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What Are Some Creative Storytelling Ideas For My Documentary? 
Question: I am writing to you from Switzerland. I started to make a documentary about my country. The film shows the history from the Ice age, up to …

How do I transition from researcher to documentary maker? 
Question : I am a researcher with a PhD, including a lot of experience in archival research, interviewing, oral history, etc. I would like to use my …

Which Is Best Lens For Canon 7D and Filmic Documentary? 
I am going to do a filmic documentary & would like to know which lens would be most suitable for the Canon 7d Mark II ? So far I have heard the 50mm, …

Heroin Documentary | Where Do I Start? 
My community is small; as of the last census in 2010, the total population was about 2,069 people. It's a quiet, peaceful community, but even here heroin …

Best Picture Style for Shooting Documentary on Lumix G7 and GH4 
VISITOR QUESTION: Submitted December 19, 2015 Hi, I have just found this website, it is exactly what I need..thank you. I am just an amateur, …

How To Get Pro Audio Working As a Solo Filmmaker 
Question : There are often situations where I am forced to do the filming alone. Do you have any tips for getting great sound while you also are focusing …

How do I start a documentary when I don't even have equipment? 
Question: I wish to start my documentary that will be about social issues affecting the youth, however I don't have any capital. I don't have a camera …

Is it possible to make a documentary with a Panasonic HDC-HS80 Camcorder? 
Visitor Question : I'm really what you'd call a newbie. Basically I know nothing. I am going to a third world country...my place of birth...and since …

You Asked: How to create a strong online presence as a filmmaker? 
Question: The internet seems to be inundated with new independent filmmakers striving to make a breakthrough. What advise do you have for standing out …

You Asked: How do you effectively screen a film online? 
Question : I have found that online audiences are very different to audiences in the cinema, indeed few viewers watch films I have released the whole …

Audio Levels For Video And Documentary Production 
Ask Your Documentary Question What are the current standards regarding acceptable audio decibel levels of 1. Interviews 2. Music under interviews and …

Documentary Question | Research Software 
I'm researching information for a full-feature historical documentary that spans a period of ten years, with many characters, an enormous amount of official …

How do I put together a full time documentary video crew? 
I am the co-founder of a start up nonprofit. At this point I am in charge of some important parts of the business plan, and one of the plan subjects …

How To Find A Documentary Editor? 
Filmmaking Question : How can I find someone to review and clean up my edits, color, sound? I am 90% finished with post production of my documentary and …

How can I write a concept for a feature length documentary film? 
Question: I have an idea for a feature length documentary film, however I'm required to write a one page 'concept' for the film. It's for a school application …

How To Find Funding For Documentary on Extremism in Pakistan 
Question: I am conducting a research on a very relevant and impelling topic regarding rise of extremism & militancy in Pakistan and its connection with …

Film Festival Rules For Private Videos 
Question : What are people's experiences using Vimeo Private to get a feature film out to friends who live on the other side of the world. Will any …

Is writing a documentary proposal a collaborative work? 
Question : Is the producer responsible for writing the documentary proposal or it is a joint collaboration between producer, director, and writer? …

Documentary Filmmaking and Video Production Workshops  
Visitor Question: Hello. I have produced over 50 documentaries in the last two years for government agencies in Nigeria. I script. Direct. And voice. …

External hard drive for video editing? 
Hello. First of all, you must be aware that I am French. So, into this request, there could be mistakes in my grammar. I will try to be the most clear …

Documentary funding alternatives to social networks 
Question: Where can I find documentary funding without going down the social network route? My colleague and I have produced a documentary. We have …

How do I stop micro-jitters (rolling shutter) in DSLR cameras? 
Question: I understand in DSLR cameras, there is sometimes micro jitters or rolling shutter, but this can be stopped by rigging? What rigging does this …

Archive Footage Rights | Prelinger Archives 
QUESTION : Hello, I'm currently working on a 15 minute corporate documentary for a large swiss watch brand and we're struggling to understand the rights …

How do I decide the tone of the documentary? 
Hi I am 15 years old and I am beginning to start a documentary for National History Day.. I have participated in this competition for three years now and …

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Making A Fashion Documentary | Question About The Host 
This is Francis, one of your desktop documentaries subscribers. I am making a documentary on fashion and the documentary is the story of a young woman …

How to approach someone to be the subject of a documentary 
I have a particular person/talent in mind for my documentary. I haven't seen much (or really any media) about individuals with his job or talent and I …

Photographing Historical Documents For A Documentary 
Visitor Question : I am making a documentary about a historical figure and will be needing to take a lot of photographs of documents, can you recommend …

Buying my first video camera, not sure what to get? 
March 19, 2014 - In about a month in a half I will traveling cross country, and filming the journey to try to make a documentary. My budget is about $1500, …

