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Hi everyone,

I am a newbie video editor who has been tasked with cutting (and crafting) a doc about the illuminati. The footage I have so far is just interviews with 5 different 'experts'. There is about 12 or so hours of the interviews. The director wants the doc to be 3 hours, but I'm thinking there is only enough good stuff to make 2 hours.

I am having trouble with organizing all the footage, and figuring out how to craft the doc for a target audience. There is not too much new info in there, so I am looking to target people who don't know much about the illuminati. Luckily (in a demographic sense) this is most everyone on Earth. The Director is pretty inexperienced (though more experienced than I) and has basically handed the project over to me. He doesn't have a clear vision of the project, and wants me to figure it out.

This is all pretty daunting, but the challenge is exciting. I am thinking I will probably learn more about what not to do than what to do in this experience although that is not a very positive outlook.
If anyone has any advice for me I would much appreciate it! Please message me here, or my email is positivecontact (at) inoutbox.com
Thanks :)

Hi all,

Not too sure what to put here, but thought it would be rude not to introduce myself.

I'm to about to embark on making my first documentary film, after really enjoying devising a couple of documentary theatre pieces at uni.

The site was recommended to me in the book I'm reading at the moment, book and site very useful so far!

Hi Everyone,

I have been a Director/Cameraman in NYC for almost 35 years growing up with the video industry. After all this time I recently completed my first feature-length documentary which will be premiering at the Boston Film Festival on September 19, 2011.

It's called GIVE ME A SHOT OF ANYTHING: HOUSE CALLS TO THE HOMELESS. The documentary provides a uniquely intimate view into the world of the homeless and the people that care for them. The film follows Boston street doctor Jim O’Connell and his extraordinary team as they make house calls to the homeless, delivering life-saving medical care and offering their patients a chance to feel whole again. It challenges us to look past the existing prejudices we may have, and examines how we as a society treat our least fortunate. http://www.givemeashotofanything.com/

I'm very proud and excited about this movie and came to this site seeking advice about festivals, marketing, promotion and outlets. The festival is only a few days away so any thoughts are much appreciated. Thank you. jeffschwartz (at) primaluxvideo.com

Welcome, Jennifer, Pippa and Jeff.

Jennifer, first thing I'd do is have a long talk with your director and make sure you have the same vision for the film. Frankly, someone who thinks there's a 3-hour doc to be made from 12 hours of interviews with so-called experts is completely deluded.

Pippa, are you talking about the Michael Rabiger book? It's a great one, for sure.

And Jeff (who I go way back with), great to see you here! And congrats on getting your feature completed, that's fantastic. I highly recommend you look over the back posts in our Festivals and Marketing/Distribution topics. You'll get lots of great advice there. And of course feel free to post any questions. Best of luck, my friend.

After watching "The Kids Grow Up" on HBO,(and getting quite emotional, having two grown up daughters myself) I googled you and was led to the D-Word. It is so nice to see what you have done with this site and the films you have made. Congratulations! Hope to see you soon. And now to those back posts!

Thanks, Jeff. I imagine you must have quite an archive of home footage yourself.

In reply to Doug Block's post on Wed 14 Sep 2011 :

Hi Doug, thanks for your post :)
Researching how much footage is usually needed opened my eyes to the reality, although the director wants the documentary to be a similar style to 'The Fog of War' which I believe was put together from less than 10 hours of interviews with McNamara.
Talking at length with the director is needed, thanks for reinforcing that :)

Jennifer, this should go to the Mentoring Room. But you didn't say anything about fleshing out the interviews with other footage, so that wasn't clear. Nevertheless, your director is no Errol Morris.

Hi everyone: I am a former 60 Minutes producer working on a climate change TV series. We're in development, hoping to sell the project to a major network or cable channel. It's going to be a tough sell because of the subject matter, but we're going for it. We have James Cameron and Jerry Weintraub involved as executive producers. Right now we're looking to forge relations in the doc community in order to make the series as good and powerful as possible. I'm also looking to see who out there has made (or is in the process of making) a documentary on the subject: mega floods, climate-driven wildfires, a drought in the Southwest that may never go away. I'd love to hear what people are up to, and when we eventually (hopefully) get the greenlight, it would be great to collaborate in some way. I can be reached at joel(at)roaringforkfilms.com if you want to send me a message. But please only write if you have something constructive to say or leads for me to follow. Also, I'm not taking any resumes. Thanks so much, Joel Bach

Welcome, Joel. And welcome to the world of indie docmaking, where you definitely take your life in your hands. Best of luck with what sounds like a hugely ambitious and important project.

Hi – my is Lee and I am producing an independent rock documentary with musician Bobby Bare Jr. We are currently in post production – getting close to locking picture and we are in major fund raising mode – raising money for finishing funds – audio mix / color correct / music mix. We are also prepping to submit at premiere festivals – the first (closest approaching deadline) being Sundance. I am looking to the filmmmaking and documentary groups to help me spread the word about the film and help me spread the word about fund raising – this film was made by only a few people so any help in the community that we can get is great and so appreciated. One method of fund raising that we are implementing is grass roots crowd funding – we just created an Indiegogo campaign –
please check it out and please pass along! http://www.indiegogo.com/dontfollowmeimlost

Here is a little bit about the film:
It is about a man, a musician – Bobby Bare Jr. – and the relentless struggle of a touring artist fighting to survive on the road, doing what he can to keep his world afloat and provide for his children. There’s more that goes into it than getting up in front of a crowd and its not all pretty.

