Are you gearing up to shoot a documentary film? Congratulations! But let’s be real, it takes a certain kind of crazy to want to be a documentary filmmaker. Documentaries are open-ended, undefined, and often chaotic. Schedules change, things go wrong, and storylines develop in new directions.
Sure, you could try to run-and-gun it yourself, but why risk your sanity and the potential of your project? Here are seven reasons why you absolutely need a producer to help guide your documentary project:
1. Frame Your Story: A good producer can help you define your narrative, set your scope, and ultimately frame your documentary story. Finding the subject(s) will always be up to you, but with a strong producer by your side (whom you trust), you can start framing your documentary right away.
2. Grants and Funds: Unless you’re independently wealthy, your documentary will usually need grant funding. A producer can help you submit many forms, proposals, and in-depth pitches for what your documentary will cover, as well as the scope of its production and budget.
3. Coordinate Interviews: A critical element of most documentaries is hours and hours of interviews. A documentary producer would be the one setting up all of these interviews, including contacting sources, setting schedules, finding locations, assembling the production crew, and eventually running said interviews.
4. Location Scouting: Another big part of the producer’s job is location scouting and management. Shooting footage of a subject in action requires understanding locations. Ideally, you would record any B-roll in locations already scouted, primed, and prepared for documentary filmmaking.
5. Paperwork and Releases: A good producer should be up to date on all matters of privacy law and fair use. They can get any last-minute releases signed and addressed, so you don’t end up with unusable footage due to an unsigned release or erroneous paperwork.
6. Manage Your Edit: The producer is in charge of taking documentary footage and finding (and streamlining) the entire editing process. This requires taking careful notes before and during production, as well as coordinating everything from backups to timelines to visual effects.
7. Promote and Distribute: Once you have a documentary film ready to go, you’ll need help to get it promoted and distributed. A producer is a valuable resource for creating strong submissions and organizing press materials. They can also help with grassroots and online promotion to get your documentary in front of the right audiences.
Don’t risk your sanity and the potential of your project. Connect with a producer from the very beginning and take your documentary filmmaking to its full potential.
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