The Mentoring Room - Ask the Working Pros

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

well, you can start with a google search

Well, thanks, I guess? I have been there. I am looking for more inside info that other people have found to work for them.

two things that might help you:

1) whether or not you are finished with your first doc, a good trailer helps to get people's interest going. best advice on this forum has been to keep your trailer to no more than 2 minutes long. if you don't quite have the skills to form a tight trailer, then it also helps to put together a DVD of 2-3 of your best scenes. these scenes should fall into the 1-2 minute range.

2) once you have your trailer/clips ready, start marketing them to your target audience. if you are profiling gamers, then start posting about your project at the various online gaming communities. once those communities get excited about what you are doing, they'll spread the word amongst themselves. think about secondary audiences as well. maybe it's not just gamers who want to see your doc; it's possible that a lot of parents would really connect to the characters in your film – parents who are concerned about their own children getting "addicted" to the world of gaming.

just a few suggestions to get you going.

Thanks for those tips. I have been doing that for a while. I never thought of the parent angel, though. I will have to work on that one next. If any one else has an insight please let me know. Here is one of our current trailers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avunegDHcD8 Just to show you what we are working with.

In reply to Diane Johnson's post on Sun 25 Jan 2009 :

I Agree with Christopher! Don't pay for something you can get for free. We find that telling most experts who participate in our doc efforts that a full credit (Name, Title, Business/School etc...) will appear as both a lower third graphic and in our doc's end credits burned onto the DVD goes a long way with most who have the right intentions, too!

Good luck!

Working on my first budget – are grants and foundations more likely to give money to rent camera and sound equipment – or is it acceptable to list the retail price of a camera (around $5k)... and would i get to keep it?

basically, are grants generally against or ok with helping filmmakers buy reasonably priced equipment?

I just applied for my first grant as a first time filmmaker just to meet the deadline. I hadn't found any production people to work with me at the time and still need to know how to find a good camera, or a good video person who knows sound. I'm signed up for a digital video class and a Final Pro Class at UC Irvine, but it's not until June.
All advice very much appreciated!!

Matthew, many grant-makers do not support the purchase of equipment since they are supporting a single project rather than a production entity which would be likely to make use of the equipment beyond that single project. However, many funders understand that independent filmmakers with their own equipment may include the rental cost of equipment in their budget (essentially renting from themselves) and that this generally ends up being more cost-effective than renting the equipment from a third party rental house.

Lynn, had you thought of asking the instructor of the digital video class you'll be taking at UC Irvine? He/She may be interested or have some leads on professionals in your area. You may also want to do a search on the People page here in D-Word and see who is in the area (or maybe extend the search to include LA) and contact a few folks who look like they have the skills you want. They may not be able to do it for free, but might be convinced to work for a fair price if they are taken by the topic of your film.

Matthew – You should just buy the equipment, rent it to the project and amortize it that way. Some funders – ITVS for example – will allow you to buy equipment or expendables (and nowadays that includes hard drives) up to $1,000. You have to get approval for equipment expense over $1k. And that usually comes with the caveat – if they approve it – that the equipment belongs to them. If i were you, I'd just buy it and rent back.

Erica--thank you! I'll check out the People page right now....

Thank you Erica and Ramona for the advice, I'll put it to use! Appreciate it!

Hello everybody. I am into journalism.
Well I have just started out in the field of film making.Can you please tell me how do i go about it.In India there are few media houses which make documentaries. Are there specific opportunities anywhere or independent film making is the only way out.
Regards

Welcome, Sudeshna. There aren't many media companies that make documentaries anywhere, even the U.S. So, especially given how inexpensive hi-def camcorders are, not to mention editing software like Final Cut Pro, a lot of people start out just by leaping in and making a film. A short documentary may be the way to go, you'll learn a lot and hopefully not lose too much money. Then you can take it from there. Best of luck, whichever path you ultimately choose.

Hi all,
Does anyone know of classes on doc research in the US? There is a Researcher's Masterclass in London at DFG docs, but I'd love to find something closer to home.
Thanks.
Susanne

In reply to Diane Johnson's post on Sun 25 Jan 2009 :

I agree with Christopher to an expert usually doesn't get a honorarium, unless they insist. If they do and you are on a tight budget, you could specify a certain amount in the interview release form that will be given to him/her after the film has found a commercial release.

In reply to Sudeshna Chowdhury's post on Fri 20 Feb 2009 :

My advice is to think small. Write stories or produce 3-5 minute videos on topics that interest you for a website (could be an on-line newspaper). The experience will teach you 1) if it's something you really like doing 2) how to work efficiently and 3) get the attention of people who might want to hire you.

These days there are no shortage of people who will post your material.

Hi to all of you this is my first time to join D world.

