Documentary film in production

dustino

dustino

Well-known member
Hello all,
I was never a monster poster in the first place, but I've REALLY been absent for the past 6 months or so. That's mainly because I've been working hard on a documentary. I don't want to say too much about the film and break the "no politics" rule, I'll just say it's about police abuse. I'm roughly 2/3 of the way through production and will be working hard over the next several months to raise the needed funds to finish the project.

Oh yeah, all of the film is being shot on the DVX(a). Look forward to any comments, questions, or critiques and hope we can do so without violating the "no politics" rule that keeps this place sane. Thanks!

http://www.spokefilms.com/videos

EDIT: I forgot to say thanks to all the many people on this site who, along with several books, were (and continue to be) basically my film and video teachers. Hope there's at least a couple of good shots in there to make you proud!
 
fantastic!

really, really great. good job!

wow.

the only contsructive feedback i can offer is to tighten your trailer. just distill it down. but it looks great!

PM me if you want really specific notes.

good luck to you.
 
Thanks for checking out the trailer, guys, and for the feedback. I agree about the length - I plan to cut another one soon that is literally half the length, but I needed something a little longer to show to some potential funders. Thanks again.

Oh yeah, Zim. I shot in "regular" 24p but added letterbox in FCP (and I'm glad I did because it really helped to be able to make slight adjustments in composition.)
 
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Looks great. Nice job on tightening it up for your short trailer, though I did appreciate the longer version as well. It looks like you have plenty of compelling voices to tell your story, and kudos on getting the woman who provides your exposition in one fell swoop, "You know who Jon Burge is, he's the guy who..."

What are your plans for distribution?
 
Thanks, Bus No. 8, I appreciate it. Yeah, that Burge quote was a huge help for the trailer though it's too bad the footage looks less than wonderful (shaky and backlit).

I'm still trying to research distribution plans right now - this stuff is all new to me to be honest. I know I want to self-distribute in part and retain rights. I've pretty much bankrupt myself, though, (lol) so my most pressing concern right now is fundraising (although to do that well, I'll need a solid distribution plan...)
:violin:
 
What program are you editing on? I think FCP Studio 2 could take care of both shaky and backlit to a fair degree. I've seen much worse footage salvaged, and that particular shot doesn't look all that bad.

Are you considering a television market at all, such as POV on PBS? I think with some of those markets you can get completion funds, though to what extent you could retain rights, I don't know.

I've pushed this book a few times on this board, Trailer Mechanics. It's about creating your fundraising trailer (different from a theatrical trailer). I think your short trailer is already close to what you would want to create for this purpose, but the book has a lot of good information about the various funding and distribution markets and what they are looking for. Might be helpful.

Good luck with this. I'll be anxious to hear about the next phases.

Robert
 
I actually own that book already, Bus No. 8, but thanks for the advice. I just hopped on your withoutabox site and checked out your project. Looks really interesting - look forward to learning more. Do you have a trailer or any clips right now? How's it coming along?
 
Oy, don't ask.

No, actually - we're working the next three months on a 20-30 minute piece to take back to Christiania when we return in December. With footage from the two trips (last September and this coming December) we'll be cutting a fundraising trailer to work towards going back to stay for 6-12 months (or more).

Yeah, this is a long term project.

It's like Cats..."Now and Forever".

We'll post clips when we get our website up.
 
Look forward to seeing the clips, Robert. Good luck with the project and the fundraising (keeping my fingers crossed for both of us...)
 
I think the headline is so strong. Seeing Chicago in with Git-mo and other high profile places made me sit back and think, "whoa, what's going on here?" Definitely a good hook!

Looking forward to seen the whole film.

-andrew
 
Fantastic work! Love the trailer. I happen to be a long trailer lover but I'm finding that for my own work, I need to create long and short versions of everything. :)
 
Dustin,

Don't know if you mention it in your film, but the "Electronic Shocking Device" was known as a Tucker Telephone.
 
Thanks for the kind words, Ijaba! Much appreciated.

And thanks for the help, metro2307. A couple of people do mention the Tucker Telephone in interviews I've conducted. The device used most often was the black box - though it was a generator from the Tucker that was rigged up. Horrible stuff.
 
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