Day 85: For awhile now I've been toying with the idea of making a documentary. Not because it seems like fun {it doesn't} or because it'll make me loads of money {it won't} but because there's a story about a young girl that I really want to share with others and that would be the best medium to do so.
This idea has been in my head for about 8 months now, since the moment I first heard about her story. I've shared it with very few people, one of whom is my friend DSLR Girl, who immediately agreed to work with me on it if I decide to move forward. Since I'm not done with DWP yet, it's been in the back of my mind, waiting patiently for me to bring it to the forefront. Well, thanks to the Hollywood Happy Hour newsletter I've learned that the Producers Guild of America (PGA) is currently accepting applications for their Diversity Workshop. This workshop is, according to their website, "designed to foster the creative development of diverse voices in Television Comedy, Drama, & Reality; Motion Pictures, Documentaries and Web series" and best of all it's FREE! {Yeah the F word is practically unheard of in this city!} After looking over their website and what this program has to offer I knew immediately that the project I want to submit in order to apply is my idea for this documentary. The only problem is that I'll need permission to make this film from her family since the young lady has passed away. So today I emailed her parents telling them my intentions and requesting to speak with them on the phone. I don't think it's ever taken me so long to construct one email but I wanted to make sure I was as respectful as I could possibly be. I hope they'll get back to me but I can understand if they don't so it feels like I'm in the middle of a coin toss right now. In the meantime I have to decide whether or not to write a 4-5 page treatment for this film as that's a requirement of the PGA application. On one hand I could be writing it for nothing if the parents say no. On the other hand, I could already have it ready to go by the time they say yes.
Can I make this film without their participation? Probably.
Do I plan to? Absolutely not.
The deadline to apply is April 4th so we'll see.
This idea has been in my head for about 8 months now, since the moment I first heard about her story. I've shared it with very few people, one of whom is my friend DSLR Girl, who immediately agreed to work with me on it if I decide to move forward. Since I'm not done with DWP yet, it's been in the back of my mind, waiting patiently for me to bring it to the forefront. Well, thanks to the Hollywood Happy Hour newsletter I've learned that the Producers Guild of America (PGA) is currently accepting applications for their Diversity Workshop. This workshop is, according to their website, "designed to foster the creative development of diverse voices in Television Comedy, Drama, & Reality; Motion Pictures, Documentaries and Web series" and best of all it's FREE! {Yeah the F word is practically unheard of in this city!} After looking over their website and what this program has to offer I knew immediately that the project I want to submit in order to apply is my idea for this documentary. The only problem is that I'll need permission to make this film from her family since the young lady has passed away. So today I emailed her parents telling them my intentions and requesting to speak with them on the phone. I don't think it's ever taken me so long to construct one email but I wanted to make sure I was as respectful as I could possibly be. I hope they'll get back to me but I can understand if they don't so it feels like I'm in the middle of a coin toss right now. In the meantime I have to decide whether or not to write a 4-5 page treatment for this film as that's a requirement of the PGA application. On one hand I could be writing it for nothing if the parents say no. On the other hand, I could already have it ready to go by the time they say yes.
Can I make this film without their participation? Probably.
Do I plan to? Absolutely not.
The deadline to apply is April 4th so we'll see.
Fingers crossed that you get your permission.
If not, why don't you turn the general 'idea' (for lack of better word) of the girl's story into a short film? There must be something specific about her story that touched you and putting that something into a fictional story allows you share that perhaps just as well as a doco. You can still apply for the Diversity Workshop with a short, right?
Anyway, good luck!
Well the application says Motion Picture but it doesn't specifically say Feature Film so if I don't hear back I guess I could turn it into a short and go from there. Thanks Ophelia!