Tips for freelance documentarians
Matthias Sdun
Matthias Sdun, born in Emden, Germany, is an award-winning freelance documentary filmmaker and executive producer and works for German television networks such as ARD and ZDF. He also teaches classes in Visual Storytelling and Mobile Journalism. His mobile documentary "11/09 - the Election Night in New York“ was awarded at Dublin Smartphone Festiva and l International Mobile Journalism Festival in 2018. Matthias has been focusing on climate change documentaries within the last two years. Matthias also has a strong focus on US topics. He is a World Press Institute Fellow of 2015. He offers through “Foreign Press” advice and insights useful for prospective documentarians.
The ingredients for a good documentary
It’s all about the story and the approach in storytelling. One great example is Searching for Sugar Man, a magnificent documentary that comes with a totally unexpected twist.
Effects are nice and can make your film unique. But the story is the key to making it outstanding, no matter what gear or equipment you used to film it.
What to know in advance
Preparation helps a lot. Know as much as possible about people and places before you show up with your camera. Of course, it can happen that you just dive right in without any preparation.
But having good knowledge about certain circumstances and systems will put you a step ahead when you start filming.
Avoid these mistakes
I think journalists and filmmakers should avoid the mistake of sticking to their plan when reality turns in a different direction than expected. Be open during the process for anything that can happen.
Everything changes over time. And it is possible that you end up with a totally different story than the one you had in mind at the beginning of the process.
What defines quality in a documentary production
I believe that a good documentary draws us deeply into a story. It can use different elements for that. But it is all about getting the viewers into a certain flow and play with their expectations.
True excellence is reached when you take the viewers on an emotional journey that leads to deep insights and a deeper understanding of a certain aspect of our lives.
Skills for aspiring documentarists
Some rock-solid skills in visual storytelling are surely useful. There’s one rule to keep in mind I guess: Show, don’t tell. Whenever it’s possible, take me into action. Talking heads can be a great add-on. But there is nothing more fascinating than being part of an evolving situation.
You can do it on your own
It has become much easier to do it on your own. You can do a documentary with your smartphone nowadays if you consider a couple of things that work well and others that don’t work so well when you are on your own. Sound recording can be quite tricky when you are alone. The benefit of shooting alone with small gear is the intimacy you get.
But surely the whole process of calculating, planning, preparing, shooting, transcribing, editing, sound mixing, color correction, publishing is much more interesting when you join forces with others who bring their passion and know-how.
How to get paid for your documentary work
There are many ways for creating a documentary and it does not necessarily have to be on a big budget anymore. But in the end, you want to get paid for your work.
So, think about different ways of funding. I strongly recommend getting a letter of intent from a TV station or a streaming network before you start the whole thing.
Or connect with production companies who are good at selling concepts to potential buyers. The downside of this is that you lose some of your personal freedom in the creative process.
The other way is to take the risk, produce on your own, and then sell licenses to different buyers. Surely this is the riskier approach as filmmakers tend to ignore the needs of the market sometimes.
Third way: crowdfunding. This works extremely well if your documentary deals with a phenomenon, where you have a highly involved community who are longing to be part of your documentary.
