Snow Day

Today is a snow day -- no teaching in The Bronx -- so I'm trying to catch up on several projects.

One decision I wanted to note, however: after three years of participating in the International Documentary Challenge I won't be part of it this year. The timing just wasn't going to work out, and while we will be making a film with one of the subjects we met in planning for the event, we won't get the excitement of trying to make a documentary in five days. Good luck to everyone who participates. Maybe next year.

Above: Old Yankee Stadium yesterday, as seen from the 4 train.

Docunomics, Part Three

Many years ago, I took an unexpected trip to Las Vegas. No big deal, since I lived in California and visited Vegas often. (I think we had a new friend who had never been, so we piled in the car around sunset and planned to stay overnight.)

In an effort to be cheap -- I was in college -- I decided to play a nickel video poker machine. I tried it a few times, and realized after a few hands that it was broken: it was paying back my bet on a tie, when it should have kept my nickel. That was the built in house advantage, and somehow the machine was broken and not taking that advantage. I stopped when I realized this, did some quick math and quickly understood there was a tiny but real angle there. I couldn't lose if I played a certain system.

At the same time, though, it was tiny advantage. If everything ran in a normal way, even betting five nickels each round, I could expect to win an extra nickel every few hands.

So I played for hours, and that's what happened: each hour, I made about $3. After a couple of hours, I realized it was ridiculous: this was less than minimum wage. Still, with five nickels in the machine, I was eligible for a huge jackpot if I happened to draw one of those extremely rare hands. So I played, realizing my earnings were small, but that I couldn't lose and had hope of hitting a big win.

My friends busy elsewhere, I played about 5 hours, and made about $15. Never hit a big jackpot.

I keep thinking of that night as I read people speculating on the future of documentary. Often, in discussions, my students tell me they want to see films on their computer, not on television. When I point out that online video distribution doesn't pay much per view -- one calculation on some venues is about 2-cents-per-view on short films, 10-cents per view on features -- and ask them how filmmakers will make money, they say that the films will just have to be very popular.

Fair enough. But 100,000 views -- kinda popular for a documentary -- at 2-cents-per view is $2,000. Not exactly vast riches, if that's over one year. One million views? Rare, but plausible, like a jackpot. $20,000. More substantial, a good addition to a day job, but not 10% of a realistic film budget for many documentary filmmakers.

So, who knows how this will all develop. I think, though, that it is important to run the numbers when people keep telling me the current collapsing distribution model will just move online. It will, of course, but if the scale is off -- the equivalent of $3-per-hour pay -- making a living from it might be rarer than it is now.

On that note, let's revisit the how the Doc Challenge DVD is doing at Amazon. (It includes one of our short films.)

In May, it was ranked #48,323 in sales in Movies and TV, moving up to #35,590 in June. Great. A "long-tail" dream come true, as it slowly climbs to the top of the list.

Maybe not. Just checked: it's down to #137,717.

Cory Kelly on POV Blog

We enjoyed seeing "Ars Magna" at the 2008 International Documentary Challenge finals in Toronto. The film has since gone on to an Emmy nomination, and now PBS has a good interview with its director, Cory Kelley.

Interview with "Ars Magna" Director Cory Kelley

There are some upsides to only having five days. It is much easier to get talented people to commit themselves wholeheartedly to a five-day production as opposed to a documentary schedule that goes on and on. We had a great team of very dedicated people and most people filled multiple roles. Another benefit of the short time period is how quickly decisions have to be made. There is little time to deliberate and dwell on ideas. This creates a certain energy and spontaneity that can come through in the final work if you harness it.

You can see the film here.

Doc Challenge Film Up For Emmy

Some news from the International Doc Challenge:

"ARS MAGNA" NOMINATED FOR AN EMMY!

Believe it or not, but a Doc Challenge film has been nominated for an Emmy! "Ars Magna", made as part of the 2008 International Documentary Challenge, has received a nomination in the 30th Annual News & Documentary Emmy® Awards, announced July 14 by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS). The film, directed by Cory Kelley and produced by Sean Roach of Team Juicebox in Seattle, qualified for the Emmy's by receiving a national broadcast on PBS' POV series, a presenting partner of the Doc Challenge.

"Ars Magna," which means "great art" in Latin, is an anagram of the word "anagrams." Enter into the obsessive and fascinating world of anagrams with Cory Calhoun, who took the first three lines of Hamlet's "To Be or Not to Be" soliloquy and made them into what's been called the "world's greatest anagram." Congratulations to Cory, Sean and all of Team Juicebox - what an accomplishment for a film made in 5 days!

You can see the film here.

With A Bullet, Kinda

I posted previously about Docunomics.

As a followup, I'm happy to report that the International Documentary Challenge DVD (which includes one of our short films) has moved from #48,323 in sales in Movies and TV to #35,590.

That's right. It's 12,733 better.

