Part Documentary Producer, part Shrink

I will be so bold to say that the most important aspect of Producing Documentary films is the ability to be a Shrink.

Yep, you heard me right if you want to be a successful Producer – go get your M.D. For real! I believe I have an honorary degree from the University of Trial and Error, and by God, I deserve it! My day to day job requires pushing, prodding, building up and breaking down other human beings.

Sure, I am also responsible for the money.  But money one can commandeer quite easily, no?  $4 + $6 = $10. Or if you want to be a bit trickier $8 - $12 = -$4. And there you go. Easy. You might not be happy with the results, especially if you find yourself with the second equation staring you in the face. But the problem and solution become quite straight forward.

Not true when looking at the other side of producing films – managing your team.

So you have just assembled the team and, on paper, everyone appears to be on the same page. You, your director, your investor, your editor… you name it. Your baby has blue eyes. Check. Your baby has dimples and freckles scattered around her cheeks. Groovy. You all know your baby must have curly hair, but your investor sees it straight…

The soundtrack screeches to a halt.

You are about to sign the paperwork to employ your $1.2M budget and you hit your first major crisis. Your head tells you that you can deal with straight hair, maybe you can give her a perm when she grows up, but your heart better tell you something else. Experience told me to run.

Our most recent doc hit that hurdle and as much as it hurt, we split forces. (Another blog for another day) Why? Simple…

The editing room is your sanctuary. You must do everything possible, from selecting your investor to knowing your director inside and out, to ensure your editing room is a working, breathing entity.  You do not want the person who feels like they made the whole thing possible breathing down your neck with their own agenda.

Come on, you have an enormous amount of footage and no dictated script to follow. Sure, you wrote a script when you went out to shoot, but I am sure things changed and the unexpected reared it head multiple times. This is what makes docs so great!

When we walked away from the table I found myself beat up and discouraged, but within a few short moments, I sighed in relief. I wouldn’t be navigating through post production hell. No amount of money is worth that experience.

So off we go, knocking on more doors… convincing more people… but most importantly – staying true to our vision with the confidence we will know when to strike the deal.

This week’s doc to see – Baraka.  Sit back, relax, and be prepared to be amazed!

The Mindset of a Documentary Producer!

So you are back here today because you are like me… nosey… interested in other people’s business and needing to know more about the world around you.

Welcome to the mindset of a Documentary Producer!

This inquisitive side lured me away from the fame and fortune of the narrative world and set me on a course of:

1. grant writing, to cobble together finances pennies to the Hollywood dollar…
2. credit card bills, cause those grants take FOREVER to get…
3. and years keeping the fire burning for this or that passion project that I have to make or else I am going to die!!!!!!

Ugh… so I there I am… resigned to the idea that I would die with a full Karma bank and an empty Piggy bank.

Until one day, almost ten years ago, I saw a film that changed my life and financial status forever… AMERICAN MOVIE. (If you have not seen this film, run, don’t walk to the nearest video store and pick it up!)

You see, American Movie has something that no other documentary film really had at that point – theatrical potential to make a lot of money. Pay attention and I’ll tell you why.

How to get a Documentary Film on the Big Screen 101

Lesson One: The Statement

For a documentary to play to a theatrical audience, and make money, the film MUST have a three act structure. This should be simple to see, but is too often disregarded…

You see, we, as movie-goers, have been trained by multiple, repetitive experiences to expect a three act structure when in the Movie Theater. And that is what keeps bringing us back for more; the experience of riding along with our hero, uninterrupted and larger than life.

American Movie is set up exactly for this. Don’t believe me… check out the numbers.
In 1999 it opened in two theaters. It played over the next twenty-five weeks in no more than twenty-six theaters and made a decent $1.2M in US BO alone! In a climate more similar to the one we find ourselves in today, I bet it would have taken a lot more. It is the reality version of, say, Napoleon Dynamite. Nobody could write this sh*t though!

Let’s also take a look at some of the top grossing docs today. It is undeniable that the three act structure is there. March of the Penguins, for instance. It grossed over $129M worldwide. And don’t forget Winged Migration with its limited narration. The structure is still there, and so is the BO with a healthy $32M gross worldwide. And we are talking about migrating birds Ladies and Gentlemen!

There is a very specific reason Ken Burn’s Emmy winning documentary series Baseball never made it to the big screen. You tell me…

Until next week.

This weeks Must See Doc is obvious… American Movie.

Documentary: The Objective Facts.

doc•u•men•ta•ry [dok-yuh-men-tuh-ree, -tree] - adjective 1. Consisting of, concerning or based on documents. 2. Presenting facts objectively without editorializing or inserting fictional matter, as in a book or film.

I got into the film industry after failing out of three majors at the Penn State University and was forced to make a decision that would impact the rest of my life….

When I arrived at Penn State, three thousand miles away from the safety net of my parents, I discovered late night parties, drunken escapades, free love and synchronized swimming. Within the first month of school I came down with Mono – the kissing disease – which I fondly recognize as the beginning of the end of what would have been my noble attempt at a “professional” career.

With two weeks left in the third semester, before I had to decide my career, I was given a little gift in the way of a dream. In this dream, my boyfriend and I were diagnosed HIV positive and I found myself standing in front of my mother at my funeral.

“What am I going to do without you,” she sobbed as her bulbous red nose dripped in time with the melancholy dirge.

As you get to know me, you will learn of my Hallmark disease, or in laymen’s term, my ability to cry at the drop of a hat. But not today. Today, there would be no tears.

“Mom, I am going to make a movie, and whenever you get sad or lonely, you can put it in the VCR (this dates me) and I will be there with you.”

So with that, I went knocking on the door of fate and here I am, ten years later, doing what I love best - producing and directing documentary films for the big screen.

My blogging journey will take you through the ups and downs of what it really takes to get a documentary seen by people and, for me more importantly, seen on the big screen.

My most recent documentary, As Seen Through These Eyes, is just starting its 2009 Oscar push and will be airing on The Sundance Channel in late fall. Our goal and journey is to get this Holocaust/Art piece in front of a theater audience.

With four other documentaries, ranging in budget from $1 – 1.5M you will see first hand what it takes to keep documentary filmmakers and their films on the emerging independent documentary film scene.

Sit back, relax and enjoy the ride…

This weeks RecDoc: Grey Gardens - by Albert & David Maysles. Not only a classic, but my favorite.