems that the way some of your camera movements are made as you wind your way down passageways in Baghdad, Gaza or Najaf have a distinct rhythm and syncopation to them, separate and apart from the way you punctuate your edits.

I play percussion and I occasionally had this distinct impression while watching your work. Is this true? Do you ever have music or rhythm in mind as you shoot any of your "Steadicam" shots?

Thanks,

Matt Dubuque

Everything is hand-held in those films and the only music is the music of the spheres.

Cool. Filming to Pythagoras. I can relate!

Cheers,

Matt

Can I write off my camera, lights and sound equipment?

Hello-

I'm asking this question here because others may have it and I trust the answers from a tax law library or tax professionals that may be here far more than a Google search.

However, I find the CCH and RIA tax materials somewhat disorganized in their approach and layout, so I'm trying to avoid a trip to the law library.

Here goes:

I'm conviced I can make a profit on some of my films over the next five years and am willing to prove this to the IRS over time. This is the first year of my business and it is not a hobby.

As such, I am filling out a Schedule C and possibly a Form 4562 for tax treatment of my purchases of camera, lights and sound equipment.

I would like to expense these items rather than depreciating them. Can I do so?

Thanks. I just wish the Rutter Group (or even CEB) would make tax guides.

Matt Dubuque

Yes – I think you can do this – but most tax advisors will probably tell you that you should calculate whether that will be the most beneficial thing to do.

Super, thanks so much James. I managed to get hold of the IRS instructions for this form (Form 4562) and was finally able to confirm that this is possible; the wording is pretty dense, but after reading it many times to learn whether film gear is considered a "listed" asset or not, I was finally able to decipher it.

I have a string of documentaries in the queue and have set up both non-profit and profit entities for them. I feel comfortable that for this particular for-profit entity this is what I want to do....

Many thanks,

Hope all is well.

I'm sure you guys have already gone through this, but, I'm in need... Sorry!!! I'm currently working on my release forms for my documentary. The catch is it's a thesis project in order to gain my Masters degree. May you help me with sample release forms?

Thanks in advance.

Marcia, do a search for "release form" on this forum you'll find several examples. If you need one in Spanish, let me know and I can dig one up.

Hello to everyone in D-Word community,
I am a 35 year old living Brooklyn, NY who over the past 5-7 years has fallen in love with the documentary medium and is looking to make a career transition into this field. My original background has been in the fine arts industry of New York, but I now find it unfulfilling and less socially vital than important cultural visual media. I recently have been laid off due to the economy which I very much want to use as an opportunity to get involved in this industry. As you may know It's usually a bit difficult to get that first bit of experience in a new field when one has no previous experience in it. I'm setting my sights on getting a internship with any individual filmmakers or production companies to meet people and gain experience. I have been viewing craigslist regularly and applying there and it occurred to me that I could possibly post an "internship wanted" ad in the classified section of D-Word. I wanted to request any thoughts or input from anyone of the D-Words members regarding the likelyhood of attaining an internship at my age, or any thoughts or tips on going about getting involved with this amazing medium that has changed the way I see the world.

Thanks to all for your time and consideration,
Dell Martinez

welcome, Wendell. in your time off from work, you should see if you can learn the basics of editing in Final Cut Pro. the most useful interns often work as assistant editors – digitizing, organizing, and finding footage. this will give you a great introduction to what documentary filmmaking is all about (assuming the director you are working for is competent...) best of luck as you make your transition!

Hello everyone;
I may be hired to creatively consult / oversee a documentary by a financier. I've never held this role and wondered if anyone out there had experience with this. I'm putting together a proposal right now and would be grateful for suggestions, the more detailed the better. Should I suggest being compensated by the week or a percentage of the budget? Should I ask for back end profit participation? As you can probably tell, since this isn't my own film, I'd like to make it work for me in a "work for hire" fashion, that is, I'd like to get paid as well as possible. What credit should I ask for? What "looks better on a resume," to put it crassly? Producer? Co-director? I'd also like to make sure I respect the director's vision and be helpful without stepping on toes. Has anyone been in this type of relationship before and what are some pitfalls I should look out for? Thanks in advance for your time –
Amir

Hi all,

I will soon be recording a choir for soundtrack use – so sound only. What releases should i get from the choir members? Can i get all of them to sign one form? If the piece of music is out of copyright then i just have to get permission to use their performance right? This is small choir at a local cathedral singing sacred music for mass.

cheers,
Evan

Hi does anyone know how much typically an expert is paid to in order for them to agree to be interviewed for your documentary? What is the typical payment for someone who is an expert on their field (but who is not famous *famous meaning written a book or something like this)

typically, you don't have to pay experts a dime... if they are really interested in their field, and in getting their views out there, many of them are actually appreciative of the opportunity to do so on film.

of course, you don't want to waste their time either. your only "payment" to them needs to be an organized production, perhaps a meal or two depending on the length of the shoot, asking good questions, and of course, finishing your film. at the end, they should also receive a complimentary DVD and perhaps an invitation to a local film festival where your work is playing.

don't offer any cash if you can at all help it. if they ask for it, just plead poverty and inform them about the "low-budget" nature of documentary. if they insist on payment, you can just find another expert, or find some other non-monetary compensation that will satisfy them.

Hi Mr Wong thank you for your advice! :)

Not sure if this is the right place to post but I need to put closed captioning on the doc before a company will pick it up for distribution. Where do i find out how to do this?

our search engine.

New to D-word and will introduce myself properly soon. For now, I'm in desperate need of a filming studio in Brooklyn, NY for this weekend. Doesn't need to be a big space but quiet with some backgrounds etc. for sure and under $1000. Any suggestions?

Hello Everybody,

Looking for some recommendations of high quality documentary websites.
I am putting together a website for a documentary and I'm looking for ideas. Anyone got a favorite site they want to plug?

Many thanks.

i'm not sure this is the right place to post, so please redirect me if the post is errant:

i'm using FCP 5.0 on a MacBook Pro. i just recently upgraded to OS 10.5 and FCP (which is the same version as before) is acting a little weird. when i digitize, it gives me this new window called "Analyzing DV Audio" and inside it reads "Validating Audio Data." it takes anywhere from 1-10 minutes depending on the clip. it appears once capture is complete. if i press cancel, the clip evaporates as if i never captured it. if i let it do its thing, when i play a clip captured with in and out points ("batch capture") i lose sync (sound trails about a second behind image). but when i capture on the fly ("capture now") the clips are in sync.

HELP!

This post is answered in our Member's Only Topic on Final Cut Pro

I need one in Spanish...can you help me?
Thanks

Florencia

In reply to Ethan Steinman's post on Thu 22 Jan 2009 :

Any advive on how to promote my first doc.? I do not have a big budget (read "any") and am trying to get the most buzz for my time spent. Thanks