How do I monitor audio remotely?  
Audio Question : Hi. This is the one thing that I need the most help with. I am planning on filming a choir teacher and his choir in my documentary. How …

One Person Crew | How do I film my first documentary by myself? 
I want to make a documentary about abused/rescued animals and will be solely filming in Alabama while maybe going a bit further out towards the Atlanta …

Is It Okay To Set Up A Documentary Shoot in Advance? 
Hi there. Here's my question. Is it okay to set up a documentary shoot in advance? For example I am making a film about musical students in India who …

How do I learn more about being a host for a documentary? 
I'm very interested in hosting investigative short documentaries as a Michael Moore type host/presence in the story. How can I learn more about which scenes …

How to visualize my idea into a documentary film? 
I've been attending a Camp for School of Documentary that's been holding in my city in the beginning of January this year and I learned a lot of stuff …

Is funding for documentaries in Europe similar to the US? 
Hi there! We are European citizens living in Europe and are about to embark on our first documentary. I really like your site and have been reading a …

Is It Possible to Earn a Full Time Living as a Documentary Filmmaker? 
Question: Is it possible to earn a full time living as a Documentary Filmmaker? I have a strong background in art, but I am also very interested in …

Should I Use Sound Effects In My Documentary? 
Question : I know it isn't common to use sound effects in a documentary. I want to use the sound of a ticking clock on a shot of students taking an exam …

Documentary Funding | Do I Need An Organization To Accept Funds? 
We are in the process of creating a documentary. We'd like to take donations for the costs associated with creating our documentary. Do we need to set …

Formatting My Video Material For iMovie 
Hello, years ago I interviewed my late mother on what life was like in our home town of Phoenix AZ during WW II. She also discussed my dad and her brothers …

Best DSLR Camera For Documentary Filmmaking 
Hello, I am an aspiring documentary film maker from the Netherlands, and just started my own production company. I want to purchase my own gear, but …

Question About Writing A Documentary Treatment 
Question How do you identify interviews in treatment that you HOPE take place. And what you HOPE they will say? EX: It is an interview with the …

Downloading free music for videos 
Visitor Question : Adding music to videos is a must even if just a short intro or exit, 5 min or 50 min. All the free sites are not completely free. …

How does one get on a list of potential interviewees by documentary filmmakers? 
Question: I am wanting to grow my audience group concerning the topics that I write and lecture on. I have been told that documentary filmmakers are …

Video Projection | How To Project Video Without A Delay 
Visitor Question: Hi there. I have been working on a video project for my church, however we have encountered a problem. We would like to be able to …

Filmmaking With Vintage Film Gear | Advice Needed 
I received a collection of my late father's cameras from my eldest brother when I went to Juneau for my youngest sister's funeral. After returning …

Making Documentaries in Australia 
Hiya, I have followed your newsletters for some time now and fully appreciate the trouble you go to in producing them. The Top 10 Documentary Websites …

Documentary Question | Maintaining Full Creative Control or Not? 
Question : We are at an impasse in making a doc, and the impasse comes down to creative control. Our subjects would like a 'can't live with it' clause …

Conflict of interest when making a documentary 
Question: I am producing a documentary about two good friends of mine who run an unusual restaurant in the desert. The director is concerned the friendship …

What are the best sources to find documentary jobs? 
Question : I am currently working in the online journalism field as a multimedia producer. I have produced several of my own video stories as a "one …

How To Find Seed Money For My Documentary? 
Question: I am an aspiring documentary film maker, and very passionate about my subject-matter. It's about socioeconomic issues in Africa and the effects …

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How do I make a documentary about the streets of Kolkata 
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links and we will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on our links. Question: I have …

What filmmaking equipment to buy? 
Question : I have a Toshiba X400 Camcorder , after filming an interview it takes an hour or more to get it off my memory card and onto my computer. …

Who to talk to about a documentary grant? 
Hello my name is Stephen and this may seem bit of a weird question, but myself and two friends wanna do a documentary on the paranormal. Not just ghosts …

What's the best hard drive recovery software? 
Question : I'm really frustrated. I have FOUR external hard drives to hold all my video footage, plus photos and documents. They are all G-Raids. …

Need any registation to make short or featured documentaries? 
Question: Hi, I am Jeevan from India. Plz tell me whether I need any kind of registration (banner, title or anything else) before making a short or …

How do I make a documentary about HIV/AIDS? 
Comment or Question: Hi, I'm a 23 years old man from and aspiring film maker from tanzania in east africa. Im a college student. I wanna start my project …

What Is The Best Way to Catalog Rushes? 
Hi there, I'm in the process of trying to put together a documentary for a punk rock band. My first issue is that I have a TONNE of footage that needs …

