Hope Anderson Productions offers research, writing, directing, producing and editing services for both domestic and international documentary projects. For further information, please contact ha2docs@aol.com

Lessons Learned from The Silk King

Jim Thompson, Silk King, which began pre-production in 1998, was a complicated first project that taught me how to budget, research, produce, direct, write and market a complex documentary film. Because it required six months to edit and countless hours of research, it provided me with an excellent education in filmmaking.

Although I hired a camera crew for the Thai shoot and an editor for post-production, my approach was basically do-it-yourself. I organized all the details, bought a Canon XL1 camera and, after an 11-day shoot Thailand, traveled to Europe to shoot the remaining interviews, enlisting my teenager as cameraman. The few filmmaking courses I took (at the International Documentary Association and UCLA Extension) couldn’t compare with this hands-on experience. Certainly, I learned more from my mistakes than from any book. But most significantly, I produced a feature-length, broadcast-ready documentary for the approximate cost of film school.

So if you want to make a documentary, go for it! You will never know what you are capable of making unless you take the plunge. Lightweight digital cameras and editing software have put professional filmmaking in the hands of many who previously found the technology daunting. Still, a compelling and relatively unexplored subject remains the essential element of documentary filmmaking. The right project–one you love enough to spend years working on--makes the difference between success and failure.

Tips for first-time filmmakers:

1.Never transport a crew, especially to an overseas location, unless of course you are the crew. Good filmmaking talent can be found in every city, and, unlike an imported crew, will navigate language and legal barriers on your behalf while saving you money.

2.Time spent on pre-production will pay off in a faster, cheaper and more pleasant shoot. The more you do in advance, the more time and money you will save during the production phase.

3.Make sure everyone who appears on camera signs a clearance form on the spot. For crowd shots in a large area such as a museum, post a filming notice that protects you from legal claims.

4.Investigate and secure all permits in advance.