Day 8 Independent Cinema, Five Things You Need To Know About Making Independent Film 2022.
7 Arts Distribution has some new films coming out. My Wacko Parents is our latest comedy film set to release soon for streaming online. Followed by Concealed Identity, a heartbreaking story about a world renowned scientist that only discovered his true identity as an Adult.
We spoke with Tina Adams for the 8th edition of our Quora question and answer series. Today we discussed things ranging from the compensation of subjects in documentaries to the roles adjacent to a director and the editing process when sequencing footage.
Enjoy and let us know your questions, we would love to answer them.
Do documentary filmmakers compensate their subjects?
In some cases, yes, and big time.
Have you watched the Netflix Docudrama Miniseries Inventing Anna? Do you know how much the girl that screwed everybody was paid? To my knowledge, over 220K! Just to sell her story.
On the other hand, sometimes nothing. For example, the guy in the documentary The Tinder Swindler received nothing but shame from the Netflix true-crime doc.
This is actually a very problematic question because, normally, the subject should not be compensated. However, because of a need for exclusivity, the amount of time, effort, and work that a persona may need to give to the documentary producer, in many cases, needs some sort of compensation.
Furthermore, it also depends on the subject's personality; some people are just looking for fame or authority. For instance, I would say, Hillary Clinton, in her 2016 and 2020 Documentaries, was not paid; she was likely just happy to make her point. In reality, there is really no way to know for sure.
I have two documentaries coming out this year.
One is about an internationally famous, renowned, and Nobel Prize Nominated geneticist. It was not until he had become an adult that he had discovered his true past. He had been rescued from the atrocities of the holocaust as a baby, effectively making him a living WW2 survivor. Because of the sensitivity of his story, we didn't even think to compensate him nor dare to ask him about that; for someone of his caliber and success, it may be discourteous.
The second documentary is about the history and story of Harlem. We worked with a successful and outspoken resident and activist from Harlem. Since he was a published author and public speaker, we considered his time and effort part of his personal career and work. So we offered him some compensation for his role.
Whether or not to compensate someone comes down to the strategy you designed behind the documentary. It is not a one fits all rule for everybody and every documentary.
Why is the director considered the author of a film?
Short Answer.
The author is considered the scriptwriter that invented the story; the director is the one that guides the filmmaking process. If they are the same person, then the director can be considered the author as well.
Long Answer.
If you mean the English word for author, then it's fair to note that the director is not necessarily the writer of the script or story. However, the director does bring the writer's vision to the screen during filming and production.
However, the full extent of a director's role depends on the ownership of the story, script, intellectual property, and production company. So if the director owns the production company and intellectual rights, then they would have the last say on the film. In addition, if they also wrote the story and script themselves, they would also be considered the writer/author of the film.
It's important to note that the director may have written the story and sold the rights to a production company as part of a funding deal. Even though they are the writer, they will not have the last say on the film's final cut.
What elements make a documentary film different from a news package and commercial film?
Every documentary has a script. The filmmaker learns about the subject and writes it into a narrative in the form of a story, not just mentioning the facts but creating an emotionally engaging plot that builds up the viewer's emotions towards one character more than another. Essentially it has the same structure as any other film / TV drama; it has a beginning, middle, and end: happy or tragic depending on the topic.
News reports do not have this same storyline structure and do not appeal to emotions but instead towards your intellect.
What is the difference between a First Assistant Director and Second Assistant Director?
Great question. It depends on how the set is organized. So while the director is taking care of the picture and action on set, the first assistant director is checking everything else. They check in with the other departments and ensure each is ready for the next shoot or confirm how long it will take. There are only 8 hours in a working day, so the first director has to coordinate everything with regard to time, between transportation, preparation, special effects departments, props, etc. Basically, keeping the set on schedule by calling all departments on set to be ready, thus freeing the director to concentrate solely on the acting.
The second director is not on set; it's an administrative position, usually in the production company's head office. They are working with the paperwork or on the computer, figuring out the most effective way to organize the shoot. They are responsible for creating and managing all of the schedules. They design the logistics of the movie, and they have nothing to do with any actual directing.
How do directors and producers ultimately decide what scenes get cut out of a movie?
There are two aspects to it: the first is artistic, and the second is censorship.
From an artistic perspective, the director and producer create three cuts to formulate the scenes into the final movie.
Rough Cut
Fine Cut
Final Cut
The artistic decision process of sequencing the shoots is called the rough cut. This cut gives us an idea of:
How the story will be told,
How the scenes will be sequenced,
If a scene should be shortened,
If a particular element should be elaborated,
If a scene should just be deleted altogether.
After that, we go on to the fine cut, where finer details and edits are made to bring the movie closer to perfection.
Finally, the last bits of changes are made during the final cut, eventually becoming known as the locked edit. The fine/final cut is screened by a test audience paid to comment and critique the film. These people will write freely about what they think about the movie or answer a set of pre-established questions. After that, the director and producer review this feedback and make the appropriate adjustments. They may decide to run another test once more to check and see if there is anything they can improve. Finally, at some point, they will decide that the movie cannot be improved any further, and the edit will be finalized.
This edited cut is now considered as the locked edit. This version cannot be changed or edited anymore and will go into post-production. After that, the producer and director do not have the right to change the film's aspects anymore.
The other aspect of editing is related to censorship. This is where the producer and director go through everything scene by scene to ensure that the content is appropriate for their audiences, especially if the film is available for international audiences.
For example, in the movie La Belle et la Bête, the French produced Beauty and the Beast, a major hit in Europe, had a scene with some nudity. This scene was no problem for the European audience because they were not so averse to nudity. However, it was a no-go for the North American market. Actually, I met the filmmaker, Pathé Gaumont, in Paris. We were having french fries at a bistro as we discussed actress Léa Seydoux. He expressed to me his sadness that his film did not make it to its full potential in the US because of the nudity. What was okay in Europe was not okay in the US.
You could say it was an editing error on the parts of the producer and director for not removing that scene which ultimately did not allow the movie to access its full audience, such as the American audience. A good director and producer can negotiate on these aspects of a movie, especially if it could bring more growth and a larger viewership later into the life of the film.