To complete or not to complete - that is the question...

[starcentral]

I have the option to complete a documentary which would be a "7 year later" follow-up story which started with two female body-builders who were friends training together to compete for the same bodybuilding competition. The doc is about their struggle to get ready in time for the competition and the strain that was put on their friendship during the whole process. Their personal trainer I believe was the first female body builder in Canada to earn Worldwide bodybuilding champion, who now does personal training across USA and Canada.

I had planned to use some footage that was shot 7 years ago in SD using the Canon XL2 and would shoot all new interview footage in HD to re-tell some of the story.

I have heard that a typical broadcast license deal for a doc is around $5000 (per country I'm assuming) and distribution deals can range from $1k to $50k in North America (Canada + USA).

I'm on the fence to complete this, so any advice if in the long run it would really stand to do anything for me career-wise beyond some of the monetary gain (which seems quite miniscule if I could be so blunt)?

 

[prexdealer]

I don't really have advice from a career perspective. But would it make you happy to complete the doc? I took a quick look at your website and seems like you have a lot of experience and credibility already. I bet you could make more money doing something else (for the same amount of time). So, I guess, would it make you happy?

 

[Kegan]

Fitness is big right now. With the Toronto Pro being the biggest show in Canada, there is a lot of potential for the doc. Sure, you might have some old footage but it depends on if you think you can put together a solid product of it.

The "option"? Is this something you previously shot or were you asked to finish something already started?

Kegan

 

[starcentral]

I guess having something out there feature-length of my own would be an asset, I think I'm just lazy or lost the passion to finish it.

Here is promo poster I had worked on;

Fitness is big right now. With the Toronto Pro being the biggest show in Canada, there is a lot of potential for the doc. Sure, you might have some old footage but it depends on if you think you can put together a solid product of it.

The "option"? Is this something you previously shot or were you asked to finish something already started?

Kegan

Had I been smarter I would have tried to complete this prior to the 2012 Olympics, but yeah Toronto Pro is also a good marketing idea. By "option" I just meant "my option" since it is something I previously shot making me the sole producer so far.

It has an very interesting ending to say the least, some emotion along the way, twists and turns.

 

[Kegan]

I say you do it. Finish what you started. Poster looks great - Laura Binetti? Capitalize on who you've got in there! Female bodybuilding has definitely changed over the last few years and it might be an interesting angle shooting some current stuff.

I'm sure you have a good grasp on it, but if you need some help reaching out to some different fitness icons, I might be able to help out.

Best of luck,

Kegan