In the summer of 2014 I am going to set off across the country making a loop through the mid west, east coast and gulf coast working with non profit organizations. It will be my first documentary and I am extremely fortunate to have a group who is willing to help me fund a large portion of the expenses. Because of this I want to make sure that i can avoid all of the potential rookie mistakes. (Being that I have no experience I will most likely ask some really ignorant questions, i apologize in advance and also really appreciate your real and sincere answers)

Questions:

1. My budget is going to fall somewhere around $10,000 for travel, camera/s and production. What is the general break down of the percentages that should go into each piece.

2. What should I look for in my camera selection? Given that I have a little bit over a year I definitely have the opportunity to start practicing before I actually go out on my actual trip.

3. Whats the best way to organize and keep track of what you have shot? Filming all the time I realize that I am going to have a bunch of video.

4. What websites or books can I pick up that will give me more insight?

If you have any other advice I would really appreciate it!

Hey all, I'm trying to use 1990's news clips and war footage for a documentary I'm working on. AP Archive youtube channel has a ton of amazing content that I'd love to use. Their licensing prices are super expensive though, as it's $350 per clip for a 14 day use or $850 for non-AP subscribers.

I haven't been able to find any relevant content on archive.org. Does anyone know a way to lower the price on these clips or another provider besides AP? Thanks for any help

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/what-does-the-case-act-mean-for-filmmakers-and-fair-use-registration-136718413455

needles to say I'm over the moon, I've worked on docs before but this is my first solo project. If you're interested, I have a Trailer and previews 1 & 2. I would say I'm happy to answer any questions about making documentaries but I feel all I know is that I know nothing. \m/

This is a treasure trove of amazing footage from various places. Within the list of videos you will find videos covering:

How to do a great interview

How to Direct a Doc

Finding the best documentary character

This is just a taste from hundreds of other videos with more tips and him putting his methods to practice. This is the fundamentals.

I found https://www.storyandheart.com/ and thought that was a great resource but wanted more. Thanks!

I am a 22 year old man (boy?) living in Sydney Australia. I currently work doing behind the scenes work at a major television channel for their news, which will lead to a job in news video editing. The content is, most often, completely unnecessary, misses the point, is solely there for entertainment or emotional masturbation, and sells people a packaged understanding of events in the world (probably not news to you). I want to make something, don't care what the story or the context, that sheds some actual light on something not being seen or being ignored. I watch documentaries because they are regularly insightful, beautiful, confronting, honest and expand my world view. I feel like i need to be exploring of my own accord so i can find topics worthy of being seen and then i need to go about documenting them in an effective way, yet i feel paralyzed, overwhelmed and sheltered (like so many of us do in the west) - to the point that i don't know where to step and fear i might never take one.

I have some basic equipment, a small amount of money and i want to start doing this. This is an open question, i know there are many ways of getting right into the thick of this, but if only i could have some guidance on how this all could work, where to look, how to approach situations, technical side of things, any resources at all. It's time. Please if you have anything you can say, an insight, a link, your experience, knowledge of what others have done, lessons you have learned in your travels... it would be immensely helpful to me.

Namaste

I want to start making some short documentaries for my YouTube channel, because I'm not a massive fan of vlogging, but I understand the importance of video if I'm ever going to make a career out of being a content creator.

I love the educational value of documentaries, and I want to put my educational background in journalism and my obsession with travel (I have been a travel blogger for about three years, predominantly focusing on writing and photography) into creating more video based content, including documentaries (stuff like Borders that Johnny Harris shoots for Vox).

However, one of the biggest problems with shooting a documentary is that I am on my own. I don't know anyone who would help me, nor am I in a financial position to pay someone to help me produce a documentary and work the camera (even if I was, I'd probably be shooting things around Europe, so that would make things more difficult).

Does anyone know of any helpful resources or videos for self-shooting documentaries, or maybe even share some of their own stories and tips? Is it something that's really viable, or is self-shooting a small documentary not really feasible?

