In order to shake up my life a bit, I'm saying yes to life in the new year. I know it's not a new thing. Books have been written about this phenomenon, self-help "thing". While I'm not a big "self-helper", I am slowly realizing that I need to do something simple and positive to create some new and enriching opportunities in my life; I need a change and I need it now! Saying yes to whatever opportunities arise seems like it will be the perfect thing.
For those of you who don't understand what saying yes to life is (I tend to coin my own phrases a lot and then can't figure out why people don't understand what I am talking about, that and I guess I talk fast. But I digress...), saying yes to life means I will say yes to pretty much every opportunity, socially, workwise, family, anything. In short, this is your chance to ask me to do whatever wild thing your brains can cook up (for me that would be going out of my house and staying up past 10 pm on a week night; I told you I need some major change in my life. I'm a dud right now.)
So yes, I'm doing this to get myself out of a little bit of a funk I have been in for the past year. Working on a project motivates me and like I mentioned in my previous blog posts, my big, epic project ended in 2013. After that, I'm not going to lie, I was pretty discombobulated with my identity as a filmmaker and a mother as my son is getting older (definitely one of the reasons I'm writing this blog.) The following year pretty much tired me out (remember what I wrote about fundraising and selling myself, or trying to).
Life, while fun and great, can become a simple list of task after task, a series of to do lists. In my life, I especially feel the weight of this monotony at the end of the year, during the whirl of holidays, parties, and family birthdays. I get completely tuckered out.
Now that I have a built in break (and my son is visiting his grandparents so I have very little responsibility), I am able to take stock of what I need. I'm also reading Amy Poehler's fabulous memoir, "Yes, Please" right now and I realized that this is precisely what I need to do, treat life like an improv sketch and say motherfucking YES to whatever comes my way. What a great way for me to get re-energized and have some fun in the process.
As such, please note, I am saying yes to life this year and will be creating and saying yes to any and all sustaining, enriching, and most importantly, FUN opportunities. I am committed to working on any projects with people I enjoy being and working with, projects I believe in that make a positive difference in the world, meeting new, fun people, having exciting, interesting, fun, new experiences in new and old places with friends and acquaintances I already know, and doing a whole lot of writing.
Bring it 2015! Here's to saying yes to life and staying up past 10pm! Now I must go out take out the garbage! YES!
Monday, December 29, 2014
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Oberservation #8- Verite
I need to write this after watching Frederick Wiseman's latest verite opus, National Gallery. So many feelings went through my mind watching this film.
Initially, watching the film gave me chills. It felt like home. I almost cried seeing someone capture society with a similar set of eyes as myself. I am a constant observer which is why I love the medium of verite. I love capturing human interaction, how groups interact, and institutions function. It helps me better understand the world and myself.
Watching a verite film about an institution, especially one as high profile and establishment as The National Gallery, is fascinating. While I loved seeing the art and the educational programs the museum has to offer in action, I really loved watching the business meetings. I loved that the director of the museum scoffs at the marketing person and that he wants a say in all events that happen near "his" museum. I simply love watching business meetings as an outsider, seeing that all arts nonprofits, no matter how big, have the same tussles about money, ego, programming, territory, etc. Fascinating stuff, to me at least. Makes me feel like my path in the world is not as small as I think it is.
Then, as I watched, I started to get very sad. I got sad that verite has such a small audience. Only I and a handful of folks over the age of 70 were in the theater. How can verite films survive with a sparse audience like this? Hardly anyone even knows what verite means these days. I, myself, had to change my own film's marketing materials to read "observational" instead of verite because people had trouble understanding what I meant. I am sad that "reality" television and "verite" are thought of as the same thing by many.
Then as the film went on, my feelings of fascination and sadness turned to frustration, anger, and sadly, boredom. I say this because the film is three hours long. I had no idea of the length when I entered. Fortunately, my son went over to a friend's house after school on the day I went otherwise I would have been getting angry, worried texts from him about why I was late (I was driving afternoon carpool that week; the glamorous life of an artist mom). I am blaming myself as I never checked the running time on the film before I went; I simply figured that a verite film has to be 1 hour 30 min or everyone would run screaming from the theater or be asleep. I figured wrong.
