The Documentary is ON!

So cool. There is a competition in the documentary world. I couldn’t ask for more. The quick scoop is as follows:

300 filmmakers

5 days

2 genres to pick from

1 theme

Recently I have found myself in a bit of a creative rut. With two kids, a big move and a whole bunch of various illnesses, I have found little time for myself. Then one day, this email popped into my box.  DOC CHALLENGE - Filmmakers Wanted.

The competition starts this Thursday at 8am, when I will log onto my Team Janes site and am given two genres out of the following nine:

1ST PERSON
Told from the point of view of the Director - either through off camera narration or an on-camera presence.

HISTORICAL
Focuses on stories of past events and/or people.

MUSIC
Focuses in some way on music and/or musicians.

SOCIAL ISSUE/POLITICAL
Focuses on a social and/or political issue.

EXPERIMENTAL
The application of innovative techniques to non-fiction material - experimenting with new ideas, forms, techniques and expressions. An exploration of how the camera can emulate and/or enhance visual and audio perception.

SPORTS
Focuses on events and/or people involved in sporting activities (an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition.)

NATURE
Focuses on an aspect of the natural physical world, including animals, plants, landscapes, etc.

BIOGRAPHY/CHARACTER STUDY
A full account of the facts of the life of a particular person, or closely related group of people (Biography) or an exploration of a single character’s personality and current life situation (Character Study).

ART
Focuses in some way on art and/or artists.

Now, I have started to prepare the best I can by finding subjects in each of the genres and putting them on call. What I have discovered is that I actually have nine really strong short docs. (The final film must be under seven minutes.) So I say bring it ON!

I will be posting as often as possible over the next few days as I get up to my eyeballs in my documentary.

 

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.