The Documentary Life

So many doc filmmakers are doing the one person crew documentary. For many, it’s a necessary evil due to financial constraints of the doc filmmaker. But for some, like doco Claudio von Planta, it’s the preferred way of shooting his films. And it also just so happens to be the reason that he’s been hired on such recognizable documentary series as the successful Long Way Round. And now, with his brand new film, Chasing the Jet Stream – a film that is included in the lineup of this year’s Melbourne Documentary Film Festival (MDFF) – Claudio is back dealing with the type of documentary that he is most comfortable with: a story about a unique character doing unique things in the world.

Topics Discussed

• we check in with MDFF director, Lyndon Stone, whose festival has now become one of the most respected in documentary
• how in 1985 on a break from university, Claudio von Planta, discovers his passion for doc filmmaking
• how being a skilled one person crew got Claudio von Planta his big break with the Long Way Round series
• the reason von Planta finds it important to create totally independent documentaries
• how the doc filmmaker is a different breed and one that must be entirely passionate and dedicated to their craft

Additional Resources

Trailer for DP, Claudio von Planta’s directorial debut, Chasing the Jet Stream

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3mKebPj3d0

Trailer for Long Way Round series

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-0uBcnmE2M

Actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman give great testimonial to working with Claudio von Planta

https://vimeo.com/2564055

Even More Claudio von Planta!

I highly recommend checking out Claudio’s Vimeo channel. It’s chock full o’ films and clips from his incredibly impressive career as a doc filmmaker!

Thank you to music licensing platform, Music Vine for their fresh and diverse music and for contributing the wonderful music that we’ve used in this week’s episode.

If you need any music for your doc project, we can honestly recommend Music Vine.

Want 20% off of your first music licensing purchase? No licensing restrictions or number of tracks! Simply use promo code MYDOCLIFE at checkout!

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!

How many times have you been approached by a friend or family member with another “great idea for a documentary”, when they find out that you’re a doc filmmaker? Well, if you’re anything like Miami doc filmmaker, Billy Corben – director behind such docs as Cocaine Cowboys, ESPN 30 for 30’s The U, and now his latest, Screwball – it’s practically an everyday experience. Which is why he’s come up with a great three step for sussing out the viability of said great idea for a doc.

Topics Discussed

• how screenwriting classes were the best filmmaking classes for all aspects of filmmaking, including editing, shooting, and directing
• Billy Corben’s three-step process called R.A.S. for determining viability of a potential doc project
• how a bogus and manipulative meeting with baseball great, Alex Rodriguez, resulted in their latest doc, Screwball
• Billy Corben’s Hustling 101 for the independent doc filmmaker
• the conscious decision to make movies and tell the unique stories of their hometown, Miami, Florida

Additional Resources

Trailer for Screwball

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJUhgT65r8M

In Chris in Cambodia, TDL host and doc filmmaker, Chris G. Parkhurst shares some of his stories and lessons from his most recent trip filming in Cambodia, working on he and his wife, Steph’s, current documentary, Elvis of Cambodia.

In Part Nine, the last of our nine part series, Chris, discusses the importance of making partnerships and strategic relationships should be a significant part of your documentary filmmaking.

Thank you to music licensing platform, Music Vine for their fresh and diverse music and for contributing the wonderful music that we’ve used in this week’s episode.

If you need any music for your doc project, we can honestly recommend Music Vine.

Want 20% off of your first music licensing purchase? No licensing restrictions or number of tracks! Simply use promo code MYDOCLIFE at checkout!

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!

Ever wonder what it might be like to discover a treasure trove of archival footage that lay untouched for over thirty years for your documentary film? That’s exactly what happened for veteran BBC and multi-award winning filmmaker, Alex Holmes on his latest film, Maiden, a documentary about 26 year old Tracy Edwards who set out to skipper the first-ever female crew during the Whitbread Round the World Race, a race that spans 33k miles and lasts for nine months.