I have to say that at 1 hour 30 minutes into the film, I was ready for it to be finished. It felt very repetitive after that and covered much of the same ground. As such, as a verite filmmaker (director/producer/editor), I got a bit angry and frustrated. Here I am slogging away on my films, looking for ways to tell my stories in the most efficient way possible, "killing my darlings" many times over, and Mr. Wiseman is taking his sweet, sweet, and in my eyes, unnecessary time, saying the same thing over and over. Watching this go on and on, made me worried for the state of verite film. How we will we keep our very small audience with films of this length?
Making verite stories are so important as they put a mirror up to society and forces it to see and come to terms with itself. No other form of storytelling does that. However, it's precisely the verite stories that are the most difficult to make; they take time to follow the course of the subjects, usually many years. They cost a lot of money to fund the crew(s) that does the following. Lastly, these types of films have the most limited audience of all documentaries, I think. And I have to say, I get it. They usually include no narration, little titling and sit-down interviews; not a lot of the typical structure that gives more standard documentary shape. Even I, a self-proclaimed verite lover, has to be in the exact right mood to see one of these films, my own included.
I don't how to inspire verite appreciation or if that is even necessary. I just don't want this medium to die out.
Initially, watching the film gave me chills. It felt like home. I almost cried seeing someone capture society with a similar set of eyes as myself. I am a constant observer which is why I love the medium of verite. I love capturing human interaction, how groups interact, and institutions function. It helps me better understand the world and myself.
Watching a verite film about an institution, especially one as high profile and establishment as The National Gallery, is fascinating. While I loved seeing the art and the educational programs the museum has to offer in action, I really loved watching the business meetings. I loved that the director of the museum scoffs at the marketing person and that he wants a say in all events that happen near "his" museum. I simply love watching business meetings as an outsider, seeing that all arts nonprofits, no matter how big, have the same tussles about money, ego, programming, territory, etc. Fascinating stuff, to me at least. Makes me feel like my path in the world is not as small as I think it is.
Then, as I watched, I started to get very sad. I got sad that verite has such a small audience. Only I and a handful of folks over the age of 70 were in the theater. How can verite films survive with a sparse audience like this? Hardly anyone even knows what verite means these days. I, myself, had to change my own film's marketing materials to read "observational" instead of verite because people had trouble understanding what I meant. I am sad that "reality" television and "verite" are thought of as the same thing by many.
Then as the film went on, my feelings of fascination and sadness turned to frustration, anger, and sadly, boredom. I say this because the film is three hours long. I had no idea of the length when I entered. Fortunately, my son went over to a friend's house after school on the day I went otherwise I would have been getting angry, worried texts from him about why I was late (I was driving afternoon carpool that week; the glamorous life of an artist mom). I am blaming myself as I never checked the running time on the film before I went; I simply figured that a verite film has to be 1 hour 30 min or everyone would run screaming from the theater or be asleep. I figured wrong.
I have to say that at 1 hour 30 minutes into the film, I was ready for it to be finished. It felt very repetitive after that and covered much of the same ground. As such, as a verite filmmaker (director/producer/editor), I got a bit angry and frustrated. Here I am slogging away on my films, looking for ways to tell my stories in the most efficient way possible, "killing my darlings" many times over, and Mr. Wiseman is taking his sweet, sweet, and in my eyes, unnecessary time, saying the same thing over and over. Watching this go on and on, made me worried for the state of verite film. How we will we keep our very small audience with films of this length?
Making verite stories are so important as they put a mirror up to society and forces it to see and come to terms with itself. No other form of storytelling does that. However, it's precisely the verite stories that are the most difficult to make; they take time to follow the course of the subjects, usually many years. They cost a lot of money to fund the crew(s) that does the following. Lastly, these types of films have the most limited audience of all documentaries, I think. And I have to say, I get it. They usually include no narration, little titling and sit-down interviews; not a lot of the typical structure that gives more standard documentary shape. Even I, a self-proclaimed verite lover, has to be in the exact right mood to see one of these films, my own included.
I don't how to inspire verite appreciation or if that is even necessary. I just don't want this medium to die out.
Friday, November 21, 2014
Observation #7- Appreciation of Community
I was going to write about something else today but last night I went to the Women in Film holiday party (an organization that I am very active in) and I was so struck by the importance of community and mentorship in the documentary/independent film world that I decided to write about that instead.
I've mentioned how I feel an utter distaste for selling myself and my work. As such, one would think that I would absolutely hate attending these types of networking/celebratory events. However, I don't. I really love going and reconnecting with people in my work community who I haven't seen in a while, hearing what they are up to in all areas of their lives, meeting new people and connecting with them on many levels. It is at these occasions that I don't mind networking because the connections I make feel authentic to me; they are about relationships, not about what we can get from one another.