Tl;dr I want to start making 10-20 minute documentaries for my YouTube channel and I am wondering if it is possible to self-shoot a documentary.

Hello everyone,

I'm having problems finding references and examples for a project I'm working on right now. I'm editing a documentary about a place in my hometown where people did all sort of cultural activities for years for free. We have a huge ammount of footage, but it comes from tens of different sources. Some of them are crappy 480p videos from old smartphones, dark and blurry, others are wonderfully shot 1080p clips. I have to put them together and make it look somehow nice.

But so far it looks too amateur. I don't know how to edit this. I'm guessing I'll have to do some work in after effects to create some backgrounds and frames. Still, I'd like to see some references from other movies that faced a similar problem and get some ideas. However, googling it doesn't really help, since all I find is tutorials and such.

Does any of you, fellow documentary filmmaking redditors, know about any movie that could serve as an inspiration?

Thanks for reading!

Hi there,

I'm based in the NJ/NYC area. Been in music about 7 years and would love to discuss scoring your upcoming documentary if the need is there for original music. Feel free to check out some of my work and get in touch!

www.stevematthewcarter.com

www.soundcloud.com/stevematthewcarter

Hello all. While I have perused for awhile now, I am yet to post. The time is upon us. Currently, I am sitting in a hotel room in New Orleans, awaiting surgery next week to remove lymph nodes in my chest area. Allow me to use a paragraph or so in an attempt to paraphrase my short but riveting time as cancerous host.

Almost a year ago, I, a 27 year old gentleman, was diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumor of the pancreas. After months of chemo and radiation through my local oncologist in Fayetteville, AR, I was referred to a specialist in New Orleans at the Ochsner Neuroendocrine Clinic. Once it was decided that the tumor was inoperable, my New Orleans oncologists then referred me to Miami Transplant Institute. I was accepted to the Transplant Institute in August of 2013 and began the evaluation period for a multi-visceral transplant (In other words: the plan was to remove my intestine, liver, stomach, pancreas, and various other odds and ends). Six days before New Years Day Ought'14, (or three days before Christmas, didn't want to get too Tiny Tim for anyone), my transplant hopes were dashed, or delayed at the very least, when the my oncologists found a positive cluster of lymph nodes behind my clavicle. Back to New Orleans. I currently reside, as I always have, in Fayetteville, Arkansas by the way; so these little jaunts to and from Miami and New Orleans are, well I was going to say they are a pain in the ass, but I rather enjoy the travel so no complaints there. Perhaps I was just attempting to shoehorn my hometown in there, or to simply accentuate the subsequent financial effects resulting from such vagabonding.

This is where y'all come in. In my past life I was a videographer. Since my diagnosis, I have been working on an ever evolving documentary about my cancer, my experience with the field of oncology, stand-up comedy, medical marijuana, woodworking, and fly fishing. I assure you I will tie them all neatly together, just don't you worry. While I am here in NOLA, I would love to talk with anyone that is interested in one or more, or possibly all, of the aforementioned subjects, so I can grab some interviews for my documentary. In regards to the cancer and oncology end of things, I would like to see if anyone knows or is an oncologist or oncology nurse in this area, NOLA, or if not around here, I would love to talk to ya anyway if you find my story compelling. I am also looking for patients to interview. It would be great if they could be around my age demographic say 20-35 in the NOLA area, or if you're not in the area, hell, hit me up and we can video chat or something. If any active participants in the advocation of medical marijuana are down around here please do not hesitate to get ahold of me because I have many a thought on that subject. Having been in this city for a short amount of time, I have not been able to check out the local stand up scene, so if anyone has any information on that please let me know as well. As far as the fishing goes: I'd enjoy getting together with fellow fly fishermen enthusiasts. Anywho, hopefully some of ya’ll will or know someone that can get ahold of me! Thanks again

Nate