OT: I need you guys to help me out. . .

[SPX]

(Note to Zak: I know there's an OT board, but I never go there, so I hope you'll let this post slide.)

I need some ideas for a documentary. One of my goals is to get into film school when I transfer to the University and I hear that you're a lot more likely to get in if you already have some past film experience, so I'd like to try to have something to show them when the time comes.

Does anyone have any ideas? It needs to be something that's relatively simple. Traveling might be okay, but interviewing high-profile people like Dana White probably is not.

Any and all suggestions are welcome. Feel free to brainstorm, not everything has to be well thought out, nor does it have to be MMA related or any shit like that. But I'm having a hard time coming up with something that wouldn't take considerable amounts of money or access to well-known personalities.

[Ludo]

Got any local sports hero's? NFL/MLB/NBA/MLS Hall of Famers or even just well known players might do the trick and likely wouldn't break the bank.

[SPX]

Got any local sports hero's? NFL/MLB/NBA/MLS Hall of Famers or even just well known players might do the trick and likely wouldn't break the bank.

Well, got Jazz team members. Not sure they'd even talk to me though and who knows what sort of legal shit they'd have to go through to do it. Also, I'm honestly not a huge sports guy unless it's MMA.

Good suggestion, though. I appreciate you responding. Keep them coming.

[triathlete]

Go to a gym in West Valley and find a guy who is preparing for his first MMA fight. Film him training, at home with friends (or family) ask the friends or family what they think. "Follow" him as he prepares for his fight. Then get the aftermath. What did he think, how did he feel. Did he prepare. You could make a 10-15 minute "Follow a Fighter" series.

[Mr. IWS]

Go to a gym in West Valley and find a guy who is preparing for his first MMA fight. Film him training, at home with friends (or family) ask the friends or family what they think. "Follow" him as he prepares for his fight. Then get the aftermath. What did he think, how did he feel. Did he prepare. You could make a 10-15 minute "Follow a Fighter" series.

That actually would be pretty cool.

[SPX]

Go to a gym in West Valley and find a guy who is preparing for his first MMA fight. Film him training, at home with friends (or family) ask the friends or family what they think. "Follow" him as he prepares for his fight. Then get the aftermath. What did he think, how did he feel. Did he prepare. You could make a 10-15 minute "Follow a Fighter" series.

I thought about doing something like that. I know we have an MMA org here, though I've never been to any of their shows. The primary issues with doing this sort of thing are as follows: a) I don't have a car so it would be a little tough shuttling back and forth all the time, and b) with my work and school schedule as it is, it could be difficult to always be at the right place at the right time.

There are basically two types of documentaries: 1) talking heads docs, where it's mainly composed of archive footage, re-enactments, facts and tables and other media overlaid with interviews, 2) and then the follow-someone-around kind where you watch a story unfold in real time. A few good examples of the first would be Zeitgeist, The Corporation, The Weather Underground, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. Some examples of the second type would be My Kid Could Paint That, Spellbound, Overnight, The King of Kong. This second type is the kind where the filmmakers are like "yeah, we followed them around for 3 years and shot over 5000 hours of footage and had to edit it down into the 1.5 hour film you see before you. (Not sure if any of you guys have seen any of these films I listed, but they're all great.)

I'm shooting to make the first type so that I can keep the amount of on-location shooting to a minimum.

One idea I've got right now is to do a documentary on teen Wiccans. Basically, why do teens (especially girls) feel drawn to this religion. My suspicion is that it largely has something to do with rebellion. Like, for many young people Wicca and so-called witchcraft represents a way to say "fuck you mom and dad, with your traditional religions like Christianity" and allows them to have something that is theirs. It's also something that's not overwhelmingly socially accepted, and with all the "covens" and the like they also get to have a sense of belonging. I figure I could try to find some young people who are actively involved in the religion, as well as maybe some older people who used to be, perhaps a sociologist or two, and possibly even an author or two of some well-known books on the subject.