I have learned so much from my relationships with all the folks I work with and know through Women in Film and the film community. I love that we all can learn from each other and relate in all different places in our careers and age ranges.
This is especially important for me (and most other documentary filmmakers I know) as we generally work in vacuums, on our own, or with a couple of other people. We don't get much outside perspective and validation/identification from others who do what we do. It is so cathartic to share experiences with others in the "same boat" and pump each other up and comiserate when we need to.
As a female producer/director in my 40s, I find the creative work that I do and am attracted to as a viewer is not what is generally appreciated in the mainstream. While it certainly has a niche, and I think a strong one, it seems to be passed over consistently by the media gatekeepers. As a continual culture observer and an active participant in the media as a maker and a viewer, I'm simply stating what I have seen. It is for this main reason that I am so active in Women in Film; it is imperative that we, women (and men that support women created media) can get together and work, talk, mentor, and support one another's growth and change. We have to help each other get jobs and skills, and work together because no one else will. We have to work together so our voices will heard, our creative visions seen.
I've mentioned how I feel an utter distaste for selling myself and my work. As such, one would think that I would absolutely hate attending these types of networking/celebratory events. However, I don't. I really love going and reconnecting with people in my work community who I haven't seen in a while, hearing what they are up to in all areas of their lives, meeting new people and connecting with them on many levels. It is at these occasions that I don't mind networking because the connections I make feel authentic to me; they are about relationships, not about what we can get from one another.
I have learned so much from my relationships with all the folks I work with and know through Women in Film and the film community. I love that we all can learn from each other and relate in all different places in our careers and age ranges.
This is especially important for me (and most other documentary filmmakers I know) as we generally work in vacuums, on our own, or with a couple of other people. We don't get much outside perspective and validation/identification from others who do what we do. It is so cathartic to share experiences with others in the "same boat" and pump each other up and comiserate when we need to.
As a female producer/director in my 40s, I find the creative work that I do and am attracted to as a viewer is not what is generally appreciated in the mainstream. While it certainly has a niche, and I think a strong one, it seems to be passed over consistently by the media gatekeepers. As a continual culture observer and an active participant in the media as a maker and a viewer, I'm simply stating what I have seen. It is for this main reason that I am so active in Women in Film; it is imperative that we, women (and men that support women created media) can get together and work, talk, mentor, and support one another's growth and change. We have to help each other get jobs and skills, and work together because no one else will. We have to work together so our voices will heard, our creative visions seen.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Observation #6: Festivals- Part 2: Is it Worth Applying To and Attending Them?
Remember I said, plan out your goals for your film ahead of time? I really can't stress this point enough as there are so many levels to getting your film out into the world. Having a plan you can point to and check off to get it out there will help immensely.
First off, do you you really need to show the film at festivals?
I don't know and have been thinking about this a lot these days. If your film doesn't get into the first tier festivals (the ones where deals are made ie: Sundance, Toronto, Tribeca, etc. and for docs, Hot Docs, IDFA, FullFrame, SilverDocs, and now TrueFalse and Big Sky), then is it worth it for you and the film to have your film show at the many, many other festivals around the world. Probably, as it's always worth it to get the film seen by folks (that's always my primary goal for my work). But is it worth it for you to fly yourself out to those festivals as well? Probably not.
Festivals are expensive. They usually charge an entrance fee which can be as little as $20-25 or as much as $100. It's important to figure out a budget for festivals and do you have money to send yourself, plane tickets, lodging, food etc.
I know festivals seem glamorous and you'd of course would want to go so you can watch the film with an audience, get accolades, meet and network with other filmmakers, and perhaps meet prospective funders. In my experience, however, the only thing going to a festival gets you is the opportunity to watch your film with an audience, the opportunity to watch a lot of films you wouldn't normally get to see, and more debt. For me, all of these opportunities have a negative taint. Watching my films with an audience is akin to me having a MRI or something to that effect (perhaps I might be calmer during a medical procedure actually). I get super sensitive to the sound and picture, are they working correctly, does it sound/look terrible, who is talking in the theater, who gets up and leaves, and how many people do, every little tiny imperfection shows itself to me and I tend to cringe and/or have an anxiety attack. Personally, I think the best cause of action for me is to leave the theater and then come back when the screening is finished. As for watching movies, I like watching films one at a time and then taking a day or two to process what I've seen. It's challenging for me to watch lots of movies back to back; I can't focus on what I've seen and end up just feeling exhausted. And of course, I've already discussed how I feel about constant pitching of myself, so festivals, or at least the ones my current film has gotten into, haven't really been my cup of tea.