I need some of your guidance about editing with Adobe Preme.
I am very new to make documentary and this is my first time.

i have already shoot video with different, different video camera using mini video tape. almost i have got 40 hours of video.
now i want to edit with using adobe preme. Can some one say, which format i should start editing and save file also. I am new to preme also.
Thanks

Welcome, Wang. Only very few people in the professional documentary world use Adobe Premiere to edit. So you might find better advice in the Creative Cow Forum on Premiere or in Adobe's own Premiere forums – sorry we can't be more helpful...

It's hard to tell from your description if you shot on different video formats or if you used different cameras that all recorded on miniDV tape. If you shot everything on miniDV tape, you can use that format to edit everything in Premiere. Simply select the PAL or NTSC option in Premiere.

Ben – before you speak for all, please ask. I have used Premiere, Edius, Avid, FCP, Speed Razor, Edit and too many other programs to edit docs.

There's always the good old bad old way...

Thanks Robert Goodman for your answer.

Really i do not know that in which format they shoot video because that time and even now i am very new to camera and shoot by so many different people and now i want to edit it. But i know all are in Mini Dv tape. But we shoot with good camera and now i have only tapes, i do not have those camera anymore with me. I have one question that when i edit and capture video then need to get first another camera to play tape and then can capture. I have my simple camera SONY DCR-HC26 so if i put that tape in SONY DCR-HC26 and then play and capture video then do you think that i will loose the quality of video because before camera was good and now this camera SONY DCR-HC26 is very simple. Please do not mind i am very new for this so asking this type of question.
Thanks

There is absolutely no difference in quality when you are just using the camera as a player.

Do check out the dedicated Adobe Premiere forum recommended above.

wang fu,
if all of your tapes on on MiniDV, then you can use any MiniDV camera to capture the video. you will not lose any quality in the capture. the only thing you might need to pay attention to is whether those tapes were shot in NTSC or PAL, and also what framerates the footage was acquired at (29.97, 24p, etc.). good luck.

Thanks for your answer John Burgan and now i am not worry ,
really i was little worry before that if i use simple camera SONY DCR-HC26 to transfer then i may loose the video quality.
I will check out the Adobe Premiere forum nicely.
Thanks

Thanks Christopher Wong.
I am not sure video was shoot in NTSC or PAL but i am sure it was in 24p.
But i want to edit with NTSC format.

I am sorry Christopher Wong i type wrong . Actually video was not shoot in 24p

to Wang Fu,
when you are successful getting your footage in the system, you should be able determine (in info about the clips) whether it was PAL (25 fps) or NTSC (30 fps).
If you want to edit (and deliver the final piece) in NTSC, then you will need to transfer any PAL footage into NTSC, something that any dubbing house can do there in your city.
Altnernatively, you can make that transfer using software like Nattress Standards Conversion:
http://www.nattress.com/Products/standardsconversion/standardsconversion.htm
to make all your PAL footage into NTSC.

if your Sony Camera can playback the footage, you should be able to use that camera to capture the footage into your system with NO loss in quality.

Thanks
Riley Morton

hey guys, so im getting starting on a documentary and I'ts on social workers and therapy. Any ideas on this? or any films i can get ideas from?

Dustan:
The more details you offer the better the feedback we can give. This one is pretty broad. I will tell you, however, to not rely on the camera mic built into your camera and instead buy or rent wireless lavs and a good boom or shotgun mic.

yeah true say, kk so heres the pitch. Imagine elementary schools with children that behave badly. Now when these principles at these schools feel that there is nothing left to do, there is this company called bartimaeus to help. This company is a group of social workers that take up a class time and work with kids and teach them moral values and how to communicate with people. (basically this program teaches them how to be leaders, motivation, being independent... you get the idea) Now this company has hired me to shoot a 4-5 min doc describing what they do so that they can hand it out to schools.

I am trying to figure out what exact style this doc deserves to be. Any ideas?

I think it should be a combination of live action and animation with a Pink Floyd soundtrack.

Yo.

I wish to import some video into my final cut project. Should i download the material as HiRes MPEG4 or MPEG2? Does FCP import both of these file types? I'd assume the hi res MPEG4 but the MPEG2 is much bigger in size. Confused. I could keep googling it but eventually decided to google d-word so here i am.

In reply to dustan lewis mcbain's post on Fri 27 Feb 2009 :

Without knowing more about your level of experience, the easiest thing would be to do something something to a news report, similar to what you would see on your local tv. Watch some of those segments and you will see the elements you need to get, and the order in which to edit them together.

Yours would be about twice the length, but it would be a great place to start.

In reply to Evan Thomas's post on Fri 27 Feb 2009 :

Evan – MPEG2 and MPEG4 are highly compressed video formats not well-suited to editing. Not sure what you mean when you say "downloading" – do you mean from the Internet?

please suggest me ..
i want to record voice separately as narration which i will use for my documentary. which is the good instruments to use to record voice without using camera, means i want just record voice not the video.
Thanks