Who Can I Trust With My Memoir? 
My name is Jessica Solsona and I was molested for years by my step dad and my mom knew and did nothing. In fact she was mad because she said she thought …

How do I get people's permission to use their photos in my documentary  
Question : Many of the photos I want to use in my documentary were taken by my father while he was in the service during WW II. Most were taken overseas …

How do I come up with an idea if the character is dead 
Question : Hi my name is Grace. I want to shoot a short docu about how my grandma died of cancer. It was detected early enough so she succumbed after …

How do i make a good movie?? 
OK, here's the deal, I'm doing a documetary on Pierre Troudeau (15th Prime Minister of Canada) for a school project and I DO NOT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT MOVIE …

How do you create an effective script/outline and production schedule for a webisodes documentary series? 
Hello! I've been working on my first documentary for over a year now. Its about music festival culture & communities. My goal was to start shooting at …

What are the best questions when interviewing an artist in order to make a documentary about his career? 
Question : I am making a documentary about an artist from Lowell! He is a photographer and a film maker... very talented and different in his work! I …

How to recover audio files on Mac 
Question: Help! I am trying to recover audio files from an external hard drive connected to my mac computer. My hard drive crashed and I was able to …

How do I get a documentary crew? 
Question: I have a great idea for a documentary which I believe will be extremely popular. Basically I want a film crew who will shoot the film, and …

Can I edit my own version of my friend's documentary? 
Question: I co-produced and shot a documentary that was my friend's idea. Can I edit my own version of it and submit it to film festivals? Answer: …

How should I proceed to make a documentary movie? 
Question : This is the first time that we are making a documentary movie. We are not trained and we haven't studied film making as yet. But we are very …

is it a good idea to prep people ahead of time before filming 
Question: I am doing a documentary about transgender escorts and I'm wondering if it's a good idea to prep people ahead of time before filming? Answer: …

My friend filmed a documentary of me and i want the tapes what are my rights 
Question: I was filmed by a friend for a documentary and we have had a falling out, who owns the tapes that were filmed? Answer: If your friend …

Audio Question About Boom Mic 
Question : If a boom mic is not available what do you suggest to use for getting the best sound? Answer : In general, you want to get the best mic …

Do I need permission to use file footage and other video material? 
Question: I want to use photos and other video material in a documentary. These will be used as references to help build the story. I noticed that in …

Suggest a list of film festival for my travel documentary 
Question : I am currently working on motorcycle expedition travel documentary and it will be ready hopefully by Jan 2012. Kindly Suggest a list of film …

How can I find collaborators to help with my documentary? 
Question: I've got the story and material for my documentary, but I've never made one. I need to find someone who knows how to make a documentary. …

Would you use a separate audio/sound person, or would your cameraman handle it? 
Question : I'm working on a documentary project. And I'm trying to figure out the number of crew people I need. Not sure if I need a separate audio person …

How do I make a documentary on a spiritual leader? 
Question : I would like to do a documentary on a spiritual leader. What kind of content do I need? If I have to narrow it down, what aspects should be …

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Going back for location/talent releases 
Question : I put together a high school basketball webisode/documentary a few years ago on a specific team and ran it on the Internet. I'd like to re-package …

Steps to making a documentary 
Question : I'm wondering what are the steps to making a documentary? I'm working on a project for school and not sure where to start. I have a small …

how to write a script for a documentary? 
Question: Do you have any examples of documentary scripts such as the documentaries on the series i-Witness in the Philippines? Answer: You would …

How to make a documentary film 
Question: I've got an idea for making a documentary film and so I need some ideas of how to get started. Answer: Wow, that is a very big question. …

Regarding international releases 
Question: I'm planning a documentary project that interviews residents of Argentina, Bolivia and other South American residents.What should I know about …

What the best hard drive for video editing? 
Question: I'll be traveling with a group of cyclists across the country this summer who are raising money for a non-profit. I will be shooting video …

Should I go to film school? 
Question: I have been thinking about film school to learn documentary filmmaking techniques. Do you think it's necessary to take classes, if so where …

What type of camera is best for making a documentary? 
Question : In Nepal the commonly video makers are not used to the high quality cameras. We want give the quality. So what type of camera is good for …

How to get started on a documentary? 
Question: I am the beginner in this field, I know only few metrals and tools, so what things are important in the making of a documentary. Answer: …

Lost Video Footage in Final Cut Pro 
Question: I just made a small 37 minute documentary film about Lebanon my birth place. It is all clips from youtube also from the Al Jazeera network …

A General Comment/Idea 
I am not a documentarian. But I am a documentary enthusiast. This being said, I feel that there has not been a very strong film in recent time that has …