So I did it. You know the saying, it takes a village? Well, I am happy to say it does and it did. I have worked this little gem of a film into a tight 38 minute piece that really sings. And boy was it hard.

I have to say there are some really good scenes that are sitting on my cutting room floor. Oh, if you could only see the grave yard scene. It rocks! But… at last, it won’t be there. Or the 3rd and 4th birth! So good and so much drama. They too hit the cutting room floor.

My friend was right, it is all about what moves the film. How do you keep the emotional drama moving?

I had the distinct honor of showing the 42 minute version of the film to Michael S. Murphy who rocked my world. Yeah, go ahead, check out his credits and then come back to me. He looked at me at the end of the show, giggled and said, “You have no problem knocking out two minutes.”

I quivered and I quaked. This cut was becoming utterly precious to me. EVERY shot was important and said something - whether anyone noticed or cared - but I did.

He went on to remind me that VO from a talking head can slide easily under my establishing shots. And we don’t really need to see Kaziah walk from here to there. It is OK to move some time.

Being an “artist” I found throughout the cutting process it difficult to cut up shots too much as I didn’t want to over manipulate the audience so many of my shots ran - what some might call - long. (I would call European.) I was able to see his point in many of his notes. A few, I reserved my right to my decision and didn’t speed up the shot 300%. That felt just a little too, I don’t know, MTV.

All in all, I heard the film. It really did speak to me and said… BACK OFF. It is time to fly.

I should be hearing from Sundance any day now…

How do you know when you should quit editing? I wish you could tell me. I know I am close but…

Ever feel this way. I know I have. And well in fact feel it right now. I am in the process of finishing a short documentary on Kaziah - the prolific artist who has painted over 500 fallen soldiers.

My first cut came in at 52 minutes. Not bad but Sundance has a cut off of 50 minutes if I wanted to submit it as a short film. And I think I do as it is really a short feature, it doesn’t have enough time to play in a theater and quite frankly, the story doesn’t lend itself to much more. In other words, I would be forcing the story if I tried to make it a 70 minute film.

So, I found myself in this really interesting position. I knew I could shave off 2 minutes to make it, but wanted to invite group of trusted individuals to view it. You know, make sure it was working. Well after the screening, I received such great notes and wonderful feedback, I began to believe I had an uncut diamond in my hands. On person even said, “you know this could really have a chance for a short Oscar.”

Well, it doesn’t take much for me to take on a challenge - or to stroke my ego. So that meant I had to cut it to under 40 minutes to make that qualification! That is a whopping 12 minutes.

I find myself sitting in front of the computer saying… is it worth it? Can I do it? Where do I begin.

Well a great editor and good friend suggested that I sit down and watch every single scene and ask myself what it adds to the film. He suggested that I then write down everything. Read it and see what the film says.  GREAT ADVICE!!!! So I am off to do it and hope that the 40 minute version will emerge.

Fingers crossed.

CHECK OUT OUR SITE!

http://kaziahthedocumentary.moonfruit.com/#

So the most important thing to consider when trying to get a film distributed is what rights do you have. I don’t mean are you more privileged than the next person, I mean what did you have to give away to get your picture finished?

In the case of “As Seen Through these Eyes” we had to give away our TV rights for seven years. At the time it was all we could do to get “another Holocaust film” finished. To our credit however, we did broker one of the biggest deals Sundance has made in terms of finishing funds. So cool, that means TV is gone and we have the rest of the world.

Well, spliting rights becomes a pretty tough deal. I can say that at one point we had rights split even further than that. We had someone picking up theatrical, someone picking up video and then TV with Sundance. That seemed like a dream and a complete mess at the same time. Now most of you probably know that without the TV rights you aren’t that bad off as far as the securing a theatrical release goes. (Because we all know that that is the prize.) But having the video in the hands of a third party made the hunt for a theatrical distributor very, very tough.

Well, look at it this way. A theatrical release is a very expensive ordeal. A company will loose money on this if they try to get any recognition. I would say a small indie opening up in a few theaters needs to spend between 20 & 40k. Then they have to make that back. Most companies would use worst case scenerio and say they won’t make that in the theaters, or if they do, they won’t make a ton of profit. So then they will get it back on the dvd. So if they don’t have both, what is the point?

Right? You need your rights. So the goal is to get your film made with all rights in place and sell them together. Your film become much more valuable.

