Idris Brewster (left) and Seun Summers, protagonists in Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson's American Promise. Photo: Michèle Stephenson / POV Docs

The film American Promise is more than a documentary; it is part of a bigger, ongoing movement about changing perceptions of—and behavior and values with respect to—young African-American males in our society.  The movement aims to address stereotypes, negative images, stigmas and intolerance based on race. The filmmakers at the helm of advancing the dialogue are Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson.

"We are part of something that's been brewing for years," Brewster maintains. "We didn't plan to be a part of a national movement, but we're excited to be part of it." The film features two middle-class, African-American families and their respective sons' educational journeys, triumphs and struggles along the way. The filmmakers follow their own son Idris and his best friend Oluwasen (Seun) Summers over 13 years, from kindergarten through high school graduation, beginning at the prestigious Dalton School in New York City.

In the film, Dalton School faculty members meet with prospective parents and explain the process of making kids feel great about themselves by teaching them to have a voice and by emphasizing the social and emotional side of children. The teachers discuss their goals for diversity among the student body, and also stress the high standards of academic achievement at Dalton.

Given the high expectations communicated by the Dalton staff, and the unfamiliar territory of the Dalton environment, Idris and Seun face challenges early on. Idris is disciplined by school administrators for what they determined as behavioral issues. Seun is told he cannot read a certain book because it is too difficult; he is later diagnosed with dyslexia. By the time the pair reach middle school, they're already viewed by the Dalton administration as problematic, different and out of their element. 

Making a film for over 13 years can be just as complex as the content. Brewster and Stephenson found inspiration from filmmakers who had tackled unique and powerful subject matters successfully. Michael Apted's Up series used the longitudinal approach to document subjects over an extended period of time in order to better understand both sociocultural issues and universal themes about life. Steve James' Hoop Dreams made the audience feel present, in the same room as the subjects, and Brewster and Stephenson found that style to be a powerful way to convey their message in American Promise. The work of the late filmmaker Marlon Riggs also inspired the filmmaking couple because of his ability to deal with painful subjects in an intricate manner.

Stephenson and Brewster both knew the story they wanted the film. "The storyline is really part of the thesis we had," Stephenson explains. "We really wanted to make sure that these boys are perceived for who they are and in all of their complexity. That had to be the driving force in how we constructed the film because it's about countering stereotypes and assumptions, and that pushed the narrative for us."

The filmmakers shot 800 hours of footage, then produced a 33-hour assembly. The final version of American Promise is 140 minutes. The most surprising aspect the editors helped to reveal was something very unexpected: humor. "We didn't think it was funny, having lived it," Brewster admits. 

Lending even more honesty and depth to the story, Stephenson, a lawyer, and Brewster, a psychiatrist, turned the cameras on themselves, thus assuming triple duties as filmmakers, parents and subjects. "It was very difficult for us seeing our son struggle—not academically, but socially—with his gradual loss of self-confidence," Brewster explains.  "At times, feeling that he was not equal in a number of ways, it was painful, and the pain could not be alleviated by telling him that he was smart or he was handsome or that he would get there. The process works in a different way; you have to support him over a long period of time." 

Stephenson adds, "For me, the difficult parts to shoot were the decisions where I felt like I was splitting my parent hat with my filmmaker hat with regards to exposing my son's story and going deeper into the issues where he would be out there. In some cases, I was really struggling at night with, ‘Am I doing the right thing as a parent by fulfilling this story that, as a filmmaker, I know is strong?'" Ultimately, they were confident that they were headed down the right road in telling this very personal story.

As Idris and Seun evolved in appearance and maturity, Brewster and Stephenson were able to access better equipment in their 13 years of production. "We started off with a PD 100 for a couple of years, then 24p, HD Sony film on tape, Sony hybrid tape CD card, and we ended the project with the Canon SLR 5D, 7 and T2i," the filmmakers recall.  The shooting style also changed. The cameraman would stay for longer periods, two or three days at a time. "What that did for us is develop a nice vérité shooting style," Brewster explains. "It became much easier to fund the film when people saw that footage, even though we found it hard to look at."

The filmmakers found it necessary to make another adjustment as the boys grew older: They decided to stop filming and interviewing Idris and Seun during their high school years. Instead, Brewster and Stephenson hired young male cinematographers not much older than the boys, a decision that resulted in more open and honest interviews.

