Making Docs London Documentary Network
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- TV & Film
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A resource for people who want to make a documentary film.
Learn from experienced documentary film professionals about the many aspects of making a documentary film.
Hosted by Karoline Pelikan (@PelikanPictures) and Paul Hulligan (@paulhully).
*Recorded pre COVID*
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#10: Being a production company
In the episode we speak with award winning documentary filmmaker Sophie Robinson.
Sophie had great success with her first documentary feature film 'My Beautiful Broken Brain' in 2014, which was executive produced by David Lynch, nominated for an Emmy and bought by Netflix.
We chat with Sophie about what happened after the success of her first feature film and her recent journey setting up her own production company 'So&So Pictures'.
Hosted by Karoline Pelikan (@PelikanPictures) and Paul Hulligan (@paulhully).
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Episode guide:
00:39 - Introduction, Sophie's current projects
03:05 - Making ‘My Beautiful Broken Brain’
06:18 - Working with Netflix
09:06 - Why she started the company and ambitions for it
13:09 - Deciding the company name
15:00 - Promoting the company and why it’s led to more work
19:34 - Some advantages and disadvantages to being a company
23:56 - Using her success and company to give back, the importance of having a mentor
25:45 - The long term vision
26:36 - Top few tips when creating your own company -
#9: Editing feature length documentary films
In this episode we meet with BAFTA award winning editor Joby Gee, who has been editing factual film and TV for over 30 years, on a wide variety of subjects. We speak with him to learn more about the process and challenges of editing feature length documentary films.
Hosted by Karoline Pelikan (@PelikanPictures) and Paul Hulligan (@paulhully). -
#8: Crowdfunding your film
In this episode we continue our conversation with professional filmmaker Thomas Meadmore, discussing his experience of successfully raising £40k through popular Crowdfunding platform Kickstarter to fund one of his latest feature documentary films titled The Cancer Conflict.
Hosted by Karoline Pelikan (@PelikanPictures) and Paul Hulligan (@paulhully).
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Episode guide:
01:10 - Synopsis of ‘The Cancer Conflict’ and it’s background
04:27 - Starting the project without funding (self financing)
05:52 - Deciding to crowdfund and approach
13:03 - Building your own niche audience, tactics
18:23 - Building the ‘machine’. Marketing tactics to gain followers and collect email addresses
35:26 - Launching the campaign, techniques
40:18 - Creating the Kickstarter ‘campaign page’
45:48 - Thoughts on its performance and response
49:27 - Managing ‘the dip’ (when people stop contributing)
52:28 - Reflections (was it worth it?) and top tips. -
#7: Being a character in your own documentary film
In this episode we speak with professional filmmaker Thomas Meadmore about his experience being a character in his first feature length documentary film titled How to lose jobs and alienate girlfriends which was rated 4 out of 5 stars by Total Film.
In this film Tom choses to follow his girlfriend and boss as they chase their dreams to become professional musicians. He finds that his own insecurities flare while struggling to find a story, and begins challenging their flaws, on camera, jeopardising the film, his relationships and career.
Hosted by Karoline Pelikan (@PelikanPictures) and Paul Hulligan (@paulhully).
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Episode guide:
00:52 - Introductions
03:00 - Synopsis of the film and process
09:29 - Where it went wrong
11:05 - Intentions for the film
12:23 - What he would do differently
16:06 - The turning point; realising he should be the central figure in the film
20:21 - The general reaction to him being the central character of his own film
22:35 - What it’s like editing yourself
29:40 - Advice for anyone who might make themselves part of the story
34:41 - How close friends, family and professional critics reacted to the film
40:43 - Doing the right thing by your contributors -
#6: Editing short form documentary films
In this episode we visit VICE Media in London, where we speak with their award winning lead video editor Marta Velasquez to get practical advice on editing short form documentary films.
Hosted by Karoline Pelikan (@PelikanPictures) and Paul Hulligan (@paulhully).
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Episode guide:
00:52 - Marta's editing journey
03:04 - Opening with impact – The first shot is the most important
04:46 - The narrative structure in short docs
05:40 - The ethics of editing - taking care of your contributors
07:05 - The editing process
12:46 - Tips for the editing work
14:30 - The first rough cut screening
18:55 - Preparing the film for post production
22:00 - Top 3 Tips for editors
25:03 - Changing male structures: having diverse film teams
26:30 - How do you get a job at VICE? -
#5: Selling the documentary film - pt.2
In this episode we’re back at two time Oscar nominated documentary film production company Spring Films.
We meet again with their Head of Global Development Figs Jackman, this time to discuss the distribution process for documentary films.
Hosted by Karoline Pelikan (@PelikanPictures) and Paul Hulligan (@paulhully).
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Episode guide:
01:44 - The difference between commission, acquisition and distribution
06:55 - What is distribution
10:24 - How the film is sold, working with distributors
14:48 - The importance of achieving the ‘deliverables’ for distribution
19:35 - Getting a meeting with a distributor
27:22 - The dream sale
27:40 - The value of festivals
31:14 - The importance of promoting your film via social media
34:17 - The importance of production stills and creating the marketing package
36:36 - Types of distributors
37:33 - Pairing up with production company to get it distributed
40:09 - Self distribution, platforms, advice
53:49 - Why Spring Films use distributors
58:19 - How much money can be made from traditional distribution
01:02:47 - Top 3 tips for getting your film distributed