There are some issues of carrying this idea out, but it's kind of along the lines of what I'm going for. Just not sure I want to tackle that particular subject this time around. Everything else I've come up with would cost way too much money and take too much time and would require access to too many high-profile people.

So what am I missing? What else is out there? That's the question. Keep the ideas coming.

[Mr. IWS]

One idea I've got right now is to do a documentary on teen Wiccans.

I must be getting old, I never even heard of that shit.

[SPX]

I must be getting old, I never even heard of that shit.

You've never heard of Wicca? The nature religion? Neo-paganism?

Did you ever see the movie The Craft in the 90s?

[Mr. IWS]

Nah, never heard, or seen that shit.

[SPX]

It was kind of a hit in the 90s. . .

[triathlete]

a) I don't have a car so it would be a little tough shuttling back and forth all the time

b) with my work and school schedule as it is, it could be difficult to always be at the right place at the right time.

One idea I've got right now is to do a documentary on teen Wiccans.

Hmm... Do you feel like you can a) locate enough teen Wiccans, b) find ones willing to talk, and c) find any that are within your transportation availability distance?

I think keeping it relatively simple as well as something your very interested in might do the trick.

You could also pick a prof at school and shine some light on an educator... find an angle and tell a story with it. Maybe you should look at what you have easy access to? Know any cool people? Anyone at school, work? The author Malcolm Gladwell does a good job of telling a story with the mundane in his new book What the Dog Saw. He tells story of why there is only one type of ketchup and many types of mustards. He tells a story about how hair color took hold among women in the US. Maybe interviewing a few people that are close to you and finding an angle might do the trick.

How about using Skype with members of IWS.com to see how something like sports betting brings people from all over to form a 'community' around it. Easy to access... immediately available... built in story lines... "Why did you come here? How did you get started in sports betting?" Etc...

Just some ideas.

[SPX]

Hmm... Do you feel like you can a) locate enough teen Wiccans, b) find ones willing to talk, and c) find any that are within your transportation availability distance?

Well I'm looking through my options to determine exactly how I would go about this. I imagine that some travel would probably be necessary. I'm considering trying to use the Kickstarter service (the same thing that was used for the Jens Pulver documentary that I recently posted a thread about) to try to get some funds together to do this thing right. If I could get $5K then that should be enough to make a few out of state trips to do interviews, if necessary. If I could do that, then I could use the Internet to locate necessary participants.

Thanks for your other suggestions. I'll keep them in mind. I have considered trying to do something on sportsbetting, just not sure of the angle. I'd also really like to do a doc on MMA's rise to popularity, but that would require the use of all kinds of copyrighted footage and, in order to do it right, would also require the cooperation of guys like Dana White and many of the best known fighters. Perhaps that's something I can when I get some experience and make a name for myself.

As for this project, I want it to be small enough that's it's manageable for a first-time filmmaker who will be working mostly alone and who is just learning the ropes, but at the same time big enough in scope and universal enough in appeal that I could possibly get it entered into some festivals. (If not Sundance, then maybe Slamdance!)

Thanks again for the suggestions. Keep them coming! I appreciate your thoughtful replies.

[SPX]

I've been thinking and I believe I've come up with the ultimate idea for a doc. The title says it all:

I Am A Motherfucker: The Story of Epic Beard Man

[Luke]

One idea I've got right now is to do a documentary on teen Wiccans.

I must be getting old, I never even heard of that shit.

you and me both

[Luke]

I must be getting old, I never even heard of that shit.

You've never heard of Wicca? The nature religion? Neo-paganism?

Did you ever see the movie The Craft in the 90s?

we played with footballs not witchcraft books

[Luke]

film a documentary on homeless people.

How they ended up homeless and where they live, how they get by and what they are doing to get back on their feet.
That would be cheap to do

[SPX]

we played with footballs not witchcraft books

Did you see Scream?

Appeals to the same audience.

Besides, if you had a girlfriend at the time I would imagine she would have wanted to see it.

[Luke]

Didnt see scream either, no chick I have ever dated has liked scary movies. I got to see movies like City of Angels and shit like that

[Mr. IWS]

I did see scream.