Ep. 36 How to develop your documentary - Part 2: Planning

Hello fellow filmmakers and creatives! Welcome back to my mini series on the documentary development process.  I’m putting this together to help demystify what is involved in developing your documentary or narrative film idea from just an idea into a project ready to pitch for funding. 

I kicked off last week with a deep dive into getting clear on your story – ie figuring out your genre, defining your idea and immersing yourself in your story’s world. If you missed it, you can catch up by clicking here. You can also watch the episode of Moonshine Moonshot on YouTube. My co-host Mike Hill and I are releasing a companion video series over the next several weeks, where we’ll walk you through how to take your movie idea from concept to the silver screen. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss any tips. 

But back to this week. Because in this podcast, I’m turning my focus to (gulp) …planning. Now, I know that will sound about as exciting as ‘tax time’ for many of you, But stick with me!There are huge benefits to planning and it can actually be…fun? Ok, maybe fun isn’t the right word. However, it’s definitely satisfying and it’s something I’m really into. 

And before you come at me with your, “Planning inhibits my creative process.” Or  “I just find the notion of planning way too constrictive” , hear me out. If you skip the planning step, there’s a really solid chance you won’t actually complete your film…ever! No raving fans. No packed cinemas. No good, right? 

Exactly. Which is why planning is such a critical step in the filmmaking journey. Because as Benjamin Franklin said way back in the 1700s: 

“By failing to plan, you are preparing to fail”

So with those words of wisdom in mind, start listening now.

But to learn more from me,  head to www.MoonshineCommunicationsAcademy.com to find more great content and resources including my free ebook that will help you craft a compelling video story