That said, there is a special kind of festival that has a definite focus on the filmmakers attending and make a concerted effort to provide networking, dining, and educational opportunities for the filmmakers. They actually provide incentives for filmmakers to attend. Not all festivals do this. In fact, I think it's a rare festival that provides networking, educational, and pitching opportunities for filmmakers. The first festival my current film was in was this type of "filmmaker" festival and I really got a lot out of it and enjoyed it, met and networked with other interesting colleagues (we had common interests as opposed to the usual "what can we get from each other" vibe) and got some great advice and pep talks from the festival's key note celebrity director, with whom all the attending filmmakers got to have a small, intimate breakfast. This festival also helped market and advertise my film to the press which was huge (at all other festivals, I was responsible for doing all of my own marketing and PR; a heck of a lot of work, let me tell me you). Providing all of these incentives make the filmmakers attending the festival feel special which is really nice and rare for a filmmaker who has put their heart and soul (and most of their own money and time) into their projects. It definitely means a lot.
Most festivals and festival organizers have a lot on their plates (just like the indie filmmakers themselves). As such, they are strapped for cash and time especially when their focus is really about building an audience and "getting butts in seats". At these festivals, the ones that are really for the audiences, there really isn't much for the filmmaker to do. The festival programmers are happy if you do decide to attend because a filmmaker in attendance in the program always gets more people into the theater but usually that's it. You can always ask the festival for a stipend or to pay your travel and lodging costs while you are there but they usually won't do it because like I said before, the festivals are as cash strapped as we are as filmmakers. My point here is that there really isn't that much reason to travel out of state to attend any of these festivals unless you are driving and have a place to stay that you don't have to pay for, and are very self motivated and an amazing shmoozer (or you just really want to see the city the festival is in; I have done this but then again, I am a travel junkie.) There just isn't enough value add for the filmmaker; festivals usually provide you, as a filmmaker with nothing except passes to the festival itself (which is enough for some) and you are responsible for paying for all of your food, lodging, travel, PR for the film, etc. and usually don't even get to do a Q and A about the film or if you do, a very short one.
Now I think the only reason I will attend festivals (again, provided that they aren't first tier which I will go to in a heartbeat) is the interchange with the audience. I do really enjoy talking with the audiences and doing question and answer sessions (provided that they are time monitored; a Q and A that goes on too long is not a good thing for anyone. Awkward.) The Q and A and the interaction with audiences is truly all I care about when I screen my work. It's extremely gratifying to hear what other people think about your work and have meaningful discussions about it. This, in my opinion, is why I make docs, to shed light on people's lives and in doing so, validate and give meaning to many's experiences.
I think this audience interchange can exist on it's own, not in the context of a festival. A filmmaker can create this on their own via social media. They can target their film's niche and show the film online or in a public setting and then do a virtual Q and Q, a Skype one, or one in person. Yet again, however, this requires a great deal of work for the filmmaker. A filmmaker must build it's audience and then organize the screenings (I've done a couple DIY screenings at houses which were inspiring and energizing creatively and intellectually but only broke even financially) and then create the digital platform to do the question and answer. Sounds simple enough but truly requires about a month or more of work per screening. The question is, as a filmmaker, how do you want to spend your time?
First off, do you you really need to show the film at festivals?
I don't know and have been thinking about this a lot these days. If your film doesn't get into the first tier festivals (the ones where deals are made ie: Sundance, Toronto, Tribeca, etc. and for docs, Hot Docs, IDFA, FullFrame, SilverDocs, and now TrueFalse and Big Sky), then is it worth it for you and the film to have your film show at the many, many other festivals around the world. Probably, as it's always worth it to get the film seen by folks (that's always my primary goal for my work). But is it worth it for you to fly yourself out to those festivals as well? Probably not.
Festivals are expensive. They usually charge an entrance fee which can be as little as $20-25 or as much as $100. It's important to figure out a budget for festivals and do you have money to send yourself, plane tickets, lodging, food etc.