In addition to the American Promise documentary, the filmmakers are utilizing transmedia storytelling, telling one story through multiple platforms as a means to empower parents. The team formed partnerships with organizations around the country to disseminate the American Promise campaign. "As personal as the film was, we are exploring something that is being experienced across the country by families of color, boys of color and the achievement gap that exists around these issues," Brewster explains. The goals of the campaign are to foster, inform, elevate and support young black men and provide long-term solutions.

Changing attitudes based on perceptions imposed by society is complicated. Hopes, dreams and expectations are marred by preconceived beliefs, stereotypes and implicit bias. The film briefly, yet skillfully, includes world events like Barack Obama's campaigns for president and for re-election, the shocking death of Trayvon Martin and the ongoing challenges that black males face. "We see the possibility of a black president, but in the same instance we see the tragedy of a Trayvon Martin," Stephenson notes. "We can't remove the fact that he was perceived a certain way and no matter what his education, there were consequences that came as a result of how he was perceived from the outside."

Following its East Coast premiere at the New York Film Festival in October, American Promise opens in theaters October 18 through Impact Partners.  Brewster and Stephenson have created ten campaign assets to assist parents, educators and youth. There is a free mobile app for parents, which is designed to give tips and support for social, emotional and academic growth. There is also a Professional Development Guide, a Digital Installation, a Youth Curriculum, a Youth Module, Promise Clubs, a Discussion Guide, and social media and a website.  American Promise airs on PBS' POV in early 2014, with a concurrent publication of a companion book, written by the filmmakers and published by Random House Bertelsmann.

Tracie Lewis is a writer and producer.

You have an idea for a great documentary. You've done your preliminary research and are almost ready to get going. But you still need funds to start the filmmaking process. So what's the best way to get this process started, and what are the different types of funding grants you can apply for?

The participants on our recent panel Doc U: More Than Money—Getting Foundation Support for Your Doc, including the filmmakers from American Winter and funding experts from IDA and The Fledgling Fund, told us 5 things to keep in mind when seeking funding from foundations.

1. Develop a plan to execute your project.

For many members of the documentary filmmaking community, fiscal sponsorship is the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to funding their doc. Fiscal sponsorship is an arrangement in which a non-profit, (such as IDA), agrees to sponsor a project for the purpose of fundraising, and allows filmmakers to seek grants and solicit tax-deductible donations for their documentaries, with overall support and guidance from IDA.

But what is the best way to get fiscal sponsorship for your project? Amy Halpin, IDA's Program Manager for Fiscal Sponsorships, recommends having a clear execution plan. "Proposals submitted to the program go through a peer review. What we're basically looking for is feasibility. How feasible is your plan for your documentary and do you have a plan to execute your project?"

2. Have a post-completion funding plan.

Many filmmakers understand the need for funding when it comes to actually making the film. Equipment, time and travel all require funding so that your film can actually be completed. Although many filmmakers are aware about programs that offer pre-completion grants, the programs that offer post-completion grants for outreach are just as important.

"What happens after your film is completed?," asks Emily Verellen, Director or Programs and Communications at The Fledgling Fund. "Outreach is an important component for independent filmmakers."

The Fledgling Fund has two funding cycles per year, with each cycle giving out 20-30 grants of an average of $25,000 each. These grants are given out for outreach purposes and the organization works with filmmakers to hone their outreach and grant writing skills. Every good doc needs a good outreach plan once it is completed.

3. Never underestimate the importance of outreach.

After your film is complete, there can be opportunities for further funding just by reaching out to organizations that may be interested in the cause or subject of your film. This is one of the reasons why organizations such as The Fledgling Fund offer outreach grants—because a good outreach campaign can make or break a doc.

"We've had requests for over five hundred screenings because of our outreach efforts," says Harry Gantz, director of American Winter. Outreach for films opens up doors for filmmakers not just with funding, but also for getting the film out there.

4. Read the application requirements.

When applying for funding, always read the requirements of the grant you are applying for. Do you meet all the requirements? Is this the right grant for you?

While this may sound obvious, Emily Verellen of The Fledgling Fund explains that a number of applications the organization receives are rejected because they do not meet the requirements. "Always read the requirements," she advises. "It could save you a lot of time."

