I ruined my documentary by researching the wrong thing

[@arthurhenrymusic]

Hi Bill, you chose an angle that might never bring you the million subscribers you deserve. But I just wanna let you know that your content is worth heaps to me and probably a whole lot of people around here. Thanks you for all

[@BillThisdell]

Thanks so much Arthur. I'm happy to help and collab and tell good stories and it means a lot to hear you say that. Happy 2024!

[@NatalieH13]

Thank you so much Bill, for being vulnerable by sharing the truths uncovered in the process of documentary filming. As a current student of journalism, one of my tutors instilled the importance of finding that one character to focus on when it comes to feature articles and I felt this would be applicable also with the making of a documentary. Seeing your video here is divine timing as I potentially embark on the journey of creating a documentary...

[@BillThisdell]

Finding that perfect character makes everything else so much easier. No potentially - do it! Wishing you best of luck with your doc!

[@sorrykarkat4865]

Almost cried at the end, beautiful video.

[@BillThisdell]

Ikr me too. That music really hits

[@bivmvideo]

Thank you. Needed this to crystallize my project.

[@BillThisdell]

Glad to hear it!

[@bubblegum-nv7bk]

making a documentary on a family member and didn’t know where to start, saw your videos on tips and they really helped. thank you so much : )

[@BillThisdell]

Glad I could help in some way! Filming family can be tricky but so worthwhile to capture memories. All the best 😊

[@spikeboydell]

Hey Bill, greetings from Sydney. Nice Flamingoes! Love your work. Yes, your insights are absolutely correct… it is the connection with the person, or individual, that ‘makes’ the story compelling and relatable within a documentary format. I don’t think it is journalism per se, albeit that is a form of investigative research and reportage. I sense that it is more anthropological or ethnographic, and that the layers or depth emerge when the documentary filmmaker has the opportunity to become embedded within environment, context or circumstances of the lead protagonist(s) (if only for a short time, or repeatedly from time to time). Most anthropologists become embedded within the community they are studying for at least a year during their doctoral candidature, and likewise many documentarians return to their subject(s) over an extended timespan. I am approaching the scene slightly differently to you. Latterly, I was a research professor for a decade, specialising in finding equity for customary landowners in small islands developing states in the Pacific when they are faced with resource grab from developed nations. As a white guy it was always hugely challenging to access the complex reality of the indigenous communities I was striving to support (and often relied on the insights of my indigenous research scholars to deepen my insight and inform some of my own writing). Now, wearing the hat of a documentary filmmaker seeking to share the perspective of those whose culture and spirituality risks being compromised in the face of western interests mining on their traditional lands, I completely agree with you that I need to identify local ‘characters’ to become the lead protagonists in the telling of this particular story. Whilst I am a ‘one man band’ in terms of the research, camera, sound and post production, I don’t underestimate the essential need to collaborate with a local producer or production manager to act as a ‘gate opener’ (rather than gate-keeper) and facilitator on the ground. Such an individual (and I am a long time collaborator with mine) sees, feels, hears and understands the reality of the protagonists and serves as a ‘fixer’ on the ground to ensure access to the ‘protagonist(s)’ at critical moments from the perspective of the unfolding story of the documentary (given that I can’t be ‘embedded’ within a community for a year or more like an anthropologist conducting field work). Add to this the need to procure ethics clearance, formal model/talent release from all those who are filmed and a veritable swathe of in-country government approvals and clearances, and the role of the local in-country producer becomes all the more essential. By inference, documentary is a long-game, and that is why you have shared a worthy and valuable lesson from your experiences of attempting to craft a story around characters upon arrival in another country or culture. Thank you for sharing. Keep sharing, it is appreciated.

[@BillThisdell]

You're so right about becoming embedded like an anthropologist. There's no shortcut to depth - it takes time, trust and lived experience. Sounds like you've got a great and important film in the works and I wish you lots of luck/success. Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment!

[@christophpeter8735]

Dude keep putting out this sick content, I love it! Hopefully you get more Attention in the future

[@BillThisdell]

Thanks man! Really appreciate the encouragement :D let's see if I can make two videos in 2021 haha

[@jeremy76017]

Hey Bill ! Great video. As someone who is starting in the documentary scene, I find finding characters one of the most challenging part. Thank you for sharing your knowledge, it helps a lot !

[@BillThisdell]

Yes it's definitely one of the hardest parts but it's also the most important so keep looking! Best of luck 😊

[@thekeikoprojectdocumentary]

Thank you so much for this information, my friend. It's not easy making a movie and you have to be so patient making them especially documentaries. Best of luck to you.

[@BillThisdell]

Patience and persistence are a big part of filmmaking, for sure! All the best for your own projects :)

[@CheyenneXGold]

Excellent video. Thank-you so much.

[@BillThisdell]

Youre very welcome! Good luck with your projects

[@khalidzia2038]

Thank you ❤ so much... This is really insightful....

[@BillThisdell]

You're welcome 😊 appreciate your comment

[@kenviovicente5941]

Nicely done bro! Keep it up :)

[@BillThisdell]

Thanks man!

[@jls4184]

Hi this is king. I was gonna make documentary film and this is a perfect videos . Thx bill

[@BillThisdell]

Hope it helps King! Good luck with your film, I can't wait to see it

[@LoydDoron]

I really love your documentary films and you inspired me to do the same docu series here in my local area in the Philippines. May I also know what microphone you use? I love the quality of your audio.

[@Einstellung]

Really insightful. Thanks. Keep going with this.

[@BillThisdell]

Thanks man! Appreciate it

[@Jeffshighonlife]

What a great video!! I have a small channel that is growing real fast so I need all the help io can get. This was super helpful

[@BillThisdell]

Good luck!

[@meganelste5410]

Hey! Film studies student here, do you need legal documents to film at certain places or it usually okay to ask an owner to film freely?

[@BillThisdell]

If the owner grants permission you should be good

[@MainStreamTravel]

Great video! 🙂👌

[@BillThisdell]

Thanks man! Happy travels :)

[@Fredreegz]

This is really insightful Would love to know more about licensing archival footage - right now it seems unfeasibly expensive to use. I don't know how any independent creators could ever afford to use archive footage.

[@BillThisdell]

Yea it's prohibitively expensive in most cases. Even when a client is paying for it, often the usage terms mean it isn't really viable. What's in this video came from Archive.org. You have to dig around but there's lots in the public domain or under Creative Commons licenses that can be used. Also, some footage is duplicated over multiple sources. So although one service may ask you to license the footage, what you're paying for is perhaps a higher-quality version and the convenience of someone sourcing the clips, not the actual ownership of the footage; which means you can use the clip if you find it elsewhere. But obvs check terms just in case.

[@Fredreegz]

@@BillThisdell Thanks for the tips! Really helpful