Watching and Learning

With preparations under way for the All Souls Procession, the time for finding characters for my documentary is fast approaching. After the initial process of finding a topic for my documentary, I began researching the event and came across the mailing list which has kept me up to date on various events. One of the events happens this Thursday at 6:30 p.m.



This event poses as the perfect opportunity to meet the people involved in the Procession and will hopefully provide me with some good characters for the forthcoming documentary. Being the documentary novice that I am, I have also been researching the process of making one. I recently found another website that provides helpful hints and suggestions on the creation process. I have also found some pretty cool videos on youtube including the one below.


Since I have never attended the All Souls Procession, videos like that give me a good idea of what I can expect to see while I'm taping the event. Another way I have been preparing for producing this documentary without knowing it is by watching other documentaries. This process is listed as one of the key steps in making a documentary. So lucky for me and those who will be viewing my finished product, I am obsessed with documentaries and have been watching them for years! Below is a list of some of my favorites that I intend to mimic in various ways throughout my experience in producing my own:

In no particular order:
1. American Movie

2. The 7up Series

3. The Bridge

4. Bowling for Columbine

5. Hell House

6. Kurt & Courtney

7. Jesus Camp

8. Paradise Lost

9. The Ganja Queen

10. And, for all cynical purposes:Zeitgeist The Movie

All of the above films, though very diverse in content, have assisted in my ever-emergent love for documentaries. Of course, there are many more. PBS makes some great documentaries as does HBO. Next week I will hopefully have some characters for my film and some pictures of the aforementioned event on Thursday. Until then, grab some Ben and Jerry's and head over to Casa Video to rent the above films.