BUT let me tell you, a small indie can find its way. “As Seen” will be officially having its NYC debut on December 12. We are now negotiating what the rest of our rights are worth with our theatrical distributor. Our dvd fell apart, so they are back on the table. Now our distributor may not see that he is just doing us a favor, but may see green in the future.

Please vote on TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4th.

Did you know that the nation’s debt is $9.6 trillion and rising? The nation’s debt now accounts for 66% of the gross national product! Does this make you as sick as it does me?  If so, keep reading…

Director Patrick Creadon (Wordplay) has done it again. He has crafted a documentary film that is getting a ton of attention, and a theatrical play.  I.O.U.S.A (great title) opens August 22 around the country and hopes to draw a crowd that will be willing and ready to swallow the horrors that this film shines a light on… The US of A is in serious financial trouble.

I am cheering for this one to go all the way up the box office charts, not only for the good of America, but for the good of the documentary genre. You have my opening weekend dollars.

My concern, however, lies in the “misery theater” aspect of the information I.O.U.S.A is sharing.  How many people are going to drag themselves out to the theater to see just how bad the state of affairs is due to our hero, George W. Bush and others like him? Will this film be just one more film that distributors can call on as a theatrical failure?   Now I have not seen the film, therefore I am not knocking it, just a bit concerned.

“I.O.U.S.A. is the kind of film that is so timely, so immediate in its concerns, that it should air on network television tonight, rather than go through a lengthy festival and theatrical run.”

— AJ Schnack | All These Wonderful Things

I have to agree, based solely on the topic, this is a documentary made for television. We are wanting eyeballs here, as many as we can get. People just aren’t running to the theaters anymore to see topics that depress without a huge hook - like Michael Moore.

YES! This film must be seen, by everyone with a head on their shoulders. People need to know what is going on in the real world around them.  Playing Wii Tennis does not mean you are playing tennis!!! Get out of the house. In this case, drag yourself to the theater and support our local filmmaking heroes. I.O.U.S.A. needs your support and so does our economy.

So for your country - do it! Take yourself to the theater, buy yourself a ticket and listen. Spread the word. Our country needs you! So does the state of affairs of the documentary theatrical market. YIKES!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBo2xQIWHiM

Opinions are like a–holes, everyone has one. So yes, yes and yes.  I do believe that every filmmaker comes to the table with an opinion on the subject they are examining.  This is especially true if the filmmaker is putting themselves in the film.

Take Supersize Me or Sherman’s March. Both of these films had something to say about the world around them at a specific time. But as Tamie points out in the comments from last week, all documentary filmmakers approach their subject with an opinion.

Therefore, the question then becomes, what sort of objectivity are these filmmakers bringing to the table? Are they being true to their subject and the world around them or are they crafting the story to fit their needs?

Enter Frederick Wiseman. This legend made 36 films in 38 years. In 2006, Mr. Wiseman received the George Polk Career Award given annually by Long Island University to honor contributions to journalistic integrity and investigative reporting.

Many, including Wikipedia, would say that this great documentary filmmaker shoots in a style referred to as cinema verité, or as some like to call it the “observational mode”.  However, Wiseman begs to differ…

What I try to do is edit the films so that they will have a dramatic structure, that is why I object to some extent to the term observational cinema or cinema verité, because observational cinema to me at least connotes just hanging around with one thing being as valuable as another and that is not true. At least that is not true for me and cinema verité is just a pompous French term that has absolutely no meaning as far as I’m concerned.

At least he is honest. In 1968, Wiseman shot a little doc called High School for PBS. This film follows the “typical” day of students and faculty at Northeast High School in Philadelphia. Well, not so typical my Aunt Philomena would say. Why does she have the authority to challenge? She is the teacher in the film caught scolding the young lady for wearing a skirt that was too short.

One family party, I was privy to the inside scoop on the making of that film and let me tell you, her veins were a popping as she filled me in. Turns out that Wiseman went to the school and graciously pitched his story to them. This was to be a film about the schools in America and he felt Northeast High School was a great place to show typical behavior. The staff bit.

Upon completion of the film, they knew they had been had and they were furious.

(Remember, Wiseman had just come off the film Titicut Follies which found itself banned in all states bar Massachusetts. It was declared as “80 minutes of brutal sordidness and human degradation.”)

Now he had teachers and administrators buzzing around him like a swarm of angry bees. Their major complaint came was how the film was edited, causing them to look like barbarians reigning over their students like raw meat.