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Transcript

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Hello, fellow filmmakers and creatives. You have tuned in for the next instalment on the documentary development process. So I've been putting this series of episodes together to help demystify what is involved in developing your documentary or narrative film idea so that you can take it from just being an idea into a project that is ready to pitch for funding. So I kicked off last week with episode 35, which was a deep dive into getting clear on your story, which means, you know, figuring out your genre, defining your idea, and immersing yourself in your story's world. So if you missed that, you can easily catch up by going back one episode to episode 35 of this The Moonshine Moonshot podcast on whatever platform you are listening on. And also remember to subscribe while you're there because then you won't miss an episode. So if anyone here is new to this podcast, welcome. It is so good to have you join me. The Moonshine Moonshot podcast is all about making movies that matter. And I'm your host, Sue Collins, and I have been producing documentaries, films, and videos of all shapes and sizes for oh my gosh, almost two decades. I actually had to catch my breath when I worked out that timeline the other day. I keep telling people it's over a decade or 15 years, but it's actually nearly 20 years. So needless to say, I have learned a lot during that time. So I specialise in impact films, and that means films that are designed to take an audience from passive viewing to being an active participant. It gets them doing something, gets them involved and being part of the solution. And I am sharing much of what I have learned here with you so that you can progress your career and hopefully avoid some of the pitfalls that I've experienced. So my hope is to see that the industry here in Australia really thrives and beyond, beyond Australia as well. But I also recognize that to do that, I have to be more open with skills sharing because it's not always easy to find the information that I'm sharing with you through this podcast. So about this episode today, I am turning my focus to planning. Now I know that will sound about as exciting as tax time for many of you, but stick with me. There are huge benefits to planning and it can actually be fun. Okay, all right. Maybe not fun, but it is definitely satisfying and it can help you keep motivated, and it's something I think you should really value. So before you come at me with your planning inhibits my creative process, or I just find the notion of planning way too constrictive. Just hear me out. Because if you skip the planning step, there is a real chance you won't actually complete your film ever. And that means no raving fans, no pack cinemas, no one will see your work, and that is no good, right? Exactly. So this is why planning is such a crucial step in the filmmaking journey, because as Benjamin Franklin said way back in the 1700s, by failing to plan, you are preparing to fail. So, with those words of wisdom in mind, let's get stuck in. So, what are the first steps in planning? Where do you start? Now I've discussed this in other episodes. Getting started or beginning is often a stopping force. Many years back, I was working with a props maker to create a larger-than-life fairy tale book that was going to be used by a narrator in a documentary that I was filming over in LA. So we discussed the brief, the budget, everyone was really excited because this prop was going to be really central to the shoot. But the prop maker looked ashen-faced and said, I have starters anxiety. But we got him past it by working on the steps. What was the first thing? What comes next? And so on. And once he picked up his tools and was off and running, what he created was amazing. But I'm sharing that little story with you because it was also the first time that I realized that planning is the best way to get past starter's anxiety and just begin. You have to have a plan or you just get lost in the where do I start overwhelm. And one of the best ways to get your head in the game is thinking about your audience. Yes, defining your target audience, it is not just a marketing tool. It is really important for any project that you invest your time into. You know, who are you making your project for? Who is it that your story is going to be of interest to? Begin your planning with your audience in mind because if you don't have a clear picture of who you're making your film for, it can end up feeling a little vague. And sure, you might not have a fully mastered movie to share with your audience until way, way into the future, sometimes 18 to 24 months down the line or longer, but that doesn't mean you can't start thinking about them and even connecting with your audience today. You are more likely to release a successful, impactful film when you start to build and engage with your audience at the very beginning of the filmmaking process. And to engage them, you need to know who they are, or at the least have an idea of who they might be. So if you haven't done this bit yet, put some thought and some time into your schedule to define your ideal audience. And by that I mean think about what your audience cares about. How do they like to receive messages and the type of beliefs or values that they might hold? Yes, their age range and location is helpful as well, but you want to go a little bit deeper than that. Think about their interests, what makes them tick, and why would they resonate with the film story you're looking to produce. Knowing this will also help you figure out where they are online so you can start building your social platforms as well. And if that is all sounding a bit beyond you, do not fret. I have created a course that actually can help you with this very step, and it's aptly called Define Your Ideal Audience. So please check that out over at www.moonshinecommunicationsacademy.com if you're needing some more help with how to define the audience for your project. So if you already know who your audience is, that is excellent. Let's take the next step talking about planning. Alright, so next you need to determine exactly the type of project that you're making. It's time to get stuck into the nitty-gritty, and I don't mean genre or even the actual story arch, which I covered in the episode last week, which was episode 35. I mean way more nuts and bolts stuff like the length of your film and the platform that you hope to publish it on. Because understanding your project's duration is incredibly important. If you're creating a feature-length documentary or film, you're presumably going to want to release it in cinemas, through community screenings, or perhaps a streaming service. Knowing what duration you're shooting for will give you a clear understanding of how much content you'll need to capture and edit together. And this will also inform how much time you need to capture it in the first instance. So if you're working from a script, this is definitely a lot easier. But if it's a documentary and you're still finding your stories, this part really is crucial to consider. On average, most feature films are roughly 98 minutes long. Of course, there are epic three hours and others that are 120 minutes. But while a documentary can be really