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 

T.C. Johnstone