Topics Discussed

• how finding this boat load of archival footage allowed Alex Holmes to tell his doc in an exciting narrative, nearly real-time fashion
• Alex Holmes gives his four elements for funding for documentaries
• details the search for archival, how to edit with it for free, and license afterwards
• how all doc filmmakers actually experience imposter syndrome
• how the first step in leading a documentary life is the hardest and most essential step

Additional Resources

Trailer for Maiden

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SGpb6K9C5s

In Chris in Cambodia, TDL host and doc filmmaker, Chris G. Parkhurst shares some of his stories and lessons from his most recent trip filming in Cambodia, working on he and his wife, Steph’s, current documentary, Elvis of Cambodia.

Cambodian Singer, Sinn Sethsochhata

In Part Eight, Chris, discusses one of his final and most difficult of interviews with the granddaughter of famous Cambodian singer, Sinn Sisamouth. This segment takes a look at not only how important the interview is for the doc filmmaker, but how often, important relationships are built during with our subjects during these interviews.

Thank you to music licensing platform, Music Vine for their fresh and diverse music and for contributing the wonderful music that we’ve used in this week’s episode.

If you need any music for your doc project, we can honestly recommend Music Vine.

Want 20% off of your first music licensing purchase? No licensing restrictions or number of tracks! Simply use promo code MYDOCLIFE at checkout!

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!

When filmmakers Don Argott and Sheena M. Joyce met, it was a match in doc filmmaking heaven. Their first documentary film, The Art of the Steal, was a Netflix hit that would lead them to their next doc projects, and ultimately to their lives as full-time documentary filmmakers. Their current film, Framing John DeLorean, blurs the lines between fiction and non-fiction narrative, using name actors like Alec Baldwin and Josh Charles, meta filmmaking, and incorporating actual behind-the-scenes footage as a significant storytelling device.

Topics Discussed

• Lessening the lag time between your doc film projects
• How meta filmmaking and using behind-the-scenes footage became an impactful storytelling device for Framing John DeLorean
• Where the blurred lines between fiction and non-fiction meet and when not to cross those lines
• By nature living the doc life is an unsure, uncertain business that you have to be okay with in order to live it

Additional Resources

Trailer for Framing John DeLorean

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIa1gn9wVNo

In Chris in Cambodia, TDL host and doc filmmaker, Chris G. Parkhurst shares some of his stories and lessons from his most recent trip filming in Cambodia, working on he and his wife, Steph’s, current documentary, Elvis of Cambodia.

In Part Seven, Chris, along with trusted friend and fixer/translator, Phon Kaseka, rides elephants in Mondulkiri province and commences filming in Kampong Thma province. This segments delves into the all-important relationship between doc filmmaker and fixer/translator.

How to Film a Drummer on a Cambodian Road

Where we share our listeners #doclives and filmmaking stories. This week’s #Doclifer Story, comes from Hasan Demirtas, who shares with us his journey to and through his first feature doc, You Name It, a film that explores three of the world’s prominent genocides.

Thank you to music licensing platform, Music Vine for their fresh and diverse music and for contributing the wonderful music that we’ve used in this week’s episode.

If you need any music for your doc project, we can honestly recommend Music Vine.

Want 20% off of your first music licensing purchase? No licensing restrictions or number of tracks! Simply use promo code MYDOCLIFE at checkout!

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!

Entrepreneur, Dominic Johnson-Hill, has just spent the last year traveling China and presenting for the documentary series, Seasons of China. But the journey to becoming one of China’s most recognizable tv presenters was a unique one, and certainly not without its challenges.

When Dominic Johnson-Hill traveled the world in the early 90s, China was just supposed to be a stop along the way. But then he ran out of money. So he learned the language, started a market research business, then Beijing’s first t-shirt brand, Plastered. Since then, Johnson-Hill, has become a celebrity in China and is now the host of the 24-episode documentary series, Seasons of China.