I know festivals seem glamorous and you'd of course would want to go so you can watch the film with an audience, get accolades, meet and network with other filmmakers, and perhaps meet prospective funders. In my experience, however, the only thing going to a festival gets you is the opportunity to watch your film with an audience, the opportunity to watch a lot of films you wouldn't normally get to see, and more debt. For me, all of these opportunities have a negative taint. Watching my films with an audience is akin to me having a MRI or something to that effect (perhaps I might be calmer during a medical procedure actually). I get super sensitive to the sound and picture, are they working correctly, does it sound/look terrible, who is talking in the theater, who gets up and leaves, and how many people do, every little tiny imperfection shows itself to me and I tend to cringe and/or have an anxiety attack. Personally, I think the best cause of action for me is to leave the theater and then come back when the screening is finished. As for watching movies, I like watching films one at a time and then taking a day or two to process what I've seen. It's challenging for me to watch lots of movies back to back; I can't focus on what I've seen and end up just feeling exhausted. And of course, I've already discussed how I feel about constant pitching of myself, so festivals, or at least the ones my current film has gotten into, haven't really been my cup of tea.
That said, there is a special kind of festival that has a definite focus on the filmmakers attending and make a concerted effort to provide networking, dining, and educational opportunities for the filmmakers. They actually provide incentives for filmmakers to attend. Not all festivals do this. In fact, I think it's a rare festival that provides networking, educational, and pitching opportunities for filmmakers. The first festival my current film was in was this type of "filmmaker" festival and I really got a lot out of it and enjoyed it, met and networked with other interesting colleagues (we had common interests as opposed to the usual "what can we get from each other" vibe) and got some great advice and pep talks from the festival's key note celebrity director, with whom all the attending filmmakers got to have a small, intimate breakfast. This festival also helped market and advertise my film to the press which was huge (at all other festivals, I was responsible for doing all of my own marketing and PR; a heck of a lot of work, let me tell me you). Providing all of these incentives make the filmmakers attending the festival feel special which is really nice and rare for a filmmaker who has put their heart and soul (and most of their own money and time) into their projects. It definitely means a lot.
Most festivals and festival organizers have a lot on their plates (just like the indie filmmakers themselves). As such, they are strapped for cash and time especially when their focus is really about building an audience and "getting butts in seats". At these festivals, the ones that are really for the audiences, there really isn't much for the filmmaker to do. The festival programmers are happy if you do decide to attend because a filmmaker in attendance in the program always gets more people into the theater but usually that's it. You can always ask the festival for a stipend or to pay your travel and lodging costs while you are there but they usually won't do it because like I said before, the festivals are as cash strapped as we are as filmmakers. My point here is that there really isn't that much reason to travel out of state to attend any of these festivals unless you are driving and have a place to stay that you don't have to pay for, and are very self motivated and an amazing shmoozer (or you just really want to see the city the festival is in; I have done this but then again, I am a travel junkie.) There just isn't enough value add for the filmmaker; festivals usually provide you, as a filmmaker with nothing except passes to the festival itself (which is enough for some) and you are responsible for paying for all of your food, lodging, travel, PR for the film, etc. and usually don't even get to do a Q and A about the film or if you do, a very short one.
Now I think the only reason I will attend festivals (again, provided that they aren't first tier which I will go to in a heartbeat) is the interchange with the audience. I do really enjoy talking with the audiences and doing question and answer sessions (provided that they are time monitored; a Q and A that goes on too long is not a good thing for anyone. Awkward.) The Q and A and the interaction with audiences is truly all I care about when I screen my work. It's extremely gratifying to hear what other people think about your work and have meaningful discussions about it. This, in my opinion, is why I make docs, to shed light on people's lives and in doing so, validate and give meaning to many's experiences.
I think this audience interchange can exist on it's own, not in the context of a festival. A filmmaker can create this on their own via social media. They can target their film's niche and show the film online or in a public setting and then do a virtual Q and Q, a Skype one, or one in person. Yet again, however, this requires a great deal of work for the filmmaker. A filmmaker must build it's audience and then organize the screenings (I've done a couple DIY screenings at houses which were inspiring and energizing creatively and intellectually but only broke even financially) and then create the digital platform to do the question and answer. Sounds simple enough but truly requires about a month or more of work per screening. The question is, as a filmmaker, how do you want to spend your time?
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Observation #5: Festivals- Part 1: Strategy
When I started thinking about discussing festivals, I realized that I can't discuss them without first talking about the goals for your film.
