This past weekend I was in Milford, Pa., at the Black Bear Film Festival, for a screening of my first documentary, The Farmer and the Horse.
After the film, I answered questions from the audience – 25 people maybe.
After more than a year of screenings, I’ve discovered that these things get progressively easier. In large part, it’s because some of the same questions are getting asked, and you get a chance to polish up your answers.
One question I received was, “What advice would you give to someone thinking about making their first documentary?” Here’s the answer, in three parts:
1. I had a great-grandfather from who was famous for saying, “You no starta, you no finish.” That’s solid advice. There are many people who talk about making a film, far fewer who actually get started, and far fewer than that who actually finish. There are always good reasons not to get started, but what makes you a filmmaker is that you start anyway.
2. For low-budget filmmakers, it’s usually not possible to get all the best equipment all at once. I think this is not only okay, it will make you a better filmmaker in the long run. Once you become a great shortstop using a baseball glove made out of paper bags, you’ll be even better when you get a proper glove made out of leather. (That’s an Ozzie Smith reference from my youth.) But my advice would be: Buy the good stuff, one piece at a time, when you can. Cameras come and go, but don’t cut corners with workhorse pieces of gear like microphones, tripods, and light stands. These things should last forever, so pay for the right tripod the first time, and you’ll probably never have to buy another one.
3. Watch a ton of documentaries, to get inspired and see what’s possible. Just off the top of my head, here are 10 docs that really made me pay attention to what the filmmakers were doing:
The Civil War
Murder Ball
Gasland
Bowling for Columbine
Why We Fight series (Frank Capra)
Planet Earth series
Hoop Dreams
Inside Job
Collapse (it's just one guy talking the entire time!)
The Cove
After the film, I answered questions from the audience – 25 people maybe.
After more than a year of screenings, I’ve discovered that these things get progressively easier. In large part, it’s because some of the same questions are getting asked, and you get a chance to polish up your answers.
One question I received was, “What advice would you give to someone thinking about making their first documentary?” Here’s the answer, in three parts:
1. I had a great-grandfather from who was famous for saying, “You no starta, you no finish.” That’s solid advice. There are many people who talk about making a film, far fewer who actually get started, and far fewer than that who actually finish. There are always good reasons not to get started, but what makes you a filmmaker is that you start anyway.
2. For low-budget filmmakers, it’s usually not possible to get all the best equipment all at once. I think this is not only okay, it will make you a better filmmaker in the long run. Once you become a great shortstop using a baseball glove made out of paper bags, you’ll be even better when you get a proper glove made out of leather. (That’s an Ozzie Smith reference from my youth.) But my advice would be: Buy the good stuff, one piece at a time, when you can. Cameras come and go, but don’t cut corners with workhorse pieces of gear like microphones, tripods, and light stands. These things should last forever, so pay for the right tripod the first time, and you’ll probably never have to buy another one.
3. Watch a ton of documentaries, to get inspired and see what’s possible. Just off the top of my head, here are 10 docs that really made me pay attention to what the filmmakers were doing:
The Civil War
Murder Ball
Gasland
Bowling for Columbine
Why We Fight series (Frank Capra)
Planet Earth series
Hoop Dreams
Inside Job
Collapse (it's just one guy talking the entire time!)
The Cove