Storytelling is always at the heart of any kind of documentary journey. And for today’s episode of the podcast, we will explore 5 Ways to Tell Someone’s Story, followed by a shared conversation with, Stephen Most, who has been working in documentary for 40+ years and he has had a hand in the writing and/or producing of four documentary films that were nominated for an Academy Award. Stephen has just released his new book, Stories Make the World: Reflections on Storytelling and the Art of the Documentary.

 

Topics Discussed

• how & why storytelling is an essential part of the human experience
• how doc filmmaking gives extraordinary access to the world’s most intimate stories
• importance of truly listening to our subjects + their stories during the interview
• why interviewing with a sound recorder might sometimes work better than on-camera

 

Ways to Tell The Story

Some of the ways, as we discuss in this episode, in which you can tell someone’s story in your documentary film:

• archival photos/footage
• testimonials
• find the details
• become the explorer
• silence is okay

 

Related Resources

Watch the trailers for Stephen Most’s documentary films:

° Nature’s Orchestra

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdqBUXyZPF4

 

° River of Renewal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq7kYfkaQ10

 

° Oil on Ice

https://vimeo.com/43694943

 

Watch the trailer for Stephen Most’s book:

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

 

Own a copy of  Stories Make The World

 

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So what exactly does one say to one of the most respected documentary filmmakers of our time?

What does one say to the man who literally inspired countless future doc filmmakers when his film Hoop Dreams took the world by storm in 1994?

What do you say to the man who has made a career out of telling some of the most human, humane, and heart wrenching stories about some of the neglected and forgotten and misunderstood amongst us?

And what do you say to the man who was just nominated for a 2018 Best Documentary Oscar for his film Abacus: Small Enough to Jail?

 

Well, I suppose that’s why you’ve tuned in to this very special episode of The Documentary Life, an episode where we sit down for a heart-to-heart, one doc filmmaker to another conversation with documentary legend, Steve James.

 

Topics Discussed

• keys to longevity as a doc filmmaker
• the filmmaker’s responsibilities after being nominated for an Academy Award
• how Steve started out working as a Production Assistant, and how he nearly quit
• importance of being paid for your time in your grant proposal budgets
• whether or not it’s necessary to build your story around a conflict

 

Related Resources

Watch for free: Abacus: Small Enough To Jail

Watch the Film Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH4OMyYzjZ0

 

Sponsors & Thank You’s

Episode #62 is brought to you with support from BlackBox Global, creators of one of the easiest way to turn your filmmaking skills into passive income!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=14&v=BAGp0j57LNE

Go to BlackBox, Create a Free Account, and start selling your footage today!

 

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Filming in extreme environments as a doc filmmaker can be a challenging thing. Shooting in Antarctica? A whole other ballgame. Just ask Anthony Powell, who has been working on the continent for over a decade, and has recently released the award-winning doc Antarctica: A Year on Ice. He has taken what started out as a hobby shooting timelapses of the Antarctica skies and terrain, and turned it into a fulfilling career as a preeminent Director of Photography and doc filmmaker on the continent.

 

We had the pleasure of holding conversation with Anthony (or Antz, as he’s known to his friends and colleagues) for this week’s episode of the podcast.

 

Topics Discussed

• shooting in extreme cold environs
• how the cold affects your camera gear
• how to shoot better timelapses
• how to live and work in Antarctica for a full calendar year

 

5 Tips for Shooting in Hot Environments & Harsh Sunlight

While I don’t necessarily have much experience in the colder extremes of the world, I do have plenty of experience working in the opposite spectrum of the thermometer. So in our opening segment I lay out 5 Tips for Shooting in Hot Environments & Harsh Sunlight.