5. Find a good grant writer.

When it comes to documentary filmmaking, many times we always feel like we can do (and are doing) everything ourselves. However, when it comes to securing funding, director Harry Gantz explains that the most important thing is having a good grant writer—in this case, American Winter’s producer Devon Terrill. "Teamwork is important. While my brother Joe and I have been working on directing projects for years," Harry explained, "we needed someone with knowledge on grant writing. That's where Devon came in. She had written grants before."

Devon's grant writing skills secured the film with not only a grant from Working Films and The Fledgling Fund, but also an initial grant from The Paul Allen Foundation. The example of American Winter shows that someone with knowledge of grant and proposal writing could make all the difference for your film.

We are thrilled to name those individuals set to receive top honorary awards for the 2013 IDA Documentary Awards. The awards will be presented at the 29th Annual IDA Documentary Awards on Friday, December 6th at the DGA Theater in Los Angeles.

Career Achievement Award: Alex Gibney

The IDA will present its 2013 Career Achievement Award to Oscar and Emmy Award-winning director, producer and writer Alex Gibney. A prolific filmmaker known for his uncompromising and in-depth profiles of influential public figures, Gibney's recent films include the award winning feature docs Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God and Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer. Gibney won an Oscar and an Emmy for the 2008 documentary feature Taxi to the Dark Side and received a Best Director nomination from the DGA and a Writer's Guild award for Best Screenplay. Gibney also received an Academy Award nomination in 2006 for Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. Gibney’s current films include The Armstrong Lie, an exposition of the myth and reality of Lance Armstrong, and We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks, a profile of the controversial media figure Julian Assange.

The IDA Career Achievement Award is given to a filmmaker who has made a major impact on the documentary genre through a long and distinguished body of work. In previous years, IDA has bestowed its Career Achievement Award on documentary luminaries such as Barbara Kopple, Errol Morris, Michael Moore and Les Blank.

Amicus Award: Geralyn Dreyfous

The organization's Amicus Award will be presented to Geralyn Dreyfous. Dreyfous’ executive producing and producing credits include the Academy Award-winning Born Into Brothels, Academy Award nominated The Invisible War, Emmy nominated The Day My God Died, and the current films The Square and The Crash Reel. Dreyfous is the Founder/ Board Chair of the Utah Film Center, a charter member of the Utah Coalition for Film and Media, and co-founder, with Dan Cogan, of Impact Partners Film Fund, an organization that brings financiers and filmmakers together to create documentaries focused on social change. Impact Partners has been involved in the financing of over 30 films including several Academy Award-winning documentaries. Dreyfous has a wide background in the arts, long experience in consulting in the philanthropic sector, and is active on many boards and initiatives.

The IDA Amicus Award acknowledges friends of the documentary genre who have contributed significantly to our industry. This significant award has been given only three other times in the 29-year history of the IDA Documentary Awards, to Michael Donaldson, John Hendricks, and Steven Spielberg.

Courage Under Fire Award: Laura Poitras

Laura Poitras will receive IDA’s Courage Under Fire Award, in recognition of “conspicuous bravery in the pursuit of truth.” This award is presented to documentary filmmakers by their peers, for putting freedom of speech—represented in the crafts of documentary filmmaking and journalism—above all else, even their own personal safety. Along with Glenn Greenwald, she broke the story of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, revealing the PRISM program. Poitras is working on a trilogy of films about America post 9/11. The first film, My Country, My Country (2006), was nominated for an Academy Award, Independent Spirit Award, and Emmy Award. The second film, The Oath (2010), received a Gotham Award for Best Documentary, the Cinematography Award at Sundance, and the Directing Award at Cinema Eye Honors. She is editing the third film of the trilogy, a documentary about NSA surveillance.

Past recipients of the Courage Under Fire Award include Jonathan Stack and James Brabazon, Andrew Berends, Saira Shah, and Christiane Amanpour.

"The outstanding individuals IDA has chosen to honor this year represent the very best of our thriving documentary filmmaking community," said IDA Executive Director Michael Lumpkin. "The dedication of Gibney, Poitras and Dreyfous to the art and craft of nonfiction storytelling has contributed greatly to expanding our understanding of the shared human experience and creating a more informed, compassionate, and connected world."

Nominees for over a dozen film achievement and special awards will be announced in late October with winners announced at the December 6th IDA Documentary Awards Gala.

Want to join us for the foremost event dedicated to the art of documentary film? Get your tickets to the 29th annual IDA Documentary Awards today!

Learn more about the IDA Documentary Awards, including sponsorship opportunities.