• how the seeds of entrepreneurship were sown when Dominic Johnson-Hill went broke in the middle of Beijing
• how often it is an artist or entrepreneur’s passion that can bring others onboard a project
• what it was like for Dominic Johnson-Hill to spend a year out in the provinces of China, filming on the Seasons of China series
• the filmmaker’s awareness of documenting parts of culture that may someday no longer exist
• why it’s important for the doc filmmaker to find different ways in which to connect with their interview subjects and how they can best do so

Additional Seasons of China Resources

Episode one of, Seasons of China, the 24-episode series presented by Dominic Johnson-Hill

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7QvDyCi7hE&t=7s

An interview with Seasons of Change presenter, Dominic Johnson-Hill

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5ddw0iO-WM

In Chris in Cambodia, TDL host and doc filmmaker, Chris G. Parkhurst shares some of his stories and lessons from his most recent trip filming in Cambodia, working on he and his wife, Steph’s, current documentary, Elvis of Cambodia.

In Part Six, Chris and Patrick travel to Siem Reap to film the first of three very important Sinn Sisamouth scenes. It is in Siem Reap, a town most noted for the famous temples of Angkor Wat, that Chris finds a local artist whom they can film depicting a Sinn Sisamouth song. And it is here, that they will first employ Chris’ carefully constructed plan to shoot the b-roll in a unique way that best tells the story of the scene.

Related Videos From the Set of Elvis of Cambodia

Behind the Scenes with Our Siem Reap Painter

Filming Sinn Sisamouth’s Champey Siem Reap

Where we share our listeners #doclives and filmmaking stories. This week’s #Doclifer Story, comes from Hasan Demirtas, who shares with us his journey to and through his first feature doc, You Name It, a film that explores three of the world’s prominent genocides.

Thank you to music licensing platform, Music Vine for their fresh and diverse music and for contributing the wonderful music that we’ve used in this week’s episode.

If you need any music for your doc project, we can honestly recommend Music Vine.

Want 20% off of your first music licensing purchase? No licensing restrictions or number of tracks! Simply use promo code MYDOCLIFE at checkout!

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!

Doug Block has made a living out of the personal documentary style, including films like Home Page, 51 Birch Street, and The Kids Grow Up. He is also the pioneer behind one of the largest online documentary filmmaking communities, The D-word, which has just recently had its twentieth anniversary.

• how the one-person crew is tailor-made for documentary
• the importance of being in service of story over technical filmmaking achievements
• how Doug Block never intended to champion the personal documentary style
• the D-word having its 20th anniversary came from Doug Block’s first documentary
• how because most doc filmmakers don’t make their entire living doing docs, process becomes a very important aspect

Additional Doug Block Resources

Film Trailer for Doug Block’s, Home Page

https://vimeo.com/312993406

Film Trailer for Doug Block’s, 51 Birch Street

https://vimeo.com/15608076

In Chris in Cambodia, TDL host and doc filmmaker, Chris G. Parkhurst shares some of his stories and lessons from his most recent trip filming in Cambodia, working on he and his wife, Steph’s, current documentary, Elvis of Cambodia.

In Part Five, Chris gets violently ill in Cambodia. But his forever trustworthy traveling and filmmaking companion, Patrick, comes to the rescue. A few years later, Chris is able to return the favor. Emergency on-the-fly car driving lessons and other zaniness ensues, as we learn the value of people that you can truly trust when filming in developing countries.

Related Videos From the Set of Elvis of Cambodia

Papaya Salad and “Dirty Water”

Having Some Fun While Filming Chinese New Year in Kampot

Where we share our listeners #doclives and filmmaking stories. This week’s #Doclifer Story, comes from Scott Link, a name well-known in the TDL Community facebook group. Scott has recently finished his first documentary feature, If My Judges Are Ready? and shares with us some of his trials & tribulations.

Thank you to music licensing platform, Music Vine for their fresh and diverse music and for contributing the wonderful music that we’ve used in this week’s episode.

If you need any music for your doc project, we can honestly recommend Music Vine.

Want 20% off of your first music licensing purchase? No licensing restrictions or number of tracks! Simply use promo code MYDOCLIFE at checkout!

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!

Few people know the crowdfunding game like John Trigonis. He is considered to be one of the leading experts in the game. And with good reason, since he has been leading some of the most impressive crowdfunding campaigns for film companies and independent filmmakers over the past decade, worked for Indiegogo, and authored the veritable bible on the subject, Crowdfunding For Filmmakers: The Way to a Successful Film Campaign.

