The Documentary Life

Remember when you were incredibly excited about that new documentary project you’d been working on? The one that you even raised some funds via Kickstarter and shot about 50+ hrs of footage? Then do you remember when in the middle of production you and your wife had your first child? Yeah, you were having to work all of the time just pay the medical bills? Then suddenly it was all you could do just to occasionally post on your film’s facebook page? Next thing you know, you hadn’t even so much as looked at a frame of footage in a year.

Yeah, me too.

So this episode is for you. It’s for us. It’s for most any filmmaker that I know, who has a passion project that often goes neglected for long stretches of time, because, well… life gets in the way. Sh*t happens, you know? But not to worry! This is completely 100 percent absolutely normal! Happens to the best (and the rest) of us. And thankfully, by changing up a few bad habits that we’ve picked up on our filmmaking and life’s journey, we can refocus and get back to doing what we love doing – working on our doc!

Listen to this, episode 21, as I detail four very straightforward ways to help you refocus and get your derailed dream project back on the proverbial track. And in my usual candid manner, I share a bit about my personal and professional story, so you can see how Steph and I have currently been experiencing this with our beloved Elvis of Cambodia project, and how we plan to refocus and get things going again this year!

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Remember when you were incredibly excited about that new documentary project you’d been working on?  The one that you even raised some funds via Kickstarter and shot about 50+ hrs of footage?  Then do you remember...

Justin Schein is the kind of documentary filmmaker that most of us aspire to be. He is a thoughtful, sensitive, and articulate technician dedicated to his craft. And his latest film, Left on Purpose is the kind of intelligent, compassion, and in the end, impossible to forget, film that we aspire to make.

I was honoured and proud to have a shared conversation with Justin on the eve of the world wide release of his film. It’s an engaging, heartfelt look at not only what it means to live a documentary life, but just how one tackles the ethical issues that a film like Left on Purpose poses.

Related Resources

Watch the trailer for Left on Purpose:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_4V4h-tYTE

Left of Purpose can be viewed on the following platforms:

iTunes

Amazon

Vimeo

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If you have found value in this podcast please leave a review so it can become more visible to others. Simply click the link and then click on the Ratings and Reviews tab to make your entry. Thank you for your support!

Work-life balance? Sure, you’ve probably heard of this. Whether in books, seminars, tv, or radio, we’re always hearing about the necessity of some sort of balance in our daily lives and the various ways in which we might better achieve this. But what about us creatives, specifically us documentary filmmakers, who more realistically have a Work-Life-Doclife to balance?

Well, I’ve got some ideas that I can throw your way. These are practices I have developed over time, and I’m hoping can help you. Because if you’re anything like me, you’ve probably dealt with an ever-increasing need to find some sort of balance in your life, lest you want to get sick, injured, or just plain lose your mind.

After listening to the show, please share in the comment section below some tips that you’ve come up to help yourself achieve a better balance in your #Doclife.

Related Resources

In this episode I mention upcoming doc industry guest, Justin Schein, the filmmaker behind the February release Left on Purpose. You can view the trailer here:

https://vimeo.com/161646623

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If you have found value in this podcast please leave a review so it can become more visible to others. Simply click the link and then click on the Ratings and Reviews tab to make your entry. Thank you for your support!

Work-life balance?  Sure, you’ve probably heard of this.  Whether in books, seminars, tv, or radio, we’re always hearing about the necessity of some sort of balance in our daily lives and the various ways in which...

The term storyteller seems to be one of the more misunderstood or misused vocational words in the past decade. Certainly this seems to be the case in a world of ad agencies, video production companies, and self-styled online entrepreneurs. Joel ben Izzy is the answer to this rampant misuse. He is quite literally a professional storyteller.

And I was fortunate enough to have met him on a film job last year, where I was incredibly impressed at the way in which he not only presented stories from a stage, but how he convinced his audience that they too – each and every one of them – had their own stories to tell and why it was important for them to be telling them. So, I only found it appropriate to ask Joel to be on the show to share his wisdom, inspiration, and yes, a few stories with the future storytellers of the documentary world (aka #DocLifers).

I hope y’all enjoyed and benefit from this conversation even half as much as I did.

Related Resources

Watch How to Find Your Story by Joel ben Izzy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lrq6JtBlhUY

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Let’s be honest. We’ve all worked with someone that we just didn’t click with or downright despised, but felt like we had no choice but to stick it out with them. Or we’ve worked on that project that drove us to tears and frustration, so much so that we would have given just about anything to walk away. And yet, we didn’t. And to this day, we’re probably the better for the experience.

Today’s podcast is about finding the best ways to overcome the great challenges of working with someone you don’t get along with, for the sake of the project.

It’s also about knowing when to move on from the project or from the person when it seems like ultimately this may be the appropriate solution for the betterment of the film, if not for the people involved. It’s filled with my own practical experiences working on some pretty difficult films with some fairly difficult people, and turning negatives into positives.

Enjoy the show, and be sure to let me know what you think of it. I’ll bet you’ve got some of your own crazy stories… and I’d love to hear them in the comments below.

Related Resources

If you’re interested in watching my Nepal documentary (mentioned in the programme) , please visit Journey to Kathmandu. To take advantage of the nearly 50 percent coupon simply use the coupon discount code mydoclife when checking out. Not only will you get the 35 minute documentary, but it comes loaded with extras including special behind-the-scenes videos, full documentary commentary, deleted scenes, etc. Once you’ve watched it, please let me know what you think.

Bombhunters trailer that I spent my Christmas holiday working on in Phnom Penh. (Referenced in the podcast.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG3r8yKzo_8

You can view the film in its entirety by going to Amazon Video

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If you have found value in this podcast please leave a review so it can become more visible to others. Simply click the link and then click on the Ratings and Reviews tab to make your entry. Thank you for your support!

Let’s be honest.  We’ve all worked with someone that we just didn’t click with or downright despised, but felt like we had no choice but to stick it out with them.  Or we’ve worked on that...

Are you one of those people who loves a good End-of-the-Year list? Yeah, me too. I absolutely love them, truth be told. I know, I know. Kinda cheesy… but kinda fun. And that’s why I’ve put together this retrospective this mix tape, if you will, of this, the first year of The Documentary Life‘s existence. Whether you’re new to the program or have been a #DocLifer since day one, you’re gonna dig these juicy “best-bits” culled from the conversations that I’ve had the honour of having this past year with documentary industry guests.

And lest you think that your friendly neighborhood podcast host was just having a lazy week, the latter portion of the show takes a look at what you can expect in the coming New Year. There are some pretty exciting announcements that I’m sharing with you, my listeners, for the very first time.

Think of this as my thank you to YOU, my ever so faithful listener, for sticking with me since that day in May 22nd, when I first introduced the world to The Documentary Life. It’s been one helluva journey so far, and I simply cannot wait to see where things are headed in 2017.

So, with that, I’ll just leave you to it…

Talk hard,

Chris G. Parkhurst

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If you have found value in this podcast please leave a review so it can become more visible to others. Simply click the link and then click on the Ratings and Reviews tab to make your entry. Thank you for your support!

2016 Are you one of those people who loves a good End-of-the-Year list?  Yeah, me too.  I absolutely love them, truth be told.  I know, I know.  Kinda cheesy… but kinda fun.  And that’s why I’ve...