Before you make a film, you really need to think about what goals you have for it. Do you want to make money on it? Where do you want it shown? How many people do you want to see it? Etc. Your goals for the film will certainly guide your future plans for it, whether or not you even want to submit it to festivals, and how you want to distribute it. I'll discuss this in more detail in a future blog post.
The old trajectory for a film, one that I learned in film school about fifteen years ago or so,was make the film, put it in festivals, and then contact distributors or they would contact you. This plan certainly wasn't a solid lock but you certainly would get your film seen and create a calling card of sorts for yourself.
Now, a lot has changed. First, there are way more festivals and way more people making films. How does this affect filmmakers? Well, it makes getting your film into any festival that much harder. Getting into festivals now is so, so, so competitive, much, much more difficult than it used to be (and let me tell you that back then it wasn't that easy either).
It's important to have a festival strategy. Before making your film, plot out which festivals if any you want to aim for. When you do this, think like a programmer and strategize accordingly. Length is a priority here. Programmers have an easier time programming shorts into their festivals (that is if they have shorts at all) so you'll have better luck getting in with a short film. Also, if you have a feature length film, it is usually better to make it an over an hour so that a programmer can give your film an hour and a half slot without having to pair it with a short or shorts.
Also, what's your subject matter? Think about this and target festivals that showcase it.
Again, meet and network with programmers, get to know them. The more personal relationships you have with programmers, the easier it will be for them to actually see your film. Keep in mind, festivals are inundated with films. As such, they have many people doing the screenings and judging. You have no idea who these people are or what their tastes in film may be so it is highly likely that your film will not get through.
Because of this festivals certainly were a rude awakening for me for my most current film. As always in the independent film world, you have to get used to rejection, be persistent, and make a strong story with strong visual, and sound elements, one that you believe in.
Next blog post I'll discuss if festivals are even worth applying to and some of the different channels you can take outside the festival circuit to get your film seen.
Thanks for reading!
Before you make a film, you really need to think about what goals you have for it. Do you want to make money on it? Where do you want it shown? How many people do you want to see it? Etc. Your goals for the film will certainly guide your future plans for it, whether or not you even want to submit it to festivals, and how you want to distribute it. I'll discuss this in more detail in a future blog post.
The old trajectory for a film, one that I learned in film school about fifteen years ago or so,was make the film, put it in festivals, and then contact distributors or they would contact you. This plan certainly wasn't a solid lock but you certainly would get your film seen and create a calling card of sorts for yourself.
Now, a lot has changed. First, there are way more festivals and way more people making films. How does this affect filmmakers? Well, it makes getting your film into any festival that much harder. Getting into festivals now is so, so, so competitive, much, much more difficult than it used to be (and let me tell you that back then it wasn't that easy either).
It's important to have a festival strategy. Before making your film, plot out which festivals if any you want to aim for. When you do this, think like a programmer and strategize accordingly. Length is a priority here. Programmers have an easier time programming shorts into their festivals (that is if they have shorts at all) so you'll have better luck getting in with a short film. Also, if you have a feature length film, it is usually better to make it an over an hour so that a programmer can give your film an hour and a half slot without having to pair it with a short or shorts.
Also, what's your subject matter? Think about this and target festivals that showcase it.
Again, meet and network with programmers, get to know them. The more personal relationships you have with programmers, the easier it will be for them to actually see your film. Keep in mind, festivals are inundated with films. As such, they have many people doing the screenings and judging. You have no idea who these people are or what their tastes in film may be so it is highly likely that your film will not get through.
Because of this festivals certainly were a rude awakening for me for my most current film. As always in the independent film world, you have to get used to rejection, be persistent, and make a strong story with strong visual, and sound elements, one that you believe in.
Next blog post I'll discuss if festivals are even worth applying to and some of the different channels you can take outside the festival circuit to get your film seen.
Thanks for reading!
Monday, October 13, 2014
Observation #4: Wearing a Lot of Hats
I'm betting that some readers here don't really know what a producer does, let alone what an independent producer does. Well, a producer gets films/tv/media, in general, made. They do everything that needs to be done to get the story created. To put it in more detail, they get the money together, the crew, do all the scheduling and budgeting, supervising, and hiring and firing etc.
A producer is essentially a project manager who also handles money and budgets. They make sure every detail of the project is working, gets done, is seamless, and does not distract the director from creating his/her vision. I see it a lot like being a parent or houserunner as I mentioned previously; it's not easy but it has to be done in order for a quality (or even a not so quality) finished product. Please keep in mind that on big films and television shows there are many levels of producers (an entire producing department) as there are so many little details to keep track of.
