The WEAK Link That Cost Me Filmmaking Jobs (Don't Make The Same Mistake)

[@CurrenSheldon]

What is an area of your work you NEED to improve in 2025?

[@joshallanfilmandmusic]

I’m not as much of a documentary filmmaker currently, however I think for future documentary/documentary style shoots, my potential missing link is actually verite moments. I’ve done plenty of interviews and b roll, but verite is a little riskier because you can’t always control it. With what I’ve done in the past, there hasn’t been a strong need for verite, so I haven’t really explored it. I think if I was ever going to shoot a longer or more in-depth doco, verite would be the missing link that would elevate the film. I’ll be directing a narrative feature sometime in the near future that might end up having a bts documentary, and so I think to honestly show viewers what making a film REALLY looks like, encouraging the bts filmmaker to get verite moments and not just b roll will help keep things feeling honest and not too “glossy”. They’re my reflections to keep in mind as I move forward. 😊

[@CurrenSheldon]

@@joshallanfilmandmusic I love this. Actual IN-SCENE action, with conflict, dialogue, and true SCENES (rather than just b-roll and voiceover) is, in my opinion, the true art form of documentary. The world of documentary has moved away from this, but it's still the highest form of the medium, I believe. Love the idea to do BTS like that.

[@joshallanfilmandmusic]

@ thanks for the reply! Yeah I think verite definitely adds a level of real-time tension and unpredictability in a good way, or in more character-building moments you also get the chance to see how someone connects with their family, friends, etc. Danny Gevirtz has a great example of a filmmaking bts doco series, where you get to see real moments of tension and connection play out!

[@markbone]

more dramatic physical RL metaphors

[@CurrenSheldon]

Can't stop, won't stop - haha.

[@Snider-Films]

Good object lesson with the carabiners, Curren. And I appreciate the transparency. Thanks for sharing.

[@CurrenSheldon]

Thanks for watching! Hope it was helpful (or at least slightly entertaining).

[@matthewqnelson]

thanks for sharing this Curren. I needed this reminder myself about my mindset when it comes to master interviews. I DP them quite often but don't value them as much as shooting verite.

[@TaborJPhotoFilm]

Thanks for sharing your insight and invaluable lesson. Having not gone to film school or “formal training” as a filmmaker, I’ve built my skill sets from the classroom of KZbin and my own experiences. I need to develop my chain links of SCENES and VÉRITÉ.

[@CurrenSheldon]

Vérité is a lot of people's achilles heel, but it is what I have done the most of - maybe I'll start making some videos on the art, technique, and approach to vérité.

[@evanthecameraman]

+2 for a visually interesting video on having specific skills to get hired -1 for ultimately focusing on interviews as the weak link to then sell a course on it Still a net-positive video for the community. I just personally dislike online course sales pitches in general. I've yet to see one that offers unique insight/solutions instead of just a unique presenter.

[@CurrenSheldon]

Thanks for the comment and glad you enjoyed the video and I'm still in the net positive! And I hear you on courses - not always worth the price tag, but I hope I made to-the-point and affordable course that will really help a pain point for a lot of doc filmmakers. I hope you don't mind the 10-15 seconds of plugs for an otherwise (hopefully) helpful video. Thanks for watching!

[@robinprobyn1971]

Give the guy a break man , it's a very valid point , and Im sure it was a true experience of video maker , not some made up story. I often get asked to send screen shots of interviews or I will send them anyway . You don't have to buy the course , it's an interesting video as.a stand alone . These guys are taking time and money to make these video,s , it's a very tame plug . Pretty polite reply too ! Not how I would have worded it.

[@MangGoose5]

A perfect illustration. I’ll try to learn

[@MangGoose5]

This ain’t related but I made a very short film called shuffling time. And I just was just wondering if you could critique it

[@matadormartin]

Interesting. I absolutely share your original view about cinema documentaries, to me the interviews are the least important and least interesting thing. They audio might be important but the interviewee is rarely in vision for very long. In fact I love the films of Asif Kapadia and find them a big influence (Senna, Amy, Diego Maradonna) and he purposely only uses the voices of interviewees and never shows their faces unless they are in some sort of archive or some sort of action. But watching this has given me a bit of perspective about what producers/production companies might be asking for, I am also not super confident in lighting interviews and probably should be!

[@vincentr-fr]

I really like your approach, but I also think that sometimes we should not stay alone, if we have weak points we can work on them or ask for help, teamwork can be a strong point. for example I would say that my weak points are the drone because I never took the time to develop this skill, well I'm happy to delegate this part to a colleague

[@CurrenSheldon]

Agree 100% - Whenever there are areas that I'm not proficient in, I make sure to bring along extra help or someone who can do it better - whether that's producing, drone flying, or any other pain point. However, there are plenty of skills that each individual crew member needs - and you have to make sure you fulfill those. For cinematographers, it may be multiple things.

[@AlfredoWeddingCinema]

Interesting. How do I land these types of jobs in the first place?

[@scott_stevenson]

Need to strengthen my Verte' link.

[@35mmdigitalcinema]

My question is, how didi you get your docs on Netflix? I have a feature and a series pilot, and I cant get through to Netflix. Any pointers, contacts I could contact?

[@doseofdan1348]

I’ll save you some time. He’s selling a course. Move on lol. 0 valuable tips in this video.

[@geoffreygaisie]

Hmm completely disagree with this. Never seen this guy before but actually found his example of having a weak link in one’s skillset quite clarifying. He made an offer at the end - if not for you, just move on lol