The Documentary Life

Okay, so the show is now five episodes old (not including this one which will give us six total).  We've had some great conversations with documentary industry people like John Pirozzi (Don't Think I've Forgotten) and Lydia B. Smith (Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago), covering topics such as shooting film overseas in developing countries and the importance of laying down a solid grassroots foundation well before your film is even shot.  In the other episodes, I've talked about what it means to lead a documentary life, choosing the right camera for your project, and ways to find score for your film.

 

But now I think it's high time we get down to the nitty gritty of what we're going to be about here on this show.  And that's how to best be leading our documentary lives.  So in this show, I detail what I believe are the Top Three Critical Components to Living an Abundant Film Life.  Don't worry, though.  There are only brief mentions of self help gurus like Tony Robbins or Dave Ramsey.  While those cats certainly have their places in personal development - and I've learned from the both of them! - I've no interest in regurgitating that particular sector of self help.

 

What I am about is calling it the way that I see it.  So what you're about to get is an honest, candid, few suggestions on what I've experienced are the best ways that I know how to lead my own documentary life.  So check it out and let me know what you think.  I bet you can add to this list.  So please share that with all of us in the comments below.  Don't let my voice be the only one that gets heard here.  This show is about collaboration and the sharing of ideas.  So, we've got a whole community out there that would benefit greatly from hearing what you've got to say.

 

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Okay, so the show is now five episodes old (not including this one which will give us six total).  We’ve had some great conversations with documentary industry people like John Pirozzi (Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten) and...

Tune in to our second conversation with a documentary industry person, this time award-winning filmmaker, Lydia B. Smith. At the heart of the show is her use of a remarkable grassroots campaign that propelled her last documentary film, Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago, to great heights, including the twelve-highest grossing documentary film of 2014.

TDL host himself, Chris G. Parkhurst, was so inspired by her fortitude, resilience, and ingenuity, that he and his wife, Stephanie would employ some of her grassroots techniques for their own doc project, Elvis of Cambodia.

If you’re looking to better understand how an effective grassroots campaign for your film can help in building a following for your film or help in your fundraising efforts, this is definitely a show for you.

Join Lydia and Chris, as they share their stories and insight into how you can better live and lead your own documentary life!

Trailer

Watch the trailer for Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4nd3P1_CB0

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Rate and Review

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!

In episode four, we introduce a new segment to the show: #DocLifer emails! As part of the segment, we address some of TDL’s first-ever emails, including an email that references Episode 3 guest, John Pirozzi. The #DocLifer describes his own challenges with the length of time it sometimes takes to finish one’s project.

We also discuss another #DocLifers concerns about not making the majority of your income from making documentary films.

And finally, the third email segues into the main topic of Episode 4, which is about scoring one’s documentary film. In it, we share how we were able to get band Godspeed You! Black Emperor to agree to supply their music, free-of-charge, to a documentary film, Bombhunters, that Chris was editing. We also discuss some unique places to get music for one’s film, including from international star, Moby, through his site Mobygratis.com .

SubscribeApple | Spotify | Stitcher |

Rate and Review

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!

Tune in to our second conversation with a documentary industry person, this time award-winning filmmaker, Lydia B. Smith.  At the heart of the show is her use of a remarkable grassroots campaign that propelled her last documentary film, Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago, to great heights, including the twelve-highest grossing documentary film of 2014.

 

TDL host himself, Chris G. Parkhurst, was so inspired by her fortitude, resilience, and ingenuity, that he and his wife, Stephanie would employ some of her grassroots techniques for their own doc project, Elvis of Cambodia.

 

If you're looking to better understand how an effective grassroots campaign for your film can help in building a following for your film or help in your fundraising efforts, this is definitely a show for you.

 

Join Lydia and Chris, as they share their stories and insight into how you can better live and lead your own documentary life!

 

Trailer

Watch the trailer for Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4nd3P1_CB0

 

Subscribe

Apple | Spotify | Stitcher |

 

Rate and Review

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!

 

In episode four, we introduce a new segment to the show: #DocLifer emails! As part of the segment, we address some of TDL's first-ever emails, including an email that references Episode 3 guest, John Pirozzi. The #DocLifer describes his own challenges with the length of time it sometimes takes to finish one's project.

 

We also discuss another #DocLifers concerns about not making the majority of your income from making  documentary films.

 

And finally, the third email segues into the main topic of Episode 4, which is about scoring one's documentary film. In it, we share how we were able to get band Godspeed You! Black Emperor to agree to supply their music, free-of-charge, to a documentary film, Bombhunters, that Chris was editing. We also discuss some unique places to get music for one's film, including from international star, Moby, through his site Mobygratis.com .

 

Subscribe

Apple | Spotify | Stitcher |

 

Rate and Review

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!

Tune in to our second conversation with a documentary industry person, this time award-winning filmmaker, Lydia B. Smith.  At the heart of the show is her use of a remarkable grassroots campaign that propelled her...

In episode four, host Chris G. Parkhurst introduces a new segment to the show: listener emails! As part of the segment, he addresses some of TDL’s first-ever emails, including an email that references Episode 3...

Much like TDL podcast host, Chris G. Parkhurst, filmmaker John Pirozzi has been making documentary films in the SE Asian country of Cambodia for well over a decade, initially with the Matt Dillon feature film City of Ghosts, and then later on through his own documentary projects, Sleepwalking Through the Mekong, a film about Los Angeles band Dengue Fever‘s return to the homeland, as well as the award-winning Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten, a film that examines the history of rock and roll in Cambodia.

Parkhurst and Pirozzi sit down to have a frank and open conversation about what it means to film in a developing country, including how to best do it with one’s family.

Hilarious, insightful, and inspiring stories were shared. Don’t miss this great first, in a series of monthly conversations with documentary industry people.

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Rate and Review

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!

Welcome back to The Documentary Life podcast. In episode #2, a major topic of discussion revolves around one of the essential aspects of the show: inspiration. We discuss why it’s important for the show to inspire its listeners. Chris also discusses the films and filmmakers that have inspired his documentary filmmaking journey, including narrative films like Gus Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho and early digital cinema pioneers, Stefan Avalos and Lance Weiler, and their groundbreaking digital film The Last Broadcast.

As he discusses specifically the documentary genre, he mentions filmmakers like Werner Herzog and Rithy Panh, who both seamlessly inhabit the narrative and documentary genres. Included are the films Burden of Dreams and The Missing Picture.

The second half of the podcast delves into what Chris’ approach has been to film and video cameras for his projects. He traces his family tree of the cameras that he has used for his documentary and narrative film projects. He offers the suggestion that you should use what you have, trusting that you will have what you need, later on.

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Rate and Review

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!