A great example is the scene where the principal is walking down the hallway. He stops to ponder and gazes through the gymnasium door to see the students engaged in sport. At this point there is a very suggestive cut that implies the thoughts and feelings of this administrator. (Won’t spoil… must see it.)

Wiseman has just done what he set out to do… build drama through editing to get his point across- however- with no regard to the truth, BUT to be taken by the viewer as truth to prove his point. This is really the gray area of documentary filmmaking in my mind.

You see, Wiseman never entered Northeast High School to paint a pretty picture. No. He had a very definite opinion of what the school systems were all about. He had set out to show how poor these schools were run. Another institution in his mind that was failing the people.

Journalistic integrity and investigative reporting? I wonder…

Check out the film and let me know what you think.

MUST READ THIS WEEK****  The Editor *** he really knows his stuff!

This week was a wild ride that started at 4:30am on Monday. I was on my way to Utah to do the much needed pickups for the documentary on Kaziah and I had less than 48 hours to do it…

My morning started off in line at McDonalds desperate to try their new Iced Coffee everyone has been raving about. Yes, this might seem like an easy/simple thing to be so excited about but remember, I still have a little one expecting wholesome milk from my breast.  He/we prefer the decaffinated version  :0).  Today and tomorrow I will be pumping and dumping.

So there I am slugging down my coffee, coming to terms with the fact that this beverage is no better than one would expect coffee to be coming from McDonalds. Enough sugar to supersize me. I digress…

On the plane I go over my notes. Having been sorting through over 15 hours of tape I realized there were some big story holes in the doc. This is my last chance to get everything I need to not only make a great film, but also hit the much covited Sundance deadline. How am I going to incorportate myself into the media gracefully? How can I get Kaziah to talk about her painful past which she wouldn’t do on our first trip?  If she looks different, how will I make that work? High on caffine, questions are buzzing through my mind.

One thing comforts me, the idea that this is a very blessed project. Kaziah May Hancock has painted over 500 hundred fallen soldiers as gifts for the families. She is a true Christian and has enough grit and grizzle to feed the entire US military. I will get what I needed if I trust myself, keep my ears open and press -gently of course - but the full court press is indeed the move to make.

So the PICKUP begins…

I arrive in Utah to be met by producing partner Kathleen. “Kathleen Dolan, please pick up a white courtesy phone” comes over the airport loud speaker. Trouble?! Already?!! Can’t be. Please, no.

I get out of the terminal to find that our ride, Kaziah, is lost in the Salt Lake Airport.  Small town girl lost in the chaos of the big city. She is at the other terminal and having trouble finding ours. We come to learn that until this year, a sixty year old Kaziah had only been to the airport two times.  After a few minutes she found us. Kaziah was frizzle fried but super happy to see us. Our journey began.

Her life has changed drastically since 9/11. She found the need to adopt a nation and started sharing her gift of painting with those in desperate need. In the past year she has been on a plane over six times to receive awards for her work as an artist. (This is an example of her work.) At least 10 news crews from all over the country have been to her farm to document her as an artist. In fact, one news station won the nation Emmy on her piece! The world wants to thank Kaziah and know more about her. So do I…

“So Kaziah,” I start on the two and a half hour drive back to her goat farm, “we are going to have to ask you some really tough questions this time to make our story work. We need people to know you and love you as much as we do. The good and the bad.”

A recent aquantance of hers had brought some suspision into her head. Kaziah realized that this all was going to go on her permanant record. And not all of her life was made up of roses.

This is the main catch with documentary subjects - gaining trust and remaining trustworthy. I found myself at a point where I had to prove myself again. I couldn’t risk having a closed subject. I don’t have the time or money.
Kathleen brough Kaziah into my life quite a few years back, in fact, before the war. We have been working together to get a narrative film mounted on Kaziah’s life. Proving difficult and being doers, we started working on our documentary one year ago. Up until this point she has been very trusting and lovely, and we wanted to keep it that way.

So since I knew I had a rough road ahead of me, I decided to do something I rarely if ever do, show my subject some footage. Now this time I felt great doing it because the footage is good, if I do say so myself. There is one take where Kaziah speaks about what it is like to paint so many fallen soldiers. Her passion and soul are bare naked on the screen left open for the world to judge and the gavel can only fall on the side of pure beauty and kindness.

Needless to say, she was blown away by herself and the delicate nature of the camera work. “Hell”, she said, “at least it is honest. Fat ass and all. At least it is honest”.  A filmmaker couldn’t ask for a nicer comment and a subject couldn’t feel any better than that.

