Eye-Witness - Focus on Documentaries
April 4-5 & 18-19
Film Row Cinema
Columbia College Chicago
1104 S. Wabash, 8th Floor
Full Series Passes start at $125!!!
Two full weekend sessions that cover the nuts and bolts of developing, marketing and distributing your documentary film! The full schedule is now here:
WEEKEND I
Sat April 4th 2009
10am-11.30am: Pitching and Planning a Series
Want to plan a series? Join Kartemquin’s Gordon Quinn, Leslie Simmer & Jerry Blumenthal to discuss the process involved in planning and producing their series THE NEW AMERICANS that spanned 4 years in the lives of new American immigrants.
11.30am-1pm: Producing with ITVS
Get an overview of ITVS, application procedures and an outline of the relationship during and after, with ITVS’ Karim Ahmad and Kartemquin’s Xan Aranda, Associate Producer & Outreach Coordinator for MILKING THE RHINO.
1-2pm: Lunch
2-3.30pm: Locally Grown Filmmakers
Moderator Jay Delaney leads a discussion with a diverse group of Midwestern filmmakers including Iris Shim, AtomSmasher’s Clayton Brown & Andrew Suprenant, Bob Hercules, Barry Poltermann and Frank Anderson about resources and funding, the pros and cons of working in the region and how they make a living doing what they love.
3.30-5pm: Elevator Pitches
Need advice on pitching your film or work-in-progress to potential funders and distributors? Expert Laurie Scheer will tell you how, listen to pitches from participants, and give advice on how you can be most effective!
5-6pm: Alex Karpovsky Case Study
IFP Chicago is proud to announce the Chicago premiere of Alex Karpovsky’s TRUST US, THIS IS ALL MADE UP. This documentary premiered at SXSW in March and stars Chicago’s own David Pasquesi and TJ Jagodowski – join us for a discussion about festivals, funding issues and the creative relationship of the team. Stick around to see the film at 6pm!
6pm: Chicago Premiere - TRUST US, THIS IS ALL MADE UP
Alex Karpovsky’s film premiered at SXSW this year starring Chicago’s own David Pasquesi and TJ Jagodowski
**Free for Producer’s Series participants, Individual Screening Tickets Available for the general public!
Sunday April 5th 2009
10-11am: Direct Focus on Photography
Join Fletcher Chicago’s Stan Glapa and documentary Directors of Photography Keith Walker (SENATOR OBAMA GOES TO AFRICA), Dana Kupper (IN THE FAMILY) and Daniel Kraus (SHERIFF) to discuss what it means to shoot a documentary when you don’t know what your subjects are going to do as they show clips of their work and discuss how to shoot with story and edit in mind.
11am-12pm: Camera Nuts and Bolts
In the next hour, Fletcher Chicago’s Stan Glapa leads our documentary DPs in a talk about the technological side of what they do and bring along their cameras of choice for work in the field. With so many cameras and formats on the market, which ones are best for documentary work? How do you control workflow? Additional cameras on hand from Fletcher Chicago. Feel free to move around and see the cameras up close and ask questions!
12-1pm: Lunch
1-2pm: Audio Landscape
Lisa Gildehaus talks to Randy Bobo (Post Production Sound Designer) and Rich Pooler (Documentary Field Sound Recordist) about how to move effortlessly from field to post to create a layered and deep sound landscape that enhances your story, either in the field or after the fact.
2-4pm: Fair Use
Did Morgan Spurlock get McDonald’s to OK all those Golden Arches in SUPERSIZE ME? What if you’re filming and a subject has a Beyonce ring tone on her phone? What if your main character won’t take off that Bears jersey? Those are all copyright conundrums. In United States law, something called Fair Use allows limited use of copyrighted materials without the rights holder’s permission. For documentary filmmakers this is a very important but also very muddled legal area. We are proud to present this in depth discussion with Kartemquin’s Gordon Quinn as he explains what all documentary filmmakers need to know about Fair Use as they’re making their films.
WEEKEND II
Saturday 18th April 2009
10-11.30am: Ethics Panel Discussion
The subjects of documentary films are often ordinary (or extraordinary) people unaccustomed to life in the limelight. What considerations should filmmakers take into account when making a documentary? Where do issues of time, money, deadlines and demands of story structure come into play? Join us for an in-depth discussion of the ethics surrounding documentary filmmaking with Jonathan Towers, Ruth Leitman, Maggie Bowman, Danielle Beverly, and Stephanie McCanles.
11.30am-12.30pm: Self-Distribution – A case study of Tribeca’s Reframe Program
With so many options available to filmmakers for distributing their own works, join us for a discussion with Reframe’s Tami Yeager as she delves into what this non-profit effort has to offer independent documentary filmmakers.
12.30-1.30pm: Lunch
1.30-3.30pm: Producing a Series
Join Danny Alpert, Beth Sternheimer, and Susanne Suffredin from Chicago’s The Kindling Group as they offer a detailed look at their 4-part PBS series THE CALLING, what it means to produce a documentary series that interweaves many story lines cut from over 1,000 hours of footage, and their plans to foster relationships with other independent documentary filmmakers.
3.30-4.30pm: Meet & Greet Coffee Hour
4.30-6pm: DIY - A Case Study of HANDMADE NATION
Indie Craft expert, small business owner, published author, and DIY distribution filmmaker Faythe Levine joins us for a discussion of her documentary HANDMADE NATION. Cris Siqueira (editor), Micaela Oherlihy (DP) and Sam Macon (animation director) will also be on hand to discuss the film. Covering the rise of the DIY movement in America, the film is a prime example of how to do it yourself. Stick around and watch the film at 6pm!
6pm: Chicago Premiere – HANDMADE NATION
A film by Faythe Levine, DIY artist, founder of Art vs. Craft & published author about the rise of DIY and the new wave of art, craft and design
**Free for Producer’s Series participants, Individual Screening Tickets Available for the general public!
Sunday April 19th 2009
10am-12pm: Social and Mobile Media
Many people are asking “what life does your film have beyond the film?” Video games, widgets, applications, social networking… how does a filmmaker find the time and figure out what each documentary needs? Danielle Beverly leads a discussion with Wendy Levy (BAY AREA VIDEO COALITION), former BAVC participant and filmmaker Brad Lichtenstein (WHAT WE GOT), and Elspeth Revere (MACARTHUR FOUNDATION) as they discuss uses and methods of approaching the ever-expanding field of social media.
12-1pm: Lunch
1-3pm: The IFP Producers Series Keynote Presentation:
THE CUTTING EDGE OF DISTRIBUTION
Peter Broderick will give a comprehensive overview of the newest distribution strategies being used by filmmakers to maximize revenues, target and build core audiences, and boost their careers. He will reveal the distribution techniques that made a number of documentaries so successful. Case studies will demonstrate how filmmakers are implementing hybrid distribution strategies that include theatrical, television, non-theatrical, home video, educational distribution, and web sales.
3-5pm: Resource Tables
Resource Tables: 4 tables, 30 minutes each. Our final session of the Producer’s Series will conclude with attendees breaking into small groups and getting the opportunity to ask specific questions related to their projects. Our resource people include: Peter Broderick for a DIY Distribution discussion, filmmakers Tami Yeager and Brad Lichtenstein to talk about budgeting your documentary, Wendy Levy to discuss social and mobile media, and Kathy Im (MacArthur Foundation) for a conversation about funding.
