Long-term success in documentary-making is best supported by a good grasp of legal basics. This Legal Q&A answers one question: What are some of the key areas of legal understanding that are important to a sustained career as a documentary producer? Creating a Business Entity Producers often form business entities to run all of their productions, rather than doing so as an individual person. Or, they might set up a single-purpose business entity for each production, or a combination of both. These entities employ individuals (often including the individual who founded the entity), and they
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For 14 years, the fall season has meant, for me, the Camden International Film Festival (CIFF) in Camden, Rockport and Rockland, Maine—three picturesque small towns nestled between the mountains and the sea, just 17 miles south of where I grew up. Camden specifically has long thrived as a gathering place for the meeting of the minds, away from it all and in an environment that naturally encourages inward contemplation and a shedding of social trappings and pretense. Since 1988 the Camden Conference has lured foreign affairs experts to brave the harsh Maine winters to discuss pressing issues of
"Documentary editing is perhaps one of the most challenging intellectual feats on the planet…How does anyone do it?" Author, educator and film editor Jacob Bricca asks the question in the introduction to this how-to book on editing the documentary and then spends the next 240 pages providing a very satisfying answer. He clearly reminds us of the difference and relative ease of editing a narrative fiction film, in which "by and large, we already know the intention of every scene and the approximate purpose of every shot." Compare that to the twists and turns that often occur in the filming
Screen Time is your curated weekly guide to excellent documentaries and nonfiction programs that you can watch at home. The Circus, a four-hour series from Sharon Grimberg, tells the story of one of the most popular and influential forms of entertainment in American history. The Circus , not to be confused with the Showtime series on contemporary American politics. airs and streams on American Experience. Capturing the most intimate moments of her story, Rx: Early Detection, A Cancer Journey with Sandra Lee highlights the importance of early detection and informed decision-making in regards to
For the first time, the International Documentary Association (IDA) has unveiled the shortlists in the Shorts and Features categories for their annual IDA Documentary Awards.
Essential Doc Reads is a weekly feature in which the IDA staff recommends recent pieces about the documentary form and its processes. Here we feature think pieces and important news items from around the Internet, and articles from the Documentary magazine archive. We hope you enjoy! IndieWire's Chris O'Falt covers Showtime's secret documentary on President Trump's Tax Evasion. When the New York Times editors hit publish on yesterday’s exhaustive report detailing how Fred Trump fraudulently funneled millions to his son — President Donald J. Trump — Showtime’s cameras were rolling. A holdover
Ross McElwee’s brilliant Sherman's March was a revelation when I first saw it in 1987. I had never seen anything like it—a one-man band filming his own tumultuous, heartbreaking, hilarious journey through the South, and searching for love while trying to make a documentary about General William Tecumseh Sherman’s March to the Sea during the Civil War. I was newly out of film school, trying to get my first screenplay produced with the help of the Sundance Institute, and writing scripts for others. I didn’t know it then, but the lessons I learned from Ross’ film would inform my own journey years
Documentary recently spoke with Professor Dennis Aig, Ph.D., the Program Head of the MFA Program in Science and Natural History Filmmaking at Montana State University. A native of Brooklyn, Dr. Aig found his way to Montana by way of Columbus, Ohio, where he had earned his Ph.D. But more about that later on in the interview. What brought you to teach and eventually become an integral part of the film program at Montana State University? Dennis Aig, Ph.D.: When I finished my doctorate, like most Ph.D. students, I was absolutely broke. There was a corporate position that opened with this
Dear Readers, When IDA launched the Getting Real conference in 2014, we were intentional in adhering to the tagline, "A Filmmaker to Filmmaker Event." We listened to our community and gauged the needs, issues and concerns that weren't being addressed in a way that truly empowered the filmmakers. That inaugural Getting Real laid the groundwork for the intervening years, in which we turned ideas and insights into actionable items through conversations and confabs across the country. The second Getting Real, in 2016, affirmed itself as not just a convener but as a catalyzing force. Issues on the
Dear Documentary Community, IDA’s biennial Getting Real '18 documentary conference is upon us, and it feels like the right time to look back at what has happened since our last gathering in 2016—and to look a little bit forward too. In 2016, the themes of Getting Real—career sustainability, diversity and the evolving craft of documentary storytelling—were the big topics. And these themes make a return in varying forms in 2018. The questions and issues underlying them do not lend themselves to easy solutions and quick fixes. And yet if we stand back, we can see that some progress, stuttering as