Interested to be a crew member to do a travel documentary?

[astroboy]

I am just wondering if there are folks out there who would like to create travel documentaries like Globetrekker or CCTV9's Travelogue programmes? Shot using HD videocams.

As a travel photographer, I already have the exotic destinations in mind and can easily work out the logistics. Just need to form a video crew willing to spend their own time, money and effort to create a documentary.

What comes to mind is a scriptwriter to do the research/writing etc, a narrator who looks good in front of camera, a videographer, maybe someone to do the sound recording. I can be the director/producer. Won't hurt to have onboard someone who can help sell the end-product to TV networks, too.

Anyone?

 

[sundazz]

I am just wondering if there are folks out there who would like to create travel documentaries like Globetrekker or CCTV9's Travelogue programmes? Shot using HD videocams.

As a travel photographer, I already have the exotic destinations in mind and can easily work out the logistics. Just need to form a video crew willing to spend their own time, money and effort to create a documentary.

What comes to mind is a scriptwriter to do the research/writing etc, a narrator who looks good in front of camera, a videographer, maybe someone to do the sound recording. I can be the director/producer. Won't hurt to have onboard someone who can help sell the end-product to TV networks, too.

Anyone?

Are u talking of traveling oversea or locally?
jus a little tot.. why not try to start off doing something locally first?
traveling abroad needs strong financial back up and support.. and is something that will spend for quite a period of time on production.. unless u have some strategic plan?

 

[Hobbes00]

thats a good concept, but what u really need is a darn good idea.
And you really need to have a clear goal on what you want at the end.. (Say sales, festivals, fame, etc)

What you're looking for is a producer/director.. someone who thinks out-of-this-world.
So you get afew bunch of these crazy-thinkers, get a plan out... and then work on it.. They should be independentally resouceful as you gonna need it when you on such independent projects.

Say if you ask me what ideas would work, I would say something crazy - something to do with sex trade, drugs, homosexuality, abuse, underworld, culture problems, religon. =)

Trust me you'll get flamed, but if you put ur idea down properly, you'll have MDA and other companies supporting you (that's where you'll get ur crew, cast, money and equipments)

Think crazy - and you'll have great ideas.
Dave

 

[wrkshy]

You know what would be interesting - a travel mockumentary - a film about the making of a travel documentary. Some of the documentaries we see done by Globetrotters etc are ripe for parody. Break the fourth wall. It would be a fun, different angle.

 

[astroboy]

Thanks for all the great ideas, gets the mind thinking.

But i have in mind something more "mainstream", like documenting the fast-disappearing ethnic minorities in the mountains of Sapa in northern Vietnam. Their lifestyles is being threathened by tourism, US$ and "progress". In another decade or so, they will all be gone.

These kinds of documentaries are not for the fainthearted as it will require weeks of staying with the tribes in the remote villages, interacting with them, etc.

Something like that.

 

[DXNMedia]

I've edited quite a number of docus & travel programs for Nat Geo & Discovery and your initial proposal doesn't really entice me.....it sounds like it's been done before to be frank, and in order to get the channels to buy your program and fund you, you'll need a story that will be 'compelling' or being told in a different perspective.

Your proposed idea have been done similarly in the last docu that I've edited, titled 'The Final Sacrifice - Gypsies of India", should have been aired on Discovery Networks. It was about how the gypsies in Chennai being forced to work in the cities when jungles & forests were cleared and their hunting ground became lesser.


Anyways, unless you're so rich to be able to fund your own research and invest in your time, then you can afford to produce your own docu, then decide what you're going to do with it.

If you can further develop your idea into something more concrete (eg. develop a hypothesis and a synopsis of your idea), I may be willing to co-produce, shoot & post your travel docu.

As far as experience, acquisition gears & post production facility, I've got it all covered....even down to library music that is cleared for broadcast or any other forms of distribution. :thumbsup:

Now...Just need a good story for me to be wowed with so that I'll invest my time on it.

 

[GauthamD]

Hey DXN Media,

I agree with you on the comment that the "vanishing tribe" story has been done a lot of times across the globe.

How about this? The life of a caddy in the Asian Tour. We pick one regular caddy and film his story start to end of a tournament. I know this also has been done in the "thankless Jobs" series like Sherpas etc. But still..

 

[DXNMedia]

Hey DXN Media,

I agree with you on the comment that the "vanishing tribe" story has been done a lot of times across the globe.

How about this? The life of a caddy in the Asian Tour. We pick one regular caddy and film his story start to end of a tournament. I know this also has been done in the "thankless Jobs" series like Sherpas etc. But still..

May be a good idea, but who's caddy in particular with a compelling story?
Liang Wen Chong's? Simon Yates'? Gaurav's? Artemio?
I'm sure the documentary will be hell boring in terms of shots because all u see is putting, walking around the golf course, finding the ball, interviews, travelling....if you can convince that there's a better story to be told, then it may sell, and I have a sports channel in mind who may be interested to fund. ;p

 

[astroboy]

Thanks DXNMedia for your valuable feedback, really appreciate it.

I do agree that the idea to highlight "marginalised" minorities is not new. But looking at things from a helicopter view, there isn't really anything in this world that has not been done before. For eg the story of Jesus has been told and re-told a million times throughout the Ages. And someone comes along, give it a new spin and angle, and we have a new blockbuster.

Anyway, I have a simpler approach. I am not doing a social documentary but more of a travel documentary. Highlighting the plights of the minority tribes is just a side story more to educate the visitors to the area so that they can understand the people better.

The whole idea of Sapa (Bac Ha, Ha Giang etc) and the surrounