The Documentary Life

What bigger question does the documentary filmmaker have than ‘Where can I find funding for my film?’ ? Well, today’s documentary industry guest is writer and film funding guru, Morrie Warshawski. Morrie wrote the well-known (and well read!) book on creative, practical, and (dare I say?) fun ways of funding your documentary film, Shaking the Money Tree: The Art of Getting Grants and Donations for Film and Video Projects.

So much inspiring and practical advice to be had in this podcast! Among other topics discussed, are the importance of having the triad of a mission statement, core values, and vision. Morrie’s infamous house fundraising party and the topics of how/why you need a fiscal sponsor for your project are just a few of the topics covered!

(Photo credit: Picking From The Money Tree — Image by © Images.com/Corbis)

We highly recommend grabbing a copy of Morrie’s book Shaking the Money Tree. It holds some very valuable insights and advice for any documentary filmmaker looking to secure funds for their film.

The Fundraising Houseparty: How to Party with a Purpose is another great book by Morrie that delves into this strategies for bringing people with money to the proverbial party, in order to raise funds for your film.

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So you’ve heard about this cool thing called crowdfunding – or Kickstarter or Indiegogo – where people are getting their documentary films financed by people all around the world. who are interested in being a part of their project. And you’re thinking that you might like to do the same… but you haven’t a clue where to even begin. Well – surprised, surprise – I’m here to help make your crowdfunding dreams come true!

Having successfully run two Kickstarter campaigns for two different film projects (Journey to Kathmandu, Elvis of Cambodia), I want to offer some valuable advice on how to best run your crowdfunding campaign. But maybe even more importantly, I wanna tell you about what not to do, so you may avoid some rather tricky pitfalls that, if not aware of beforehand, could seriously jeopardize the success during or after your campaign. (Can you say ‘hidden costs of a Kickstarter campaign’??)

Enjoy the show, and if you dig, please feel free to share with other documentary friends and family! The more documentary films being made, the better our storytelling world, right?

Download documentary filmmaker Lindsey Grayzel‘s press release here: press-release_grayzel_footage

Charges dropped, but fight continues! This article contains the most recent news on Grayzel and Davis’ charges.

Watch raw footage (courtesy of Lindsey Grayzel) of climate activist Ken Ward as he shuts down a TransMountain oil pipeline in Burlington, Washington.

https://vimeo.com/188582850

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Filmmaker, and record label owner, Brian Jenkins reached out to me a little over a month ago. He was a fan of the show, as well as a contributor to the doc filmmaking online resource Desktop Documentaries. He wanted to make me aware of the upcoming release of his latest documentary film, Answering the Call, a film that takes a personal look at historical events in Selma, Alabama, that once led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. I watched Brian’s film and was enamored with his DIY approach that played so well with the storyline of the film. I thought he’d make a great guest for the show.

In the episode we discuss his roots in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he was making and producing music for his record label Riot House Records, at a very early age, and how his direct experience – especially in distribution – working in the music industry, allowed him to more easily make the transition to the film (documentary) industry.

We also took a look at his own personal connection and then journey to making his current documentary feature, Answering the Call. Animation as a great means for storytelling, how he has made music a big part of his filmmaking, and, of course, how he lives and leads his own doc life, are just a few more of the topics that are covered in this conversation.

Watch the trailer for Answering the Call

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSyD8tlIz28

Check out the entire film Itunes | Vimeo |

Wanna listen to some of the great music that was in the show or sample some of the bands (like Empty Mansions, Porcupine, White Mule, Spencer Moody) on Brian’s record label, Riot House Records?

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!

Okay, so it should be noted that this podcast is being released a week after I actually recorded it since I’m currently in the ridiculously sunny and ridiculously humid climes of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico filming on Let’s Talk Coffee 2016. So while this may be a short blog write-up, the podcast is a really good one (if I do say so myself!). It draws upon my experiences producing documentary work overseas. Chock full o’ (hopefully!) helpful tidbits and recommendations.

Enjoy and let me know what you think…

Check out behind-the-scenes of my film Journey to Kathmandu. Mentioned in the show, this is where my camera goes down.

The feature image for this show and for this page is a photograph that I took of my translator/fixer/friend, Phon Kaseka. This photograph was taken during the filming of Bombhunters, in the province of Mondulkiri, Cambodia. It won second place in the 2006 Oregonian Best of Travel Photos competition.

Original score from Journey to Kathmandu by composers Samuel Ross and Jared Jensen.

Unique Child by Huoy Meas

Dont Think I’ve Forgotten by Sinn Sisamouth

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!

On this International Podcast Day (yes, there is such a thing!), it’s only appropriate to bring you another installment to our monthly conversations with documentary industry people. This time out, I spoke with documentary filmmaker (Briars in the Cotton Patch) and founder of Desktop Documentaries, Faith Fuller.

I’ve been following the Desktop Documentary website for a couple of years. The site is a wonderful all-encompassing resource for documentary filmmakers. Desktop Documentaries has been a passion project for Fuller and it’s grown leaps and bounds since it’s inception, nearly a decade ago. Recently, it underwent a massive re-brand and overhaul of the site, including the just-released Documentary Filmmaking Learning Center.

Among other things, Faith and I talked about how her tv news reporting and then her video producing for world re-nowned humantiarian organisation Habitat for Humanity International, best set her up for success in the documentary film world. We also discussed her EMMY award-winning doc, Briars in the Cottonpatch, including the importance of connections with one’s subjects and how documentary filmmaking transforms who we are are as human beings.

And of course, as we always do with these monthly conversations, we delved a bit into how Faith herself lives and leads her own documentary life!

As mentioned in the show, Faith and Desktop Documentaries have just released the brand new Documentary Filmmaking Learning Center. I encourage you to try out the platform FOR FREE with the brand new Documentary Starter Kit Mini-Course.

One of the great new features is direct access Q&A’s with the course instructor to help guide you through the filmmaking process. Plus everything can now be accessed with one simple login.

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!