Overview

“I have a great idea for a documentary. Now what do I do?” The Documentarian—The Way to a Successful and Creative Professional Life in the Documentary Business is the ultimate go-to source for making documentaries, containing the crucial tips and strategies that every filmmaker needs to know. It is detailed in explaining how to conceive, shoot, and sell a documentary, along with specific advice overall in how to succeed in the independent film business. Included is wisdom from experts like film agents, publicists, festival directors, and award-winning documentary filmmakers such as Ken Burns, Davis Guggenheim, Liz Garbus, Rachel Grady, Freida Lee Mock, Errol Morris, Sam Pollard, Michael Tollin, Frederick Wiseman, and Marina Zenovich. Nygard describes his journey through the film business, including a case study profiling the making and selling of the documentary Trekkies; what it took to push the film to a record-setting sale to a major studio, with a huge payout to the filmmakers. This book is inspirational and leaves readers—after finishing a chapter or the whole book—feeling more inspired to go forth with their own struggle.

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9781493086221

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Reviews

Documentary filmmaker and TV director Nygard intersperses this anecdote-filled handbook with helpful synopses of his and others' work. Among them are Ken Burns, Charles Guggenheim, Michael Moore, Errol Morris, Frederick Wiseman, and lesser-known figures. He defines a documentary as an audiovisual communication method with a thesis and conclusion reflecting reality. With camera positioning and film cutting, an auteur presents a subjective view through a selection of a primary documentary technique: expository (with narration), unfiltered observational, or participatory (with the filmmaker's viewable inclusion). He adds reflexive, performative, poetic, and mockumentary methods to this list. The book contains hints for documentarians that are transferable to other professions: employment of agents, contracts, copyrights, lawyers, outlines, referrals, and random chance. Nygard extols film festivals, classes, websites, and social media as opportunities to promote personal brands. Nygard abundantly supplies suggestions for those in the business; casual readers will savor stories about the genre's history. -- ""Library Journal"" It took me over two decades to learn half the knowledge this book lays out, step-by-step, using actual experiences, to help anyone become an expert in documentary filmmaking. --Ryan Wise, Documentarian, I Am Thor The negotiation of the sale of the movie read like a nail-biter! The book is a practical manual for making and selling your first documentary, guided by a who's who list of industry expertise. A must read for any new filmmaker. --Jonny Elwyn, Cut/daily Where the f*#! was this book when I started making documentaries? Do not film one frame until you've read this book! --Jordan Brady, Documentarian, I Am Comic Whew! I jammed through this book because I NEEDED to know what I would uncover next. It's the best guide book I've seen on how to make a brilliant film. --Kat Alioshin, Documentarian, Animation Outlaws You have all you need in this treasure trove of advice, tips, and warnings. It will save you time, money, and psychoanalysts' bills. --Alan Miller, First Frame Magazine

It took me over two decades to learn half the knowledge this book lays out, step-by-step, using actual experiences, to help anyone become an expert in documentary filmmaking. --Ryan Wise, Documentarian, I Am Thor The negotiation of the sale of the movie read like a nail-biter! The book is a practical manual for making and selling your first documentary, guided by a who's who list of industry expertise. A must read for any new filmmaker. --Jonny Elwyn, Cut/daily Where the f*#! was this book when I started making documentaries? Do not film one frame until you've read this book! --Jordan Brady, Documentarian, I Am Comic Whew! I jammed through this book because I NEEDED to know what I would uncover next. It's the best guide book I've seen on how to make a brilliant film. --Kat Alioshin, Documentarian, Animation Outlaws You have all you need in this treasure trove of advice, tips, and warnings. It will save you time, money, and psychoanalysts' bills. --Alan Miller, First Frame Magazine

Author Information

Roger Nygard grew up outside Minneapolis on the shores of Lake Minnetonka. At age seven he discovered his father’s 8mm camera and began making short comedy films—and he never stopped. Nygard has since directed TV series such as The Office and The Bernie Mac Show, and he has edited Emmy-nominated episodes of VEEP and Curb Your Enthusiasm. As an award-winning documentarian, Nygard has tackled serious topics in a humorous way, like Trekkies and The Nature of Existence, and his latest work is, Cut to the Monkey: A Hollywood Editor’s Behind the Scenes Secrets to Making Hit Comedies, published by Applause Books.

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