I got her back in my court and the clock continued to tick.

 Come back next week for more…

 But in the meantime, check out STEVIE by Steve James and let me know what you think. One must look at (and question) the relationship of filmmaker and subject in this film.

Over the weekend, California artists and execs met with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger about the problem of runaway production.  Schwarzenegger pledged to push for statewide tax breaks.

If you live or work in California, do your bit by thanking the Governor for his support. And spurring him on. gov.ca.gov/interact

Thank you for your time!

As I was surfing the web, looking for some good sites to waste some time on, I ran across a real gem for us documentary filmmakers! DocumentaryFilms.net is a must see for anyone interested in making a doc. Why? You ask… Information! I say.

A central hub where filmmakers can publicize their latest doc or catch up on some reviews of newer films they may have missed at the festivals. I LOVE IT! For instance, and this is a shameless plug, I know, I was able to log on with minimal information necessary and place As Seen Through These Eyes in the film directory. Immediately it was listed. HOT!

Now what it is missing is more information. For instance, in the forum few people actually post responses - which is a real shame. There is a great question brought up by “Wander” on profit and sales figures for docs. Nobody got back to him with an answer, and granted they are hard to come by, but Wander did some research and answered himself… a few times… with some great information. Hats off.

With another disturbing article in the LA Times yesterday (Thursday, June 19) on the state of affairs in the doc world, it is important that we share as much information as we can to keep the genre healthy and seen. So I challenge everyone to go to this site an publish at least one thing they feel would be important to the doc world. Look, this is the first entry in Google when you type documentary. A great place to place information… Let’s do it!

Anyway, back to old editing system to finish my next doc that will be another up hill battle to gain viewers. Forward march…

Doc to see this week… WHEN WE WERE KINGS. Great story of how this little gem was made. Rent the movie and you will get the story in the extras.

Support your local documentary!

PS. This is an unsolicited review… I got all I needed from their site for free! Including posting FIB on their Online Resource. Post what you know.

Unbelievable. Desperate. Nothing to be excited about. Just plain bad… In fact, the only hope left are the measly stimulation checks arriving in post boxes around the country.

(Thank you, George W. Bush. Now I may have just enough money to start that documentary on our nation’s state of affairs after your glorious eight years.)

Bitter? I think so.

As a producer, it is my job to be keeping up to date information on the state of affairs in my genre, and let me tell you, things aren’t looking so hot. From the studios to the funders, from the distributors to the theaters. Everybody has something bad to say. Films that are winning prestigious awards around the world are now not able to pick up a theatrical distributor.

Why? Your guess is as good as mine. But by looking specifically at the numbers, the docs just aren’t adding up at the theaters. This is a 180 from where we were 18 months ago when I could walk into a production company and hear the executive get excited about the possibility of funding a documentary.

From the outside, they look great… smaller budget - greater reward. So off all these companies went funding docs and buying docs and distributing docs. Could the problem be as simple as supply and demand. Or just that nobody took the time to figure out what would actually work in the theaters.

Either way, I am currently paying the price. The doc world may have taken one step forward and now two steps back. The funders and financiers and distributors are scared. They aren’t willing to put up any money unless you have a big name in it… sound familiar.

Bitter… yes. But hopeful - that is what makes me a documentary filmmaker… The salt and the pepper.

After taking some time off to deliver my second child… I am back! Full of piss and vinegar - or at least that is what I smell like a good deal of the time caring for a little boy and learning how to deal with the new parts… if you know what I mean.

I would like to also give a SHOUT OUT to my friend Meredith Berg who just got selected to join this summer’s AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women! Yeah Meredith. Here is a perfect place to see your stimulation check hard at work. She is currently looking for donations towards her film and the future of woman directors…
voidmovie.googlepages.com - you can go to this link to donate.

Finally, this weeks Must See Doc is War Dance. You think your life is tough???

God bless our children.

Amy Janes started her career as a documentary editor and producer at a small production company in Boulder, CO. After attending UCLA’s graduate Producing Program,  she was hired to run the feature film department Parkchester Pictures, a Paramount based production company.

Her most recent film is the documentary AS SEEN THROUGH THESE EYES, a feature documentary about the surviving art and artists of the Holocaust. It has gone on to win over eight awards around the globe, including Best Foreign Film at the Thessaloniki International Documentary Film Festival.

Made in association with The Sundance Channel and voiced by Maya Angelou, the film will be released theatrically this Fall.