With exclusive access we followed Bare Jr. out on a nationwide tour, even rocking in peoples living rooms, to unveil a side of the music industry that most do not see – a “fly on the wall” look at the ups and downs of touring… the endless driving, the monotony of the road, the lack of stability and the constant separation and disconnect from loved ones.

After months on the road, is it ever possible to really reconnect?

In an effort to reveal the texture and depth of Bobby Bare Jr. and his eclectic musical style, we create a visual collage of formats consisting of Super 16mm, 16mm, 8mm, and HD. We also utilized GoPro cameras; their small size provides unparalleled placement precision which allowed us to achieve a true “fly on the wall” experience.

With very few interviews, the audience is along for the ride and is drawn into the world that is Bobby Bare Jr. while he weaves his way thru complicated rock ‘n’ roll situations.

Please let me know if anyone would like additional information on the film and please visit our website:
www.dontfollowmeimlost-film.com

Thank you for your support!

Welcome, Lee, and best of luck with your film.

Hello, my name is Rita, and I am new in this network. I found out D-Word through Accidental Media http://www.accidental.tv/tomas_sheridan.php when I was looking for work from Tomas Sheridan. Actually this young filmmaker went in cinetrain program http://cinetrain.net/ which I applied now for the 2012 edition and wanted to know more about his experience. Therefore, I found this place a good idea to get some feedback about the sample of a documentary project I've been working on now in editing mode. I would appreciate any kind of critics. You can watch it on my Vimeo page, and thank you for your support! http://www.vimeo.com/29100666

Rita Couto

Hi there, I feel a bit out of my depth on here. At this moment I can truly only claim to be an enthusiast....really, really, really enthusiastic, but there it is! I spent what seems like a lifetime as a social worker in and around Glasgow, Scotland. Then decided to follow my heart and studied for an honours degree in zoology and a masters in environmental management, followed by a stint as a project assistant on a shark research programme at Glasgow University and a few other zoological programmes. My passion for this goes back to childhood when my main hobby was watching documentaries. I worked alongside some documentary crews who were filming the sharks and this inspired me to then study for a post grad in media. Since then I have been writing a couple of documentaries; one about macaws and another about whales. I am also interested in social issue and have half written a doc about the impact affairs have on couples, mainly drawing on my work as a social worker for this one. I realise I haven't really made these sound particulary rivetting..!! but it's really just to introduce myself. So long story short, dead keen newbie.

Rita and Lynne, glad you found us and great to have you here.

Hi All,
EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION
Im new here...my editor -Burma VJ- Thomas Papapetros recommended I join. My first documentary, HALF REVOLUTION is out, co directed with Omar Shargawi...premiered at the Nordic Panorama Film Festival this weekend in Denmark...

Heres a little article about the film and how we made it and who I am.

http://nordiskpanorama.mnml.dk/?p=256

NIGHT CANNOT STOP THE RISING SUN

Welcome to The D-Word, Karim. This sounds a timely film, is there a trailer online somewhere?

Hi everybody,

I'm new to D-Word, and just finished shooting my first feature length doc, about the relationship between man and dog, set against a quirky sporting event – competitive sheepherding (think "Babe"). The film's website is http://www.sheepdogmovie.com. We're gearing up to start editing, and I'm excited to have found D-Word, and quite looking forward to exchanging ideas on this and upcoming projects....

Drew Hadra

Good to have you here, Drew and Karim. Welcome.

In reply to John Burgan's post on Mon 26 Sep 2011 :

We have a new short teaser for 1/2 REVOLUTION you can see HERE:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=2487328662213

In reply to Doug Block's post on Tue 27 Sep 2011 :

Thanks Doug! Thomas speaks very highly of you guys and this site. Im sure I will enjoy myself here! Cheers!

Look forward to seeing the whole film....

Hi, my name is Michael Oved Dayan. I’ve spent several years working on, High Plains Doctor: Healing on the Tibetan Plateau, a documentary about the Chief Medical Officer of Nunavut on his annual medical mission to a small village in Eastern Tibet (just before the village was at the epicenter of a 6.9 earthquake). The main subject of my film is charismatic and insightful and working on this film has been transformational for me. I just completed a trailer for the film and posted it to my page on youtube (link below). This is my second one and producing it took more than I originally expected. I’m writing to introduce myself, and to mention that I’m going to start submitting the film to festivals and I’m very open to suggestions from other members of D-Word. I look forward to meeting some of you at festivals and in other doc related capacities. Thanks.

Link to my trailer for High Plains Doctor:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wK6tlta3pM&feature=channel_video_title

Welcome, Michael, and best of luck with the film. Keep us posted in the Shameless Self-Promotion topic from time to time.

Hi, my name is Lise Zumwalt. I am a doc producer/director/writer and am currently working on an indie doc feature on mental health. I have spent many years producing commercial docs but this is my mission! I wanted to introduce myself and also say I am looking for camera people in San Francisco and Madison, Wisconsin that could do some half day shooting for me in exchange for services or for something you might need in NY! I am also an Avid editor. If interested please contact me at wishzoomataoldotcom.

Lise