varying in lengths, actually, documentaries can be, you know, they can be 10 minutes right through to two plus hours. And if you're producing a series, well, you most likely need even more content. And therefore, you'll need to schedule more production hours and more time in the edit suite. And all of this needs to be factored in and accounted for so you don't end up with 16 minutes of story that you need to somehow turn into an 80-minute film. Now, to throw a big spanner in the works, your duration might change once you really dig into the research and start mapping out your story. And that is okay. You can change as you need to. Do not feel restricted by a decision you've made early on. But having a starting point to work from will help get you things moving. So remember what I was saying about starters anxiety? Beginning somewhere is better than stalling and getting nowhere. You can always change later if the project would benefit from a different approach. Now that I have said this, you might be thinking about all the documentaries you've watched and thought, oh geez, that would have worked so much better if it was 20 minutes shorter. Well, if you have, then I would argue that they probably didn't put much thought into duration during the planning phase. They've probably just wanted to make a feature-length documentary, but didn't necessarily consider if there was enough story to really fill that duration. So there was a long, slow bit to try and make it up into that time in the edit. And there's probably a look, there's probably a dozen other reasons, but that's just my opinion. Making a great film starts here at the beginning with planning and thinking about everything at the start, not just winging it as you go. So another helpful step at the beginning is to think about pinpointing when you'd like to release your film. Identifying a specific date is really fantastic, particularly if your film covers a topic or subject that gets widespread coverage on a particular day each year. But even just narrowing it down to a particular month can be useful for your planning purposes. For example, I've produced several films that have focused on cancer, and as a result, several of those films have been released on World Cancer Day, which falls on the 4th of February each year. My impact film Conquering Cervical Cancer released on World Cancer Day this year in 2022 and was screened by hospitals, schools, universities, non-profits, and charity organisations all on that very date. Many used the film to rally their supporters together and advocate for a greater cancer control and access to prevention, screening, and treatment tools. I don't believe the film would have had anywhere near so much pickup had we just released it on an ordinary Tuesday in June, for example. So since that release on World Cancer Day this year, 2022, conquering cervical cancer has screened more than 200 times around the globe. And my team and I actually started sharing content, including short video clips, stills, images, and quotes from the feature participants way back in September 2020 to try and build the audience. So remember when I made the point earlier about getting to know your audience in the planning stage. So maybe that's helped to make sense why you would do that. All that audience building across the two years before release. So we literally started building our audience as soon as we'd finished developing the concept for the project. And that built and raised awareness and enabled us to get 200 screenings just through word of mouth and our networks. And then we could also attach PR because PR people always need a day and date for film release. So if it's not in a festival, having a topical day to put your PR around is really, really helpful. Now, if it helps, I'm going to share with you now a formula that I find incredibly helpful in the planning process. And once you've decided when to release your film, you can start to apply this formula. And no, you don't need a lab coat. The formula is very simple. It looks like this X to Y by when. So it often helps to work backwards. So let's say your film is focused on the topic of cancer and you want to release it on World Cancer Day in February 4th, 2024. Now that's your buy when. In the X to Y buy when, Feb 4, 2024 would be the buy when. So your Y is fully completed film ready for release. And your X is your film idea. So to put the formula together, in other words, I want to take my film idea and turn it into a finished moving picture by February 4, 2024. From X to Y by when? Voila! An end date to work towards. And now you need to break down all the elements you'll need to check off in order to get to that target date with a complete film. And that includes your development phase, your pre-production, your production, your post-production, and your release. So I promise you it can be really motivating to check off each step in your list and meet your deadlines. And I'm sounding like a very A-type personality here, but it is so important and it's really motivating because the above list, it's quite simplified. The categories I listed will all have subcategories, and all of those subcategories will have tasks assigned to them. And we'll get into all of that in later episodes, so please don't feel overwhelmed by that. I'm simply raising it because it is really satisfying to tick off each item as you go, and that's a really motivating technique. And it's kind of like you know celebrating your successes along the way, and that keeps you motivated. It'll keep you engaged when things get tough and it will help you to see your progress, and that is really good. So set a realistic time frame for when you want to begin and finalize each of these steps before moving on to the next phase. And just be sure to think about where and when you need to film so that you can factor sufficient time in. So you can set up a realistic time frame using that X to Y by When formula, and you can put in those big broad categories across your timeline, and you can see if it really is realistic to be able to achieve what you're trying to achieve in the time that you've set out. So that's step one. Done. So a final word on planning. Planning might not light you up, but it is an essential part of every successful film. It's unlikely yours will be the exception. So please try to take some of this advice on board and start to plan out how you'll take your film from concept to completion right from the development phase. And remember, think about who your audience is, determine the duration of your film and the platforms that you'd like to publish it to. Apply the X to Y by When formula to keep you in check and focused. Now there is a lot more to production planning, but this is a great start when you're right at the beginning. And as I mentioned, we'll get into much more on planning later in this series. But if you have any immediate questions, please don't hesitate. Shoot me an email over at support at moonshinecommunicationsacademy.com or you can easily direct message me, DM me on Instagram at Moonshine Communications Academy. So please be sure to tune in next week because I'm going to be discussing how to dodge imposter syndrome as a filmmaker. So hit subscribe so you don't miss it. And I look forward to speaking to you on the next phases of development. Dodging imposter syndrome next week.