Launching Your Documentary
Taught by Kat Vecchio
Kat Vecchio is a documentary filmmaker whose work explores American social and cultural history, with a particular emphases on gender and popular entertainment.
Currently she is directing Big Top, Little Lady, a feature documentary exploring the lives of the female circus performers who trilled the crowds during the early 20th century when the American train circuses were at the height of their popularity.
Her first film, This Is How I Roll, followed some of the first male skaters in the modern roller derby revival as they worked to find their place in a female driven sport. The film is both a humorous and heartfelt chronicling of the fringe of a fringe sport. It’s a unique look at the unexpected, if still familiar, gender politics that plague modern athletes.
She also the Manager of Grants and Investments at Fork Films, where she oversees and facilitates their documentary film grants program.
You have an idea for a documentary, now what? I can't teach you how to make a film in 90 minutes, but I can point you to the right tools and empower you to get started. This class will be geared towards folks just getting started (or maybe just thinking about getting started) and the information presented will be scalable so if want to start working on that 5 min short for the web or your first feature there will be information you can use.
We will cover the very basics in a no-nonsense and action-oriented way. We will talk about business structure and story structure and how to juggle working on both simultaneously. We will look at how to create a budget, where to start looking for funding, and how to figure out how much things will actually cost. Then we will go over how to get started developing the story you want to tell. We will also cover some of the best resources here in NYC, and online, to guide you through the filmmaking process.
By the end of the class you will have a clear idea of what your next steps should be for making your documentary, and how to get started on them.