Which, I suppose, is not bad. (I'm a little afraid to compare it to other items, because I'm sure with some careful searching you could find it's being outsold by ... well, I'm sure there's a lot of embarrassing possibilities.)

Now on Netflix: Bend & Bow

The International Documentary Challenge DVD is now available on Netflix. So check it out. It's got 17 great short films, including our short documentary Bend & Bow.

Docunomics

I've been in a lot of discussions lately about the economics of documentary production. There's a lot of interest in online models, of course, but selling DVDs seems to still be resulting in bigger royalty checks. For the moment.

So I'm fascinated to watch (from semi-afar) how the Doc Challenge DVD is doing at Amazon. (It includes one of our short films.)

I just checked. It's ranked #48,323 in sales in Movies and TV. That seems a bit less than overwhelming, but I really don't know. I didn't make a note of where it was ranked when it was first released, but my impression was it's moved up a lot.

So, will it jump up the rankings when there's a new Doc Challenge screening at HotDocs? Is it a "long-tail" item that keeps going for years? What level of sales is enough for a product to turn a profit?

Doc Challenge Results

Just received the email below.... Congratulations to all the finalists. We'll try again next year.

Hello Doc Challenge Filmmakers,

The moment you have all been waiting for: our first round judges have completed their voting which determined the 13 finalists for the 2009 International Documentary Challenge. (Due to a tie there are 13 finalists instead of 12.) There are many, many great films this year. Many more than just 13: in total, 116 films were finished by the deadline and eligible for awards.

This is the hardest part of my job because there are always more disappointed filmmakers than happy ones. As a filmmaker myself, I know exactly how much time, energy and mania went into the creation of your film. And I also know the sting of what feels like rejection (but is really just non-selection.) But please believe me when I reiterate what many have said before: that film selection is subjective, and what's selected by our judges represents a small sliver of the many quality films submitted. I want you to know that many of the films were rated highly and it is a narrow distinction between being a finalist and missing the cut. So if you're not on this list, keep your head up and keep making films.

Also - before I get to the finalists, I want to mention that ALL of the Doc Challenge films, whether finalists or not, will be screened by several broadcasters and distributors. So don't be too discouraged if you aren't a finalist. I will send more information on this later.

Here are the finalists (in alphabetical order by film name):

1."Beautiful Reasons"
Team: Noonday Films
City/State/Country: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Genre: Biography/Character Study
Theme(s): Hope and Fear
Synopsis: An intimate look at one man's struggle with fear and anxiety, and the beautiful reasons that he has to resist them.

2. "Dark Material"
Team: Reel Grrls
City/State/Country: Seattle, Washington, USA
Genre: Art
Theme(s): Hope and Fear
Synopsis: Childhood fears of the dark resurface in the work of three artists.

3. "Forty Foot"
Team: An Lar
City/Country: Dublin, Ireland
Genre: Historical
Theme(s): Hope and Fear
Synopsis: 4ºC at the Forty Foot.

4. "Fragile Ground"
Team: Polar Star Films
City/Country: Barcelona, Spain
Genre: Experimental
Theme(s): Hope and Fear
Synopsis: A visual poem about seeds and their role in the battlefield between variety and uniformity.

5. "Ghosts"
Team: Shed Collective
City/Country: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Genre: Experimental
Theme(s): Hope and Fear
Synopsis: Every violin has it's own unique voice but only certain instruments have something to say.

6. "The Greasy Pole"
Team: Gloucester to Gloucester Films
City/Country: Gloucester, Massachusetts, USA
Genre: Sports
Theme(s): Hope and Fear
Synopsis: The bravest and the boldest of Gloucester's Fishermen risk all for the glory of a Greasy Pole Championship.

7. "A Healing Art"
Team: Fly on the Wall
City/Country: Seattle, Washington, USA
Genre: Art
Theme(s): Hope and Fear
Synopsis: Artificial eye makers rekindle hope for victims of tragedy.

8. "Lorelei Lee"
Team: First Touch Films
City/Country:
Genre: San Francisco, California, USA
Theme(s): Fear
Synopsis: Porn performer Lorelei Lee challenges common perception of sex workers.

9. "Nagashima"
Team: Takashi Sugimoto
City/Country: Lisbon, Portugal
Genre: Art
Theme(s): Hope
Synopsis: A painter, Nagashima's hope of perfecting his art.

10. "Pipe Dream"
Team: Mirror
City/Country: Portland, Oregon, USA
Genre: Nature
Theme(s): Hope and Fear
Synopsis: We need green energy, but at what cost?

11. "Time Well Spent"
Team: JAGS
City/Country: Poughkeepsie, New York, USA
Genre: Social Issue/Political
Theme(s): Hope and Fear
Synopsis: An antique clock enthusiast expounds on the problems of an increasingly rationalized society, and mourns the lost of human heart and touch involved in daily communication.