We recently offered up some tips for how to incorporate archival footage into your documentary, which can really come in handy when you want to reference an event that happened in the past. But what about those times you need to represent a concept that is more abstract?

Increasingly, documentarians are turning to graphic designers and animators to create sequences, images and graphs that might be difficult to depict otherwise. Don’t have aerial footage of orca pods cleverly evading their captors? Need to visually explain the growing disparity of income inequality since the 1950s? It might be time to turn to the experts at a design shop to get the job done right.

The participants on our recent panel Doc U: The Total Picture -- Using Graphics to Tell Your Story, including the filmmakers from Inequality for All and Blackfish and a top title and graphics designer, told us 5 things to keep in mind when developing your graphical visual elements.

1. Early communication is key.

No one likes to be rushed. That’s why Title and Graphics Designer Syd Garon recommends contacting your animator and graphics person fairly soon after you make the decision to incorporate these elements into your project. "Bring me in early and it becomes a better product," Syd encourages. "If this isn't what occurs, you get rushed."

But how early is too early? Syd recommends to hold off on contacting studios and design houses until you have a rough cut.

2. Trust the artist.

Gabriela Cowperthwaite, director of Blackfish, admits that she didn’t come to her animator with specific visual references. Instead, she used descriptive language to qualify what she wanted, and allowed the references to come from the artist.

From there, you have to trust that the work is in good hands. "If I think you're on the wrong path," Syd reassures, "I'll be honest with you and tell you what I think it should look like." Always remember: they are the experts. Would you want an animator stepping in to tell you how to shoot your interviews?

3. Understand what’s possible with your budget.

We all know that a lady never tells her "budget." But in reality, it’s something docmakers should keep in mind during all stages of production. The filmmakers for Inequality for All, for example, knew that they would have 45 graphic and animation sequences in their film. All told, these sequences accounted for 1/5th of their entire budget. "We had a lot of conversations about what we could and couldn't do," the film’s producer Jen Chaiken explains. You have to tell us if what we are asking for is within the budget.

4. Keep your concepts simple.

We’ve all been there: dreaming way too big about an idea that is just far too complicated to pull off. But we all know from Tip 3 above that sometimes, this just isn’t possible.

"All too often, we were just trying too much," admits Ben Lindemuth-McRobie, associate editor on Inequality for All. By boiling a concept down to its most simple and iconic elements, your ideas become more clear to a broader audience.

With the recent American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs, on which Syd served as the head animator and title designer, a major challenge was explaining the works of major philosophers in bite-size, relatable segments. "The big problem was explaining Hegel in 30 seconds," Syd recalls. "We spent more time talking that out than animating. We would just reduce and reduce this concept" until, luckily, he and the director came out with something they knew would work for the segment, and for the film.

5. Be willing to work with roughs.

Once you have a rough cut of your film, it’s probably fair to say that the style and tone of your project are well on their way to being fully realized. Allowing your designer and animator that chance to see that rough cut and understand your style will make it that much easier for a true collaboration.

Animators understand, however, that it’s usually best to consult the producer to understand how the director operates. "Every director is different," Syd explains. "Some get hung up on certain things." If you are a director who knows you need to see something in its final incarnation, Syd recommends getting the producer or the editors to interact with the animated or graphics segments when they are still in those early stages of development.

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This seminar and other Doc U programs are available online to IDA Members. Learn more about Doc U Online.

Have more tips on how to best work with archival footage? Post in the comments below!

The IDA is thrilled to announce the initial slate of films for its IDA Documentary Screening Series. Launching September 26 at The Landmark Theater with Inequality for All, the series will screen some of the year’s best documentaries followed by Q&A discussions with filmmakers, moderated by IDA’s Media Partners Dana Harris, Editor-in-Chief of Indiewire and Jon Wiener, Contributing Editor of The Nation, as well as Matt Holzman of KCRW. The Q&As will be recorded and made available on documentary.org, on the IDA’s YouTube Channel, and will be shared by the filmmakers and moderators.

"The IDA Documentary Screening Series offers industry audiences the opportunity to see great documentaries and raises awareness of the documentary genre during this year’s awards season," said Michael Lumpkin, IDA’s Executive Director. "The Q&A discussions will add another level of involvement for film-goers, allowing filmmakers to connect directly to audiences."

