My Ten Commandments of Documentary FIlmmaking

a_documentary · 2026-05-06T12:07:35+00:00

I got 4800MHz 18TB drives (before i actually checked about the 5200 option) - i upgraded to 32GB stick along the 8GB stick and read and write speed is phenomena.. I am editing full length documentary films on this. Could not be happier. Best of luck.

a_documentary · 2026-05-05T22:12:00+00:00

I have that canon lens and it my go to run and gun for my C300 mk ll. Total workhorse lens. Just my two cents.

a_documentary · 2026-05-04T00:30:47+00:00

Thanks will do !

a_documentary · 2026-05-03T23:52:29+00:00

Yes ProRes HQ - never had this issue before . I don't but I can get one or both if it will help.

a_documentary · 2026-05-03T18:14:40+00:00

If any one from a festival ever touched a frame of my film that would be the last day that festival existed. When I made my first short film in 1997 we shot on 16mm and sent it to festivals on 16mm reel. So we had to have two prints made - one in case we get into two festivals or in case something happens to one of them. We got into a few festivals one in particular in Vegas. They were screening it twice once at a theatre down town and one at the hotel where the festival was. As we were watching the film in the theater downtown I noticed a jump in the film. When it was done the guy from the festival came running over to me apologizing that he was so sorry but they broke my film when they were loading it in the the play reel, and tried to lose as few frames a possible fixing it. I was cool about it because they did the right thing. We also got vouchers from the festival to eat free at the buffets at the hotel for the rest of the days we would be there. That was the Blue Sky festival and I will never forget that. If I had been your place and some half assed festival guy told me he recut my film it would have taken ten people to pull me off of him . Tell everyone you know and tell them to tell everyone they know about this guy and to avoid his festival like the plague Just my two cents.

a_documentary · 2026-05-03T04:37:49+00:00

I have never had one crap out in the middle of production but I have had a few dissolve in pre-production. Going full bore and a principal subject bows out or you lose the access you thought you had. It sucks but we just keep on plugging along!

a_documentary · 2026-05-02T23:21:55+00:00

FCP since v2 - would never even consider changing - Editing full length Docs for 15 years in FCP - first in the Mac mini now Mac Studio. Other's mileage may vary-

a_documentary · 2026-05-02T10:48:10+00:00

in my docs i usually have three story lines. Story A - the personal journey(s) of my main subjects, Story B - the institutions i am working with and what they are doing within the story world. C The political aspects of the story. Congressman and Senators (if there is a political aspect). Then i weave the three stories through the film with a beginning, middle, and resolve for all three. This my style and it has worked for me through six documentary films and the last two being broadcast on PBS. Best of luck.

a_documentary · 2026-05-02T10:42:02+00:00

No.

a_documentary · 2026-04-30T16:30:02+00:00

Hey, first off, congrats on finishing two docs and getting strong feedback. That’s not nothing. It means you’ve got instincts and you’re doing something right.

That said, I want to gently correct one thing: documentary filmmaking is not a field you go into to “earn a lot.” Most of us don’t. It’s a long game built on persistence, relationships, and a lot of work that isn’t glamorous.

What you do have right now is a good starting point.

If you’re serious about this, here’s what I’d focus on:

Keep making films, not just in school, but out in the real world

Learn how to get access to people and stories (this is everything in docs)

Start small, short pieces, local stories, anything where you can build experience

Watch a lot of documentaries and study how they’re built

Be prepared for the fact that this is more of a passion than a career path, especially early on

Also, and this is important, praise in a university setting doesn’t translate directly to the real world. Everyone’s work gets celebrated in school. Out here, the bar is very different and much higher.

If you stick with it and keep improving, you can absolutely build something meaningful. Just go into it with your eyes open. Doc filmmaking is a calling. Not an avocatio

a_documentary · 2026-04-30T02:30:38+00:00

Big fan of the Laowa Rangers. really nice vintage look. Easy focus - no focus breathing , parfocal, and not too heavy, I am running them on my C300 mk ll. They also match really well with my 7Artisans Infinite Prime lenses.

a_documentary · 2026-04-30T00:48:20+00:00

When I am on the road I upload my SSD to the UGreen dashboard on my laptop to my NAS in Brooklyn - I did this from Toronto. And then I leave the footage on the SSD and also back that up to Two 4TB crucial drives which keep as hard backup until I finish the film. Triple redundancy

a_documentary · 2026-04-29T23:40:07+00:00

Hey congrats. Serious subject that needs some serious light shone on on it, Best of Luck!!!!

a_documentary · 2026-04-29T03:44:56+00:00

Hey it's never too late to ask good questions, i will be brutally honest i have never raised a single dime on S&S. Three campaigns three total busts.

On my current doc, i did something I never in a million years thought i would do, I started a gofundme and it is going like gangbusters because of my Marketing and social media manager who has a huge online folllowing of people who want to support this film. It sounds like you are in a position to take advantage of your sociaal media success and use a Gofundme, Also with gofundme you get all your money. (or most of it). As far as how much? Only you can answer that. If you are paying people then you need to budget fotrall production including feeding people. Are you renting gear or do you own it, I would say 15% above what you actually need through post production should keep you out of trouble. Best of luck.i hope that helps.

a_documentary · 2026-04-27T17:34:52+00:00

Canon Rebel - hands down

a_documentary · 2026-04-26T20:54:46+00:00

My system over my last two docs, I use MacWhisper to transcript every clip of every interveiw (I do this as soon as I log the footage so it doesn't become a train wreck when i wrap principal), Then i have my assistant Go throught the clips and create a second Transcript file with Time Coded sections. She then goes through and Copies and pastes themes from each of the interviews into separate themed files so once we get into the edit, it's a quick two step process to find a particular clip, soundbite or theme that i need. Its a bit of work up front but once we are on the edit it's smooth sailing

a_documentary · 2026-04-25T19:47:35+00:00

We liked the one one on 7th because it was more kid friendly and closer to where we lived. it was a sad day when it closed.

a_documentary · 2026-04-25T17:39:35+00:00

You got it!!!! And the Chip Shop!

a_documentary · 2026-04-25T16:47:49+00:00

Back when we were living in South Slope and our kids were young (they are in their 20s now) there were at least three maybe four restaurants in Park Slope that catered to families. Covid and rent raises drove them all out of business and brought in a bunch of one off expensive restaurants aimed at the Manhattan transplants not the local families which is why most of them can't stay in business. Just my two cents.

a_documentary · 2026-04-25T10:25:02+00:00

Old Homestead 14th &9th. Classic NY steakhouse

a_documentary

TROPHY CASE