I'm working with some people who are putting on a music/art/film festival two weeks into March of 2010. I want get to know a couple of the bands, artists and the one film company if possible, and then shoot the festival. I want to show what it's like for the artists, as well as the two or three guys putting on the festival... I want to show what they're doing and experiencing, leading up to the event. I want to be able to give a viewer a feeling like they are getting to know the individuals before they see them do the work they do. My problem is I don't know where to start. I feel I need to start shooting whatever I can tomorrow, literally, and start organizing later because of the extremely small amount of time we have before the event. I can do this, but if anyone has any experience or ideas they could lend as advice as to how to help me make this happen, lend away. I'm open to all advice and I appreciate any genuine thought you might respond with. Thank you for reading. I'll keep this thread updated as I go as well.
Need advice - Shooting Documentary, Time Crunch
- Thread starter jsstring
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IjabaFilms
Well-known member
That's a tricky way to film a documentary. You'll end up with tons and tons of footage and perhaps too broad of a focus on your topic. At the same time, it is what it is. If you are pressed for time and you are very set on doing that particular documentary, then you are going to do it and work with what you have and deal with the problems that come with it. 
I shot two documentaries in 2008 (at the same time) and I made one on my best friend since 10th grade and the other on a pair of twins I also went to high school with and we are all in our mid 30s now. Even then, I still had to go back almost a year later and shoot more to refine the topics and it wasn't until the second shoot did I feel like I was making the film. When I went back I felt like "Now this is the film I wanted to make" because they were more comfortable in front of the camera the second time and with the whole process. I wrote this after: http://www.threewestcreative.com/1018/documentary-filmmaking-in-10-steps/
Or you can possibly go lock yourself in the bathroom and not come out until you have an outline and and framework for your documentary. Make a list of who you want to shoot and what part of their job you want to shoot, make a schedule you can stick to and shoot those things.
I'm no expert, just my 2 cents. And I have a very simple way of going about documentaries. Also, at some point, I'd recommend taking a workshop with Fernada Rossi on documentary storytelling. It was the best thing I've ever done for my filmmaking.
I shot two documentaries in 2008 (at the same time) and I made one on my best friend since 10th grade and the other on a pair of twins I also went to high school with and we are all in our mid 30s now. Even then, I still had to go back almost a year later and shoot more to refine the topics and it wasn't until the second shoot did I feel like I was making the film. When I went back I felt like "Now this is the film I wanted to make" because they were more comfortable in front of the camera the second time and with the whole process. I wrote this after: http://www.threewestcreative.com/1018/documentary-filmmaking-in-10-steps/
Or you can possibly go lock yourself in the bathroom and not come out until you have an outline and and framework for your documentary. Make a list of who you want to shoot and what part of their job you want to shoot, make a schedule you can stick to and shoot those things.
I'm no expert, just my 2 cents. And I have a very simple way of going about documentaries. Also, at some point, I'd recommend taking a workshop with Fernada Rossi on documentary storytelling. It was the best thing I've ever done for my filmmaking.