Independent documentary film is an entirely different producing animal. Yes, the producer still has the same responsibilities on the project, but a lot of the time he/she is also acting as the director (usually, along with many other roles.) In some cases, when there is enough money or enough on the back end, other producers come on the project.
In most cases, on low budget docs, the producer/director can also act as the editor/cameraperson/ and sometimes sound person as well. This is not ideal as it's a lot to handle. "Wearing a lot of hats" is done primarily to cut costs, as I might have mentioned previously, media making is a costly endeavor. However, other times it's done because a filmmaker wants complete control over his/her vision and/or story. That said, though, it's incredibly difficult to make any type of video/film work on one's own; there's a lot involved in it and usually not everyone is good at each of the skills involved.
Here is a list of all the skills one would not typically think is involved in being an independent documentary film producer but are a necessity:
- Grant Writer (self explanatory)
- Event Planner (for fundraisers)
- Shmoozer/People Person (networking to solicit funds and make contacts)
- Writer (you will need to write countless proposals, descriptions, and summaries of your project)
- Actor/Public Speaker (you will need to present your project publicly to many in an engaging manner over and over)
- Graphic Designer (you need to make your proposals and film press materials look good and establish a graphic brand for the film)
- Website designer (see above)
- Business Person/Producer (hustle) (your film is your business and if you want to make any money on it or at least break even, you have to come up with ways to "monetize" it.)
-Distributor (usually it is your responsibility to get your film out into the world or get to folks that can do this for you)
-Social Media maven (spreading the word about your film far and wide while generating content and amassing a following)
-Accountant (keeping track of your costs and revenues)
Here are the more obvious skills needed to do independent documentary film work:
- Directing skills (the ability to have a clear vision of the story you'd like to be told, communicate and bond with crew to inform them of this vision, and bond and establish trust with subjects)
-Producing skills (the ability to get funds to make your vision a reality and hopefully, get a financial return or at least break even)
-Editing skills (the ability to take lots of raw footage and cut it into a story that fits the director's vision)
- Camera Person (the ability to shoot video/film of people in an artful, unobtrusive, manner)
- Sound Person (the ability to capture clear, crisp sound while still being unobtrusive to the subjects)
A lot of different hats indeed. As you can see, one truly needs a lot of varied skills to bring their film into the light of day and have a large audience. My many hats are off to all of you that are successfully getting your films done on small budgets and are getting them seen. That in itself is a major, major accomplishment.
For myself, I did as many of these tasks as I could and hired people to do others with the little money I had. I also neglected some and as such, my film suffered. I don't mean the quality of the film suffered, however. By simply not doing some of these tasks or doing some poorly directly correlated to less people seeing the film.
A producer is essentially a project manager who also handles money and budgets. They make sure every detail of the project is working, gets done, is seamless, and does not distract the director from creating his/her vision. I see it a lot like being a parent or houserunner as I mentioned previously; it's not easy but it has to be done in order for a quality (or even a not so quality) finished product. Please keep in mind that on big films and television shows there are many levels of producers (an entire producing department) as there are so many little details to keep track of.
Independent documentary film is an entirely different producing animal. Yes, the producer still has the same responsibilities on the project, but a lot of the time he/she is also acting as the director (usually, along with many other roles.) In some cases, when there is enough money or enough on the back end, other producers come on the project.
In most cases, on low budget docs, the producer/director can also act as the editor/cameraperson/ and sometimes sound person as well. This is not ideal as it's a lot to handle. "Wearing a lot of hats" is done primarily to cut costs, as I might have mentioned previously, media making is a costly endeavor. However, other times it's done because a filmmaker wants complete control over his/her vision and/or story. That said, though, it's incredibly difficult to make any type of video/film work on one's own; there's a lot involved in it and usually not everyone is good at each of the skills involved.
Here is a list of all the skills one would not typically think is involved in being an independent documentary film producer but are a necessity:
- Grant Writer (self explanatory)
- Event Planner (for fundraisers)
- Shmoozer/People Person (networking to solicit funds and make contacts)
- Writer (you will need to write countless proposals, descriptions, and summaries of your project)
- Actor/Public Speaker (you will need to present your project publicly to many in an engaging manner over and over)
- Graphic Designer (you need to make your proposals and film press materials look good and establish a graphic brand for the film)
- Website designer (see above)
- Business Person/Producer (hustle) (your film is your business and if you want to make any money on it or at least break even, you have to come up with ways to "monetize" it.)
