6 PHASES OF DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING
1. IDEA
- Someone has an idea for a story
- Invite the right people to the table to talk about it
2. DEVELOPMENT
- Discovering the story and developing a strategy in two phases
- This phase is typically 3 to 6 weeks
Phase 1: "Come and see"
- Meeting people and visiting locations
- Money is spent to develop an idea
The next phase if we choose to move forward
Phase 2: Building out the Business Plan
- Script
- Budget
- Defined desired outcomes for the film
- Development of a distribution strategy
After review we adjust the story and budget and evaluate if it’s worth moving forward
3. PRE-PRODUCTION:
- The project is green lit with funding
- Formalizing advisory boards, legal contracts, etc.
- Building your core team: Executive Producers, Producer, Director, and volunteer teams
- Begin scheduling the shoot
- Begin development of the marketing strategy I.E. website and trailer, recruitment of screening hosts
4. PRODUCTION:
- Shooting the film
- EP’s, Producers and volunteers working simultaneously towards a strong release of the film
5. POST-PRODUCTION:
- Editing the movie
- Producers and EP's are getting ramped up for the release
6. DISTRIBUTION:
- Implementation of marketing and distribution strategy