Table Of Content

This is a book on documentary fundraising demos, not on recreational vehicles. Sample Mechanics didn’t make for a good pun. “After being a finalist at ITVS Open Call four times, I finally won. That happened after I worked with Fernanda, who managed to connect the subtle dots between past panel feedbacks, proposals and works-in-progress. She is extremely sharp and was an invaluable ally in the process.” The Lost Dream Director/Producer Jehan S. Harney ITVS recipient “While making my film, the single most important decision I made was to work with Fernanda. The clarity of her method, deep knowledge of storytelling and great sense of humor created the space for me to tell the story I wanted to tell. And she was always a guiding light and an available phone call or email away. The project subsequently won two grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities.” No Job for a Woman Director/Producer Michelle Fillion NEH recipient “We had a trailer and lots of opposing comments from different people. Fernanda not only understood the different layers of our story and our voice within it, she also provided us with a method to enhance our storytelling while keeping our creativity flowing. When we had only three days left to submit to ITVS, she helped us finish our treatment and version of the sample work. We were selected!” Sun Kissed Director and Producer Maya Stark ITVS recipient “After a very informative and enlightening workshop with Fernanda, we put together a trailer and proposal. We had approached the National Film Board to be our co-production partner, and we’d entered into its multi-stage submission process. We contacted Fernanda to have a private consultation, to make sure everything was the best it could be. She was clear and unambiguous in her analysis, yet very respectful and supportive of our vision. In the end, the NFB took on the financing of the full production!” The Last Spirit Flight Co-directors Julia Szucs and Stephen Smith National Film Board Production TRAILER MECHANICS How to Make Your Documentary Fundraising Demo by Fernanda Rossi To each and every filmmaker and colleague whose questions and comments inspired me to find answers and ask further questions. And to my son, Milo, who doesn’t speak much yet but is already asking all the important questions. TRAILER MECHANICS How to Make Your Documentary Fundraising Demo by Fernanda Rossi Published by magafilms P. O. Box 717 New York, NY 10028-0044 [email protected] www.documentarydoctor.com Cover and interior design by Peter Lukic Illustration by Zartosht Soltani Back cover photo by James Carman Copyright for First Edition © 2005-2011 by Fernanda Rossi Copyright for Second Edition © 2012 by Fernanda Rossi First Printing for Second Edition 2012 All rights reserved. No portion of this book, except for brief quotes for reviews, may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, video and/or audio recording or otherwise—without prior permission from the author ISBN 978-0-9764581-2-8 Film • Video • Documentary • Fundraising Printed and manufactured in the United States of America Overview ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS INTRODUCTION PART I—THE STARTING POINT Section 1 • Making Your Trailer Chapter 1—The Trailer Defined Chapter 2—Story Development for Trailers Section 2 • Smoothing the Creative Path Chapter 3—You, the Filmmaker Chapter 4—The Dark Side of a Filmmaker Section 3 • Meeting the Right People Chapter 5—Sending Your Demo into the World: Industry People Chapter 6—Industry People Speak PART II—MOVING ALONG Section 1 • Making Your Trailer Chapter 7—Story Structure Models for Samples Chapter 8—Workflow and Methodologies Section 2 • Smoothing the Creative Path Chapter 9—Along for the Journey Chapter 10—The Dark Tunnels of the Journey Section 3 • Meeting the Right People Chapter 11—Sending Your Demo into the World: Foundations, Film Organizations and Corporations Chapter 12—Funders and Film Organization Programmers Speak PART III – THE FINISH LINE Section 1 • Making Your Trailer Chapter 13—Evaluating Whether a Sample Is Done Chapter 14—Showing Your Sample Section 2 • Smoothing the Creative Path Chapter 15—Preparing for the Spotlight Chapter 16—The Dark Area Out of the Spotlight Section 3 • Meeting the Right People Chapter 17—Sending Your Demo into the World: Individual Donors and Investors Chapter 18 —Individual Donors: Experts and Filmmakers Speak Conclusion APPENDIX Worksheets for Exercises in Section 2 INDEX Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS INTRODUCTION How This Information Was Compiled Who Needs This Book How This Book Is Structured How to Use This Book Reading vs. Doing About the Language Used in This Book PART I—THE STARTING POINT Section 1 • Making Your Trailer Chapter 1—The Trailer Defined A Demo or Sample Is…: What’s in a Name—or Names? An Audiovisual Pitch…: The Trailer in Context 1 to 20 Minutes Long…: Timekeeping and Other Ticking Bombs Composed of Excerpts of a Future or In-progress Documentary…: All About Content For the Purpose of Raising Funds: Talent, Time and Treasures And After All That: Do You Need a Demo? How Soon? How Many? Chapter 2—Story Development for Trailers From Motivation to Idea From Idea to Story From Story to Documentary Time to Grow Section 2 • Smoothing the Creative Path Chapter 3—You, the Filmmaker Who Are You as a Filmmaker? What Do You Want as a Filmmaker? Exercise 1: Define Success in Your Own Terms Exercise 2: A Positive Association What Are Your Assets as a Filmmaker? Exercise 3: Creating an Inventory of Skills Chapter 4—The Dark Side of a Filmmaker