FST-537-800 Producing

Oops! I did Blog_07 prompt last week and skipped number 06. Alas, here is the blog for chapter 9 and the ida reading.  Fast, Cheap, or Good is the main thing that stood out to me as well – I believe kim wrote about this in her blog post. Honestly, this is the only way the corporate world thinks. Fast usually equals terrible work but it accomplishes the main goal of the project. Cheap is often dealing with the lowest bidder... In any other industry this would mean something to most people, but in the creative world – everyone believes they can receive quality for a cheap price and usually end up paying double due to reshoots or second tries with one project. Good lives in the world where most would like to achieve on any project. I believe that almost no project made for a product or money, can be any better than good. Usually, excellent work only comes from the artist being able to create something that they believe in and can stand behind. When there are too many brains involved i...

 Asking for Money is HARD.  I have seen a lot of successful kickstarter, indygogo, seed and spark, and gofundme campaigns. I've even shot a couple videos like this for clients. I love the idea of a crowdfunding campaign but more often than not, they don't work. Last summer I launched an indygogo page for my summer 01 film and we were able to raise a little over $4000 through the campaign, but in all honesty, I had to do some cold call selling of my own to get the project to that number. On top of that, I ended up selling some film gear and personal item to fund about $1000 of the project.  I started by reaching out to all family and friends to see if they could give any money for the project and ultimately, ~70% of my funds came from me reaching out to people in my inner circle that I knew had money that could back the project. Only $10... that's right, $10 came from someone outside my family and friend circles. Do I think that campaigns can be successful? Yes. But I do b...

Chapter 5: Making a documentary is a complex and multifaceted process that requires a significant amount of research, planning, and preparation. The research phase is particularly critical as it lays the foundation for the entire project and helps you determine the focus, tone, and style of the documentary. D etermining the scope of the project is paramount in the beginning. This involves establishing the topic or theme that you want to explore, as well as the scope of the story you want to tell. This can be done through brainstorming, researching existing documentaries on similar topics, and consulting with experts in the field. My scope is slowly coming into view as I continue to research for this project. Chapter 6: Shaping a documentary project gives your project meaning. It involves defining the structure, focus, and tone of the film. A c learly defined theme or message can convey a more meaningful story. This is something that I am struggling with in this project so far. I know ...

  Documentary - Rosenthal, Chap 3: Getting to Work, Chapter 4: Writing the Proposal, Chapter 17: Making Your First Films Chapter 3 leads us into a set process of identifying the films purpose and then discovering an audience. I believe it is most helpful to start by giving your film a purpose. Without purpose, your audience is often unknown. I've found this to be extremely frustrating in filmmaking. Everything that a filmmaker will do in order to finish a project is to share an experience, story, event, or even highlight an individual. Moving forward with a project that does not excite you as the storyteller is a recipe for disaster.  Chapter 4, writing the proposal – in his words a device to sell a film. Unless you come from money or have a rich friend willing to support your art, a proposal is necessary for many reasons. Similar to the reading in chapter 3, a proposal helps you identify the purpose of your film. For my current project, I knew I wanted to ...

  Documentary - Rosenthal, Chap 23: The Produc er's Role   This reading helped me understand the process a bit more when it comes to creating a larger form documentary. The resources Rosenthal provides about grant writing is very helpful. In my own experience, documentary filmmaking has been something that I have either been creating for a director or in collaboration with an organization or company. Telling stories that I have created or invented have come few and far between. I hope to push forward with several grant proposals in the coming months to support the funding for this project. I also loved the portions about distribution, often when making a project, I just assume it will end up online or at a few small festivals. But it is nice to know that there are so many other options of where a documentary could end up. Overall I enjoyed the reading but it did feel a little dated it some portions. The opportunities of streaming your content continues to change.