Films currently confirmed for the Series, which will run through January 2014, include The Crash Reel, Dirty Wars, Inequality for All, Two: The Story of Roman and Nyro, and Twenty Feet From Stardom.

RSVPs now being accepted for Inequality for All on September 26. Dana Harris will moderate the post-screening Q&A with director Jacob Kornbluth and Professor Robert Reich. Register here.

The following letter was emailed from the IDA to John Baird, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, on behalf of detained documentary filmmaker John Greyson this morning. He is being held in Cairo, Egypt, where civil unrest and protests are rampant. Greyson has been held since Friday, August 16.

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Dear Minister Baird,

The International Documentary Association (IDA) represents over 1,800 filmmakers in North America and around the world. We are dedicated to defending the rights and freedoms of documentary artists, activists, and storytellers, which is why we are reaching out to you today. We are deeply troubled to hear about the arrest and incarceration of veteran documentary filmmaker John Greyson in Cairo.

Like the rest of the world, we are closely following the escalating levels of unrest and violence throughout Egypt, which is why we are alarmed to hear that Mr. Greyson is still in custody. The IDA hopes that with your help, our voice and the voices of the filmmakers we represent will reach the Egyptian authorities responsible for this decision.

The IDA is requesting your urgent intervention in this matter to help ensure Mr. Greyson's safety and rights to due process. Our thoughts and support go out to the many journalists in Egypt who have been arrested and killed in the recent protests and unrest, and we hope that with the efforts of the global community we can ensure due process for them all.

Sincerely,

Michael Lumpkin
Executive Director

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For those interested in supporting the release of Greyson, please sign this petition on Change.org.

The fall granting cycle is right around the corner so we've listed a few opportunities that we think will be of interest to you. As with every funding application, be sure to read over the guidelines and requirements carefully to make sure your documentary is a good fit prior to applying. If you have questions along the way, contact a grant officer at the organization. They're there to help you determine if your film is right for the grant and to answer questions about the application process itself. Remember that some organizations request Letters of Intent (LOI) before you apply. If you've ever wondered how to go about starting a LOI, the Foundation Center's Grant Space provides a great resource guide.

As always, please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about a particular grant or about applying for grant money in general. Good hunting!

MOVIES THAT MATTER
Committed to the promotion and a wider circulation of human rights film screenings worldwide, Movies that Matter has initiated an extra stimulus for the circulation of human rights films in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. Movies that Matter offers modest financial assistance up to € 5.000 of subsidy to organize various types of human rights film events in countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Middle East and Eastern Europe.

Extended Deadline: September 15, 2013

HBO/NALIP DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER AWARD
The $10,000 award is up for grabs for one talented Latino filmmaker. “Social change has been the consistent undercurrent for HBO's critically acclaimed and award-winning documentary programs, with a myriad of issues presented in uncompromising quality and honesty.  Through this cash award, HBO wants to focus its lens on the Latino experience and support the growth of social commentary by Latino documentarians.” One of IDA’s fiscally sponsored films, Code of the West, received the award in 2011.

Deadline: September 27, 2013

ROY W. DEAN FILM/VIDEO GRANT
The Roy W. Dean film grant provides in-kind goods and services to support compelling shorts, documentaries, and independent features with budgets under $500K. They have expanded to further their goals of creating films that are "unique and make a contribution to society." The grant now also funds shorts and low budget independents. “Student filmmakers, independent producers, or independent production companies are all welcome”.

Deadline: September 30, 2013

CALIFORNIA COUNCIL FOR THE HUMANITIES – CALIFORNIA DOCUMENTARY PROJECT (CDP)
Guidelines are now available for the CDP, a competitive grants program of Cal Humanities that supports documentary film, radio, and new media productions that enhance our understanding of California and its cultures, peoples, and histories. Projects must use the humanities to provide context, depth, and perspective and be suitable for California and national audiences through broadcast and/or distribution. Eligible applicants may apply for Research and Development or Production grants. Award amounts range from $10,000 up to $50,000.

Deadline: October 1, 2013

FRAMELINE COMPLETION FUND
The Frameline Completion Fund provides grants to emerging and established filmmakers making projects about  lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their communities.  This program seeks to provide a much-needed source of financial contributions to artists who often struggle to secure funding to complete their works. Submissions are being accepted for documentary, educational, narrative, animated or experimental projects about LGBTQ people and their communities. Grants up to $5,000 are available for films that represent and reflect LGBTQ life in all its complexity and richness.

