Description
Documentary films have enjoyed a huge resurgence over the last few years, and there’s a new generation of filmmakers wanting to get involved. In addition, the digital revolution has made documentaries even more accessible to the general filmmaker. Documentary films can now be shot professionally using cheaper equipment, and smaller cameras enable the documentarian to be less intrusive and therefore more intimate in the subjects’ lives. With an increasing number of documentaries making it to the big screen (and enjoying ongoing sales on DVD), the time is right for an information-packed handbook that will guide new filmmakers towards potential artistic and commercial success.
The Documentary Film Makers Handbook features incisive and helpful interviews with dozens of industry professionals, on subjects as diverse as interview techniques, the NBC News Archive, music rights, setting up your own company, the Film Arts Foundation, pitching your proposal, the Sundance Documentary Fund, the Documentary Channel, the British Film Council, camera hire, filmmaking ethics, working with kids, editing your documentary, and DVD distribution.
The book also includes in-depth case studies of some of the most successful and acclaimed documentary films of recent years, including Mad Hot Ballroom, Born Into Brothels, Touching the Void, Beneath the Veil,and Amandla!
The Documentary Film Makers Handbook will be an essential resource for anyone who wants to know more about breaking into this exciting field.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE: TRAINING
American University - Pat Aufderhiede
UC Berkeley - Jon Else
Documentary Center - Nina Seavey
Sundance Labs - Shannon Kelly
Docs Rock - Thelma Vickroy & Tony Saavedra
CHAPTER TWO: LEGAL
Setting Up a Company - Stephen Sheppard
Legalities - Michael Donaldson
Music Rights - Brooke Wentz
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
The Documentary Doctor - Fernanda Rossi
Finding Your Subject - Mark Harris
Ethics - Kees Bakker
Researcher - Rosemary Rotondi
Archival Footage - Nancy Cole
Proposals - Morrie Warshawski
Open Pitching - Michellea McLean
Pitching Funders - Carole Dean
CHAPTER FOUR: ORGANIZATIONS
IDA - Sandra Ruch
IFP-NY - Milton Tabbot
DocuClub - Susan Kaplan & Mary Kerr
Film/Video Arts - Paul Kontanis
Film Arts Foundation - Donald Harrison
AIVF - Priscilla Grim
Women Make Movies - Debbie Zimmerman
CHAPTER FIVE: WRITING
The Writer's Guild - John Koch
Writing Narration - Jordan Roberts
CHAPTER SIX: FUNDING
Paul Robeson Fund - Trinh Duong & Aleah Bacquie Vaughn
ITVS - Claire Aguilar
NY State Council on the Arts - Debby Silverfine
California Documentary Project - Susana Loza
NEH - Michael Shirley
NEA - Ted Libbey
CHAPTER SEVEN: BROADCASTERS
WGBH - Denise Diianni
HBO - Nancy Abraham
Discovery Networks - Abby Greensfelder
PBS - Coby Atlas
National Geographic Channel - Heather Moran
MTV - Lauren Lazin
Sundance Channel - Christian Vesper
CBC - Jerry McIntosh
The Documentary Channel - Michael Burns
CHAPTER EIGHT: PRODUCTION COMPANIES
National Geographic Feature Films - Adam Leipzig
POV - Cara Mertes
Independent Lens - Lois Vossen
Cactus 3 - Krysanne Katsoolis, Caroline Stevens & Julie Goldman
NFL Films - Steve Sabol
CHAPTER NINE: GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES
European Documentary Network - Anita Reher
Channel 4 - Simon Dickson
Channel 4 Documentary Film Foundation - Maxyne Franklin
Shooting People - Jess Search
BBC Storyville - Jo Lapping
ARTE - Thierry Garrel
TV-2 - Mette Hoffmann Meyer
Finnish Film Foundation - Miia Haavisto
Sithengi Africa - Michael Auret
The Middle East - John Sinno
Israel & Palestine - Phillippa Kowarsky
Thailand - Thunska Pansittivorakul
Mexico - Elena Fortes
South America - Amir Labaki
Australia - Trevor Graham
CHAPTER TEN: PRODUCTION AND POST
Producer - Agi Orsi
Insurance - Kent Hamilton
Docu-Drama Producer - Lisa Harney
DP - Joan Churchill
IMAX DP - Greg MacGillivray
Production Sound - Alan Barker
The Travel Doc Host - Ian Wright
The Lab - Russ Suniewyk
The Digital Lab - Larry Schmitt
The Editor - Paul Crowder
The Music Composer - Miriam Cutler
The Sound Mixer - Mark Rozett
CHAPTER ELEVEN: FILM FESTIVALS & MARKETS
Full Frame Film Festival - Nancy Buirski
IDFA - David Tiegler
Docs for Sale - Adriek Van Nieuwenhuyzen
Jan Vrijman Fund - Isabel Arrate\
IDFA Forum - Fleur Knopperts
Silverdocs - Patricia Finneman
Sundance - Caroline Libresco
The Producer's Rep - Josh Braun
The Publicist - David Magdael
Designing Your Website - Cindy Johansen
CHAPTER TWELVE: SALES & DISTRIBUTION
The Sales Agent - Jan Rofekamp
The Distributor - Eamonn Bowles
DVD Distribution - Ellen Capon
Education Distribution - Cynthia Close
Indie Theater - John Vanco
Museum Distribution - Bo Smith
Google Video - Jen Feiken
Outfoxed: DIY Distribution - Robert Greenwald
Alternative Distribution - Peter Broderick
Mediarights.org - Katy Chevigny
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: THE LONG VIEW
The Detective - Nick Broomfield
Listen Up! - Michael Apted
Queen of the Doc - Barbara Kopple
Seek Truth - St. Clair Bourne
Actual Reality - R.J. Cutler
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: CASE STUDIES
Mad Hot Ballroom
Rock School
Why We Fight
After Innocence
Romantico
Mardi Gras: Made in China
Control Room
Born Into Brothels
Genghis Blues
Shape of the Moon
The Education of Shelby Knox
The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till
Waves of Revolution to War and Peace
March of the Penguins
Trembling Before G-d
3 Rooms of Melancholia
La Sierra
My Date With Drew
The Liberace of Baghdad
A State of Mind
Cameroon to France
Dogtown & Z-Boys to Riding Giants
The Man Who Stole My Mother's Face
The Fall of Fujimori