The Documentary Filmmaker Podcast

Ep. 35 How to develop your documentary - Part 1: Ideation

Sue Collins & Mike Hill

So you’ve got a brilliant idea for your next (or perhaps it’s your first) documentary. Now it’s time to get to work. But how on earth do you take a concept that exists in your mind and craft it into a living, breathing film? 

Taking a project from idea to completion is no mean feat.  And if you haven’t been to film school or attached yourself to a great mentor then its a process that can be hard to learn without doing.  And in that doing, there will be many times where you have to guess, ask Google it, or just trial and error.  So to help you along on the journey, over the coming months I’ll be sharing with you all aspects of the documentary film making process.  

I know how challenging this process can be, and disappointingly, Mike and I have seen many people with a lot of talent, give up or simply move onto more stable work.  So we’ve decided to share more of what we’ve learned through many years of film making through the Moonshine Moonshot series.  

Our hope is to see the industry thrive here in Australia and beyond and we recognise that to do that, we have to be more open with skills sharing.  We have to discourage pigeoning holing filmmakers into categories.  Maybe you’ve been a director, does that really mean you can’t be a producer or write your own scripts?  Perhaps you’ve worked in feature drama, does that really mean you can’t work in comedy or documentary.

And this little rant has lead us to create this upcoming series of how to develop your documentary film.  Which will be followed by pre production, production, post production, distribution and outreach.  It’s probably going to take us all year so make sure you subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss a step. So click the 'Follow' button on the app you're listening on!

And the first topic is how you get to know the story you want to tell?

Listen now!

But to learn more from me,  head to www.MoonshineCommunicationsAcademy.com to find more great content and resources including my free ebook that will help you craft a compelling video story

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