Deadline: October 31, 2013

TRIBECA FILM INSTITUTE DOCUMENTARY FUND

In 2014, the TFI Documentary Fund will provide grants totaling $160,000—including the TFI/ESPN Prize—to outstanding feature documentaries that aim to give audiences a unique glimpse of captivating personal stories. The TFI Documentary Fund furthers the development of exceptional character-driven, non-fiction works that spotlight contemporary themes with an original focus and bold, creative filmmaking. This fund allows TFI to fund many audience-grabbing genres that fall under the documentary umbrella including arts, sports, hybrid and experimental projects.

Deadline: November 5, 2013

PACIFIC PIONEER FUND
The Pacific Pioneer Fund supports emerging documentary filmmakers, who have demonstrated their commitment to documentary form by no more than ten years of practical film or video experience.  Eligibility: Filmmakers that live in California, Oregon and Washington.

Deadline: December 1, 2013 (POSTMARK)
 

It might not be until after you’re done in the field and have wrapped your interviews that you realize you’ll need some extra footage you just can’t capture yourself. Want shots of a bustling street in downtown Detroit during the 1950s? Need some footage of women playing golf in college in the 1930s? With a little digging, odds are that you can find someone who has already shot those images.

So off we go to the archives! But where to start? And how to find the right archive for your project? With resources available everywhere from university libraries to small town basements, finding those images might not be as easy as you had hoped. But with a lot of preparation and the willingness to get a little dirty, you’ll start unearthing gems you never dreamed might be available.

The panelists at our recent event Doc U: Taking Stock - Using Archival Footage to Tell Your Story, including the filmmakers from American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs and a representative from T3Media, weighed in with 6 things to keep in mind when working with archives.

1. Start communicating with the archives early on.

"It's important to engage as early as possible," says Brendon Mulvihill, Director of Sales at the footage licensing firm T3Media. And he should know—he’s responsible for the resources at one of the nation’s largest holdings of sports, news, and creative footage. American Revolutionary producer Austin Wilkins got in touch with the guys at T3Media as soon as he and his team had a storyline mapped out.

"I didn’t think about it as an archival film," American Revolutionary director Grace Lee told the audience. "The film is really about Grace Lee Boggs' philosophical journey. One of the bigger challenges was, how do you tell a story about someone for whom there is no footage?"

"We started working with Austin pretty early on," Brendon recalls. He and his team at T3Media knew that it would be their job to help provide additional footage outside of what the filmmakers had captured in the field. That early engagement eventually lead to the polished, cohesive final project: the film would go on to win the Audience Award at the Los Angeles Film Festival and Best of the Fest at AFI Docs this summer.

2. Have a "wish list."

Panel moderator Senain Kheshgi, herself a filmmaker credited with the documentaries Project Kashmir and The First Year, prompted the filmmakers to explain their initial conversation with T3Media. Austin professed that they "had a wish list of images" they brought to the company and other archives nationwide on the off-chance that someone had what they were looking for. Luckily T3Media had worked on several Detroit-based documentaries already, making it possible for them to provide tons of B-roll for American Revolutionary, a film based primarily in Michigan's major city.

3. Become friends with the libraries and archivists.

As Austin joked during the panel, "not too many archivists go into it for the money." Most historians and librarians do it because they love the work, and love being posed a challenge. Starting to communicate with them early on and presenting them with lists of desires will help to start a relationship based on respect, trust, and cooperation. Stressed out researchers on a severe time-constraint might not have the time nor the patience to seek out that visual gem that might help with a major plot point.

"It's their job to help you find the things that you need," Grace stated. "It's all about figuring out a way to make that relationship work."

4. Be organized.

An organized editor is a productive editor. With American Revolutionary and every other film she's worked on, editor Kim Roberts gets super detailed when it comes to cataloging her footage. During the panel she got down to the nitty gritty of how she organizes, especially when there is a massive amount of second-hand material. First, she recommends that you create a shorthand for the archive from where your footage originated.

"Come up with a really consistent naming strategy," Kim recommended. On large productions, one might find themselves working with several assistant editors and even a number of interns, all of whom need to understand exactly what’s within a file without wasting time by opening it. Using numbers to order the footage and useful descriptions that can be understood by a number of people will help guarantee a smooth post-production process.