-Distributor (usually it is your responsibility to get your film out into the world or get to folks that can do this for you)
-Social Media maven (spreading the word about your film far and wide while generating content and amassing a following)
-Accountant (keeping track of your costs and revenues)
Here are the more obvious skills needed to do independent documentary film work:
- Directing skills (the ability to have a clear vision of the story you'd like to be told, communicate and bond with crew to inform them of this vision, and bond and establish trust with subjects)
-Producing skills (the ability to get funds to make your vision a reality and hopefully, get a financial return or at least break even)
-Editing skills (the ability to take lots of raw footage and cut it into a story that fits the director's vision)
- Camera Person (the ability to shoot video/film of people in an artful, unobtrusive, manner)
- Sound Person (the ability to capture clear, crisp sound while still being unobtrusive to the subjects)
A lot of different hats indeed. As you can see, one truly needs a lot of varied skills to bring their film into the light of day and have a large audience. My many hats are off to all of you that are successfully getting your films done on small budgets and are getting them seen. That in itself is a major, major accomplishment.
For myself, I did as many of these tasks as I could and hired people to do others with the little money I had. I also neglected some and as such, my film suffered. I don't mean the quality of the film suffered, however. By simply not doing some of these tasks or doing some poorly directly correlated to less people seeing the film.
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Observation #3: My Own Independent Filmmaking Situation
I need to be clear as to where I fit in to the independent documentary film world. Yes, I am an independent documentary filmmaker and I have a day job. My day-job is being the primary caregiver to my, now teenage son, and running my family household. My husband has a job that supports all of us so I freelance and teach when I want to but I don't have to. In this way, I am very, very lucky and privileged. I am so grateful to my husband for supporting me and my work.
I never thought that I would be supported by a man in life but frankly, I feel like we both support each other. He supports us, my family, economically, and I support us all by taking care of the "backend", the details of our lives, the organization, making sure we are all fed, clothed, cultured, educated, and happy. We are truly a partnership here, a definite upper middle class, "first world" partnership, but one nonetheless.
While I am very busy being our "houserunner" as in "showrunner" on television (I'm the producer/project manager of the house so my title should damn well show that; in my mind I am certainly not a homemaker!), I am also very active in a volunteer organization that helps elevate and mentor women in the media industry. I helped found this organization about seven years ago and through it I plan events, manage inner workings, lead meetings, do budgeting etc. It takes up a lot of my time. That said, I do have the freedom to work creatively without the pressure of earning a living and that in itself is a huge privilege that I don't take for granted.
I have a room of my own to work, write, and process, and that is a huge luxury. I also have the luxury of taking on work that I feel good about. Currently, I'm working with nonprofits to further their messages and highlight their good works through video and I love it.
I am in a strange position of having feet in two very different worlds, one is the independent film world and the other is in the privileged world of upper middle class professionals. As such, I don't really fit in in either place. However, each space gives me so much perspective on the other and lets me observe with fresh eyes. I like that.
I never thought that I would be supported by a man in life but frankly, I feel like we both support each other. He supports us, my family, economically, and I support us all by taking care of the "backend", the details of our lives, the organization, making sure we are all fed, clothed, cultured, educated, and happy. We are truly a partnership here, a definite upper middle class, "first world" partnership, but one nonetheless.
While I am very busy being our "houserunner" as in "showrunner" on television (I'm the producer/project manager of the house so my title should damn well show that; in my mind I am certainly not a homemaker!), I am also very active in a volunteer organization that helps elevate and mentor women in the media industry. I helped found this organization about seven years ago and through it I plan events, manage inner workings, lead meetings, do budgeting etc. It takes up a lot of my time. That said, I do have the freedom to work creatively without the pressure of earning a living and that in itself is a huge privilege that I don't take for granted.
I have a room of my own to work, write, and process, and that is a huge luxury. I also have the luxury of taking on work that I feel good about. Currently, I'm working with nonprofits to further their messages and highlight their good works through video and I love it.
I am in a strange position of having feet in two very different worlds, one is the independent film world and the other is in the privileged world of upper middle class professionals. As such, I don't really fit in in either place. However, each space gives me so much perspective on the other and lets me observe with fresh eyes. I like that.
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