1. Don’t shoot in middle of the day
2. Keep your camera cool
3. Wear appropriate clothing
4. Wear sunscreen
5. Bring a photo reflector

 

Related Resources

Anthony Powell’s timelapses and other videos:

https://vimeo.com/136179939

https://vimeo.com/93102009

https://vimeo.com/38416148

 

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If there ever was a Bible for documentary filmmaking, for my money, it would have to be Michael Rabiger‘s Directing the Documentary. The shear volume of books, online courses, podcasts, and How-to Youtube videos that are out there for the indie filmmaker who producers narrative film is probably in the cajillions. However, the amount of material…

Film marketing & promotions, crowdfunding, and theatrical distribution are topics that, at some point in time, all independent doc filmmakers will need to know about. So if you’re looking to start arming yourself with some knowledge that’s going to potentially culminate in a successful release and maybe even in theatrical distribution then this is the show for you. Among other things we give you 5 tips for crowdfunding.

 

Two filmmakers who know this journey as well as anyone and are currently having spectacular success with their independent documentary film is Leah Warshawski & Todd Soliday. Their current film, Big Sonia, has not only won over twelve film festival awards, played theatrically in a number of cities, but just this past week set a new record for the all-time highest grossing film to ever play the Glenwood Arts Theatre in Kansas City.

 

Topics Discussed

• Crowdfunding strategies outside of the Kickstarter & Indiegogo platforms
• How to run a successful promotions campaign for your theatrical screenings
• How a company like Film Sprout can propel your film to outreach and screenings
• How to film particularly sensitive scenes

 

Film Trailer

Watch the trailer for Big Sonia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe1Mq_en-XY

 

Related Resources

Film Sprout

A boutique distribution firm that helps social-issue filmmakers create

robust community and campus screening initiatives for their documentaries. This was a service that Leah & Todd used for their doc, Big Sonia. They spoke glowingly of the work that Film Sprout did in getting Sonia out into the world!

 

Women You Should Fund

A rewards-based crowdfunding platform that Todd & Leah were very happy with while working together during their crowdfund campaign. They may be a nice fit for your own campaign!

 

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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!

 

 

The International Documentary Association (IDA) has been nurturing, guiding, and contributing to the projects and lives of documentary filmmakers since its inception in 1982. In the organisation’s words However, for many of us doc filmmakers who are not really connected to IDA, it can seem like a daunting or even elite organisation if we don’t…

How to Make a Music Documentary

The music documentary has a long history as well as a special place in my heart when it comes to documentary films. A couple of my favourite docs of the past few years have fallen into this category. I love geeking out on the programmes about how bands made their most famous albums. The first conversation with an industry guest that we ever had on the show was with John Pirozzi and his music documentary, Don’t Think Ive Forgotten.  My wife, Steph, and I are in the middle of making our own music documentary, Elvis of Cambodia. So it shouldn’t really come as a surprise that I’m a big proponent of the music doc, since it’s basically the crossroads of two of my biggest passions: film and music.

 

What may surprise you is the number of sub-categories that fall into the music documentary genre. Docs about the making-of albums, docs about the music or musician, docs about a musician’s following, docs about specific instruments, docs about the history of a type of music, etc. The list goes on.

 

Ian McFarland, a musician and director of commercials, music videos, and documentary films, recently is making some big noise – it played Doc NYC and a slew of other name festivals – with his latest music documentary, The Godfathers of Hardcore ,  a film about two boyhood friends who would go on to lead one of New York’s most recognizable hardcore bands, Agnostic Front. It’s a candid conversation that happens to be one of my faves in a long time (I know, surprise, surprise, I get to talk about music and film!). There is a lot here, especially for aspiring or current music doc makers.

 

Topics Discussed

• How documentary filmmaking is not just a creative endeavour, it’s a lifestyle
• How to approach a known band with your doc idea
• A rather unique approach to filming interviews without using a camera

 

Related Resources

Keep in touch with Ian and his film:

Film Website 

Facebook @thegodfathersofhardcore

Instagram: @thegodfathersofhardcoremovie

Twitter: @godfathersofhc

Ian’s Website

 

 

Film Trailers

° Watch Ian McFarland’s film trailer – The Godfathers of Hardcore

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJCqQQbq9Fc

 

 

° Watch the trailer for one of the best music documentaries of recent years, Searching for Sugarman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDw7OqVBT-w

 

° Watch trailer for...

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