12. "The Violin Maker"
Team: Frenetic Productions
City/Country: Seattle, Washington, USA
Genre: Biography/Character Study
Theme(s): Hope
Synopsis: A portrait of Doug Yule, violin maker.

13. "Wu Tang Gran"
Team: Mandarin Film
City/Country: Beijing, China
Genre: Social Issue/Political
Theme(s): Hope and Fear
Synopsis: Wu Tang Gran grew up with the party - the Communist Party - and has lived through some pretty tough times, but will this 70 year old and her crew be able to meet their greatest challenge yet - a break-dance battle against Beijing's finest hip-hop crew?

These 13 finalists will screen on the evening of Saturday, May 9 at 9:00pm at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival in Toronto where the winners will be announced. All finalists will receive 2 complimentary industry passes to Hot Docs (a $1,200 value), the POV Award Winner will receive $1,000, the DER Award winner will receive $1,000 and the Grand Prize Winner will receive $1,000. In addition, other awards (such as Best Cinematography, Best Editing, etc.) will be announced on May 9.

NOTE: Non-finalists are still eligible for the Best Use of Genre awards. We will announce those awards after Hot Docs.

Congratulations to all of the finalists! And to all of the other filmmakers who finished their films by the deadline – a heroic feat in and of itself.

Cheers,

Doug Whyte
Doc Challenge Producer

Finally in Stock

Our film Bend & Bow is now available on the International Documentary Challenge DVD, along with 16 other great short films. Buy it through amazon.com.

"This DVD collection features a variety of short non-fiction works from around the globe - from China to New York City; from Seattle to Amsterdam; from Montana to Japan - representing the very best from filmmakers who participated in the first three years of the International Documentary Challenge."

There's more info at Typecast Films.

Plan for Next Year

Over on my other blog, I've written a few The Doc Challenge: Notes for Next Year

Done

Well, we've completed our Doc Challenge for the year. I think we've made a good film. Details to come....

Doc Challenge Continues

I was so tired when I tried to make this blog post, that I accidently posted it on my other blog.

More tomorrow....

Doc Challenge 2009 Begins

Well, about 8 Thursday morning, I hit the Doc Challenge site and found out that this year's theme is "Hope" and that we drew the Character Study/Biography or Sports genres. So our team sprung into action. Slowly sprung. Spru ... unge.

Kinda slowly, anyway. Ten hours later we were shooting with our first subject. Tomorrow we shoot more.

I brought our two tapes home and digitized the first. No problems. The room had a lot of background noise, so I knew there would be a sound problem to fix, but I was guessing it was repairable.

Then I tried to digitize the second tape, and realized: the second camera wasn't set to DV format, but SD format. After a fair amount of cussing, I dubbed it to another camera -- in DV. Now, at 1:12 a.m. I'm capturing this dubbed tape. Ah well, time does fly.

We received a text message from Dana Bartle wishing us well today, and I also offer a shout out to Haikugirl up in Toronto, who is also participating in this year's Doc Challenge (genres: 1st Person or Character Study/Biography).

Tomorrow our doc day begins with brunch -- and then some location shooting. Then at night ... well, I won't spill it yet. But it should be fun.

Bend & Bow on Doc Challenge DVD

Our film Bend & Bow is now available on the International Documentary Challenge DVD, along with 16 other great short films. It looks like you can pre-order now, and it will ship on March 17.

"This DVD collection features a variety of short non-fiction works from around the globe - from China to New York City; from Seattle to Amsterdam; from Montana to Japan - representing the very best from filmmakers who participated in the first three years of the International Documentary Challenge."

There's more information at Typecast Films.

The Next Twist

I had forgotten that last year's trip to Hot Docs, as great as it was, included the kind of tension that happens when awards are on the line. While I realize awards for art are, in a way, really silly, it was still a very interesting experience to stand in front of the full-house audience when team names were called, and to find out what the judges thought of our film.

Well, there will be added tension this year. This email came in yesterday, from the International Doc Challenge organizer:

Hello Doc Challenge Filmmakers,

The American Documentary | P.O.V Award for the International Documentary Challenge has been determined and is going to one of the 14 finalists. We will announce this winner with all of the other winners at Hot Docs on April 26!

Cheers,
Doug

P.O.V. Prize for a Doc Challenge Film

According to Doug Whyte, the Doc Challenge Producer:

The International Documentary Challenge is partnering with P.O.V., PBS' premiere showcase for independent, non-fiction film. P.O.V. will be awarding the "P.O.V. Prize" to a Doc Challenge film. This film will be prominently showcased on their website and receive a $1,000 award.

Currently P.O.V is looking at the top 25 rated films from the 1st round of judging to determine the winner. The winning film will screen at Hot Docs, where the prize will be awarded. If the P.O.V. Prize goes to a non-finalist, we will announce it next Monday so the filmmakers can attend the festival if they want to. If it goes to a finalist, we will just announce the winner at Hot Docs.

Well, that's very cool.