• How John and his friend’s early interest in film and drama led him to the world of crowdfunding
• Why doc films and filmmakers are perfect for crowdfunds
• Three of the most common mistakes first-time crowdfunding campaigns make
• How crowdfunding is about so much more than simply raising monies for your doc film

Additional Crowdfunding Resources

The book that made our crowdfund campaign

Interested in the book that everyone is talking about (and certainly we talked about on the show!)? This is literally THE resource that Steph and I used to guide us through our successful $20k crowdfund for Elvis of Cambodia.

John gives his crowdfunding TEDx Talks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGb7bQKtA3o

In Chris in Cambodia, TDL host and doc filmmaker, Chris G. Parkhurst shares some of his stories and lessons from his most recent trip filming in Cambodia, working on he and his wife, Steph’s, current documentary, Elvis of Cambodia.

In Part Four, Chris ventures out into the provinces for his first bit of filming since returning to Cambodia. And it’s the Chinese New Year. And he’s taking friend/colleague, Patrick Firouzian out to film with him. Only, they need to find some way to get to their subject’s hometown, which is not easy since most modes of transportation are shut down during the New Year celebrations. And then once there, they’ll need to stay sober enough to complete the day’s filming!

Related Videos From the Set of Elvis of Cambodia

Filming Seng Dara in his hometown of Chumnik village, Takeo province

Friend, additional photographer, and film collaborator, Patrick Firouzian, takes a break during the filming.

Where we share our listeners #doclives and filmmaking stories. This week, we visit with doc filmmaker and founder of The Charlotte Unconventional Film School, Julie McElmurry, who shares with us her experiences working on her documentary series about nuns.

Thank you to music licensing platform, Music Vine for their fresh and diverse music and for contributing the wonderful music that we’ve used in this week’s episode.

If you need any music for your doc project, we can honestly recommend Music Vine.

Want 20% off of your first music licensing purchase? No licensing restrictions or number of tracks! Simply use promo code MYDOCLIFE at checkout!

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!

Thom Powers has been more in touch with documentary filmmaking and filmmakers than most anyone I know. Which makes sense, since he made docs for about a decade, programs for two of the most prestigious film festivals (TIFF and DOCNYC), and is now the host of the podcast, Pure Nonfiction .

Please join us as we have a candid conversation with one of the industry’s more recognisable voices. A conversation, one doc filmmaker to another. One podcaster to another.

• How Thom Powers went from making HBO and PBS docs to running film festivals
• How Thom Powers took his experience as a doc filmmaker and made his festival for doc filmmakers
• How and why DOCNYC is one of the more unique doc festivals around
• How Thom Powers has had such great access to doc filmmakers for his Pure Nonfiction screenings and podcast

In Chris in Cambodia, TDL host and doc filmmaker, Chris G. Parkhurst shares some of his stories and lessons from his most recent trip filming in Cambodia, working on he and his wife, Steph’s, current documentary, Elvis of Cambodia.

In Part Three, Chris talks about his first couple of weeks settling into his old haunt, the capital city, Phnom Penh. And how it has changed over the years. He also battles some serious editor’s block, being unable to delve back into his passion project, Elvis of Cambodia. And how it took a spark and a sound to turn things around for him, just when he feared all might be lost.

Where we share our listeners #doclives and filmmaking stories. This week, we visit with This Little Land of Mines, director, Erin McGoff, who shares with us her first experiences working on her first feature doc.

Thank you to music licensing platform, Music Vine for their fresh and diverse music and for contributing the wonderful music that we’ve used in this week’s episode.

If you need any music for your doc project, we can honestly recommend Music Vine.

Want 20% off of your first music licensing purchase? No licensing restrictions or number of tracks! Simply use promo code MYDOCLIFE at checkout!

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!

Doc filmmaking duo, James Jones and Olivier Sarbil, have been making their doc living on the frontline of some of the world’s most dangerous areas. But they didn’t necessarily always intend it to be this way. Join us for a powerful and engaging conversation with two filmmakers who are making some of the most important film work today.

