 |
|
Eileen Douglas |
Never give up.
I have a saying on my desk that reminds me of that daily.
The sign actually reads, “Never, never, never give up.” Emphasis on
all those “nevers,” certainly applicable for filmmakers.
I would never have guessed that, to use another never, when I
started out.
One day, at dinner with a colleague, after leaving my job as a
broadcast journalist --- the last time, it turns out, I would be
working for a major media company --- newly embarked on my life as
an independent documentary filmmaker, my friend gave me a piece of
advice.
She was an experienced pro. A producer, she had worked all across
the boards, in many parts of the business that I, as a reporter and
anchor, sheltered in the bosom of a news operation with easily
available resources, had not. Over sushi at a Japanese restaurant,
she warned me it would take five years to make a film. Any
documentary film. And over sushi at this Japanese restaurant, I
thought that had to be the silliest thing I ever heard. At least, I
thought, it wouldn’t apply to me.
As a newsperson, I had done as many as five stories in a day. How
could it possibly take five years to do one story? Tosh.
I had also listened years before as a friend of mine, the wife of a
filmmaker, talked about hard her husband was struggling to make a
documentary about Mohammad Ali. There was a fight over rights, a
struggle for ownership of footage, as always the need to raise
money. Well over a decade had gone by, approaching two decades. But,
having never made a film myself at that point, in truth, I was only
half comprehending. I couldn’t compute that kind of trouble. Why
should it be so hard? It didn’t seem possible.
So I set out on my new life as a filmmaker. And I learned many
things I had not known before. I followed leads without having the
backing of a big company behind me. I learned to write a one-page
pitch. I figured out where to get a distributor. How to draw up a
budget. I now know what errors and omissions insurance is and when
and where to find it. I have also learned how long it can take to
get an answer on a pitch. How the person you were dealing with who
was days away from giving you the okay you needed for whatever would
make the next step happen can be fired, or hired away, or decide to
go with another plan. I have learned that the answer you can get
after months of waiting may be, we already did that…already were
planning ourselves to do that…used to want to do that, but have now
changed our direction.
Luckily, my skills were put to use. Yeses did come.
And now I see although making the film itself is the heart of the
enterprise, that is clearly not the full story. It may take only a
few months to shoot. Only a few months more to script and edit. Even
with the clean up work at the end, adding the music, adjusting the
sound mix, fixing the color balance, at most—unless the story itself
requires that you follow your subject over time---at most the making
of the film itself is a year, maybe two.
Ah, but the rest is the killer.
Now, of course, it’s clear as a bell that before you ever shoot
frame one, you need to get your funding. That, in itself, is a
full-time job, as any filmmaker knows. And then, when the film is
done, you need to get it out into the world. If you have no
distributor, you do all the chores yourself. Publicity. Film
festivals. Setting up screenings. Even if you have a distributor,
there is work to do. Appearances to make. Speeches to give.
All of this takes time. Lots of time. Much more time than you might
imagine.
In the case of my friend’s husband, making his film took twenty-two
years. As it turns out, the film was “When we Were Kings” and he won
an Oscar. He never, never, never gave up.
Neither have we. And we have learned the lesson.
For all the dozens of projects my partner and I have conceived,
researched, written up, pitched, and in some cases, even largely
shot, not all will be made. Happy to say, however, two have been
finished and released. “Luboml: My Heart Remembers” took us to the
Ukraine and appeared on public television in New York City. “My
Grandfather’s House” took us to Lithuania and airs regularly on The
Dish Network’s Documentary Channel.
Two films. In ten years.
You do the math.
Five years. Just as my producer friend said.
Maybe your film will be finished. Maybe not. Maybe quickly. Maybe in
decades.
Just know what you’re in for before you start.
.............................................................................................................................
Eileen Douglas is a broadcast journalist-turned-independent
documentary filmmaker. Former 1010 WINS New York anchor/reporter and
correspondent for ABC TV's "Lifetime Magazine," she is the author of
"Rachel and the Upside Down Heart," and co-producer of the films "My
Grandfather's House" and "Luboml: My Heart Remembers." She can be
reached at
www.douglas-steinman.com.
|