"If you are using A TON of archival," Kim continued, "keywords become really important. On this project, I think it was organized by decade."

5. Back it up.

So how does one store all of this footage? Keep it on another drive? And should it always be at the ready?

Austin explained that "even on a low budget, we had a bunch of drives. There were at least one or two backups of everything." We all know the nightmare of a failed hard drive. This one is simple: prevent headaches by always backing up.

6. Don’t bring in your editor until they have something to work with.

So you've begun the process of acquiring the majority of your footage, both primary and archival. When is it best for an editor to come on board with a project like this?

"When Kim started there was still a lot of shooting going on," Grace admitted. "It's best when the editor starts when you are still shooting," thus acclimating them to the tone, style, and voice of the project.

"Sometimes, [an assistant] will go ahead of time," Kim added, "who will have logged a bunch and will know how to organize. You don't want to bring your editor in until they can start moving."

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This seminar and other Doc U programs are available online to IDA Members. Learn more about Doc U Online.

Have more tips on how to best work with archival footage? Post in the comments below!

All of us at the IDA are thrilled to have FirstCom Music and Brooks Institute as sponsors of our newest program, the IDA Documentary Screening Series, launching this Fall at the Landmark Theater in Los Angeles, CA. The IDA Documentary Screening Series is invitation-only screenings of fifteen documentary features that will take place annually between September and January.

"At Brooks Institute, we provide a learning experience that attracts a diverse student body of aspiring professionals with one common goal: to pursue careers in the visual, new media, and communication arts," explains Gail Fisher, Department Chair, Department Chair, School of Film|Communication at Brooks Institute.

"Our sponsorship of the IDA directly benefits our students with their educational and professional development goals by providing them with exposure to the documentary film industry and a top-notch organization like the IDA. We’re very excited about sponsoring the IDA Documentary Screening Series."

FirstCom Music and Brooks Institute join media sponsors The Nation and IndieWire as partners of the new program.

The Series will bring some of the year’s best documentary films to IDA members as well as members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, industry guilds and other film organizations with the goal of increasing voting participation in the documentary award categories. Each screening will conclude with a moderated Q&A with the filmmakers. Moderators will include Matt Holzman of KCRW, Dana Harris of IndieWire and John Weiner of The Nation.

FirstCom Music, a leading music services provider, offers the most comprehensive musical selection worldwide. With more than 176,000 tracks, FirstCom Music is dedicated to providing high-quality, easy to license music to industry professionals.

Brooks Institute is an accredited college with a tradition of over 67 years of educational excellence and commitment to preparing students for a rewarding career in the visual and media arts.

For more information and regular updates about the IDA Documentary Screening Series, go to documentary.org and become a registered user. Registered users are automatically signed up to receive our email communications.

To become a sponsor of the IDA Documentary Screening Series, please contact Cindy Chyr at cindy@documentary.org.

For general information about the IDA Documentary Screening Series contact Amy Jelenko at amy.j@documentary.org.

IDA is proud to announce our media partners for the new IDA Documentary Screening Series—IndieWire, the leading news, information, and networking site for independent-minded filmmakers, the industry and moviegoers alike; and The Nation, the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States devoted to politics and culture.

The IDA Documentary Screening Series is invitation-only screenings of fifteen documentary features that will take place annually between September and January; and launching for the first time this Fall.

"We're very excited to have IndieWire and The Nation join as media partners of the IDA Documentary Screening Series," explains Michael Lumpkin, IDA's Executive Director. "As media partners, IndieWire and The Nation will promote and participate in the program, with the end goal of getting the participating films noticed and viewed by the right audiences."

The Series will bring some of the year’s best documentary films to IDA members as well as members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, industry guilds and other film organizations with the goal of increasing voting participation in the documentary award categories.

Each screening will conclude with a moderated Q&A with the filmmakers. Moderators will include Matt Holzman of KCRW, Dana Harris of IndieWire and Jon Weiner of The Nation.

For more information and regular updates about the IDA Documentary Screening Series, go to documentary.org and become a registered user. Registered users are automatically signed up to receive our email communications.

To become a sponsor of the IDA Documentary Screening Series, please contact Cindy Chyr at cindy@documentary.org.

For general information about the IDA Documentary Screening Series contact Amy Jelenko at amy.j@documentary.org.

For more information and regular updates about the IDA Documentary Screening Series, go to our sign-up page to become a registered user.