Their latest doc, the FRONTLINE film, On the President’s Orders, is a searing look at President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly campaign against drug dealers and suspected drug users in the Philippines, told with unprecedented access to police officials implicated in the killings, families of users, and others from both sides of the nation’s war on drug.

• how the two filmmakers and their work were a great match for one another
• the importance of being totally upfront and transparent with your doc subjects right from the beginning
• how Olivier is able to keep his emotions in-check as he films some of the harrowing moments in life
• how you are treated and best ways to operate as a foreign doc filmmaker working in another country

Watch the trailer for On the President’s Orders

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xukP-PpC3Bo

In Chris in Cambodia, TDL host and doc filmmaker, Chris G. Parkhurst shares some of his stories and lessons from his most recent trip filming in Cambodia, working on he and his wife, Steph’s, current documentary, Elvis of Cambodia.

In Part One of this Nine Part Series, Chris talked about the mental and physical pains of lugging around too much gear in a place like Cambodia. In Part Two, he goes back to the beginning, days before leaving for a big annual corporate video gig and then embarking on his passion project, Elvis of Cambodia. And he walks us through the packing of film gear for a trip like this.

In the episode, Chris mentions his Essential Doc Film Gear List, which can be found by going here.

Chris’ Essential Travel Doc Filmmaking Gear List

Where we share our listeners #doclives and filmmaking stories. This week, video production professor, doc film director (and longtime listener of the show!) Josh Davidsburg discusses his journey with the making of his latest doc, Queen of the Capital.

On Tuesday, May 7th, 2019, we will be bringing together the new members of the #Doclifer Elite Mastermind, a collective of documentary filmmakers moving their documentary films and their documentary lives forward with purpose. We would love for YOU to be one of those members. Complete the application today and let’s get to work on making your best doc film!

Thank you to music licensing platform, Music Vine for contributing the wonderful music that we’ve used in this week’s episode.

We’ve used many music licensing platforms over the years for commercials, corporate videos, and documentaries and these guys are different.

Their music catalogue that is truly fresh, diverse, full of character, their search engine is as straight forward and user friendly and their licensing fees? Unlike anywhere else we have come across.

If you need any music for your doc project, we can honestly recommend Music Vine.

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!

Pamela B. Green has made her first documentary feature, Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy Blache. And it is about one of the true pioneers of cinema, Alice Guy Blache. You’ve probably not heard of her. You’re not alone. Even film scholars and most of Hollywood’s finest have no idea who she was. And Pamela is set on rectifying that situation.

• the need for true resilience for a doc filmmaker to stay with their passion projects
• how Alice Guy Blache was one of the original filmmakers who embraced the idea of entrepreneurship
• how her successful $200k Kickstarter campaign helped her build an audience for her film
• her approach to using the detective work behind her search for Alice Guy Blache was used as a significant part of the story

Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy Blache

https://vimeo.com/70380930

It’s great to be back, #Doclifer! And I’m eager to share some of my stories and lessons from my most recent trip filming in Cambodia on our current documentary, Elvis of Cambodia.

First lesson up? Pack. Lightly.

Where we share our listeners #doclives and filmmaking stories. This week, Thomas Bertram, who started his production company RainWater Media six years ago and is currently over in the country of Thailand filming on his latest documentary.

On Tuesday, May 7th, 2019, we will be bringing together the new members of the #Doclifer Elite Mastermind, a collective of documentary filmmakers moving their documentary films and their documentary lives forward with purpose. We would love for YOU to be one of those members. Complete the application today and let’s get to work on making your best doc film!

Thank you to music licensing platform, Music Vine for contributing the wonderful music that we’ve used in this week’s episode.

We’ve used many music licensing platforms over the years for commercials, corporate videos, and documentaries and these guys are different.

Their music catalogue that is truly fresh, diverse, full of character, their search engine is as straight forward and user friendly and their licensing fees? Unlike anywhere else we have come across.

If you need any music for your doc project, we can honestly recommend Music Vine.

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!