Skip to content
STRIKING THE RIGHT TONE was an unexpected treat, moderated by BMI VP Charlie Feldman, with real focus on how music can make or break a documentary. Todd ‘T’ Griffin, composer for EVOLUTION OF A CRIMINAL and E-TEAM, said that music shouldn’t dramatise what’s already dramatic. It should instead give the viewer time to process what they’ve seen. Sue Jacobs, music supervisor for GASLAND and CATFISH backed this up, saying you need ear-breaks in narration-packed documentaries, so she keeps changing the tempo, which sometimes means including no music at all, so the viewer doesn’t forget to pay attention. She even advises watching a cut with no music, to see which scenes ‘pop’, as music should have to fight for its right to be there.
AND YOU GET A DOC SERIES! was wittily moderated by Molly Thompson, SVP for feature films A&E Studios, and concentrated on all the online, spin-off films being made for magazines, newspapers and regular broadcasters – or as Thompson put it, they are “meeting the viewers where they are”. Jed Weintrob, VP, head of production, Conde Nast Entertainment, says the channels they now have for each of their magazines – from Vogue to Vanity Fair – have had 1.2 billion views, with 50 per cent of viewership on mobile phones. They aim for content that provokes debate, and storytelling has to be at its heart. They don’t just want things that have been turned down by TV networks. But he warned that their budgets are very small, so “come get poor!” Jason Spingarn-Koff, commissioning editor of New York Times Opinion Video, said they have an open door policy to filmmakers. But they have to get an idea of your execution, not just the subject matter, and it must have a unique perspective. Interestingly, they are outside the Times’ paywall, yet integrated with the print staff. But tellingly, their most watched video remains Errol Morris’ short UMBRELLA MAN. At ESPN Films, Dan Silver is senior director of Development, and they go for traditional documentaries and want crafted stories, pitched with a beginning, middle and end, rather than a general theme or the script itself. And though their strategy of publicity is via tweets from the moment they have a film out, they made the conscious decision to keep off YouTube.
UNTITLED WEB COMEDY PANEL – part of THE STORY BUSINESS day – had Josh Poole from Above Average Productions moderating, and lots of thoughts on how to test, evolve and eventually monetise online comedy. Katja Blichfeld, co-creator of HIGH MAINTENANCE said they tested their first episodes with family and friends via a protected password – until they were ready. Her fellow co-creator, Ben Sinclair said that they love high comedy and drama, and “when life is bleak it’s pretty funny”. And they’re both hoping to finally make money from the show in its next iteration. Or as Sinclair said: “Next chapter – we get paid.” As for the co-creators of BE HERE NOWISH, Natalia Leite and Alexandra Roxo, they’re also looking forward to a future where they’re paying people, but they can already see that the attention and press they’ve been getting has led other projects to happen.
PROTECTING CREATIVE ENTREPENEURS IN THE DIGITAL AGE was moderated by the Lincoln Center Film Society’s deputy director, Eugene Hernandez. Kent Sanderson of Bleecker Street said you must make your film as widely available and on as many platforms as possible. John Sloss, Cinetic Media founder, said it’s all about mapping marketing at the inception of a project, which is also key for Emily Best, founder, Seed & Spark. She said you must figure out who your audience is and where they hang out online. And if the maximum number you can reach is 100,000, you must budget your film accordingly. You can no longer be just a creative, because if you’re not looking at the whole process, you won’t find success. “It’s not spray and pray,” said Sloss, “it’s doing research”.
Looking to the future, the NARRATIVE STRATEGIES AND THE NEWS panel was moderated by Jeremy Caplan of Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism. Amber Payne, producer, NBC Nightly News said their challenge is to engage people throughout the day – and as network producers, they’re using Facebook and Twitter to find sources. They have a dedicated social media team, but the big question is how to vet. Joe Posner, VOX director of video, said he doesn’t think that old school ‘curators’ will go away, but that the hive mind is the most important thing today. Noah Rosenberg, founder, CEO and EIC of Narritively, said they focus on ‘slow storytelling’ and look for evergreen themes beyond just the news cycle. And as everybody needs content, it’s an exciting time to be a storyteller – true or fictional.
Visit The New York City Independent Filmmaker Conference 2014 official website here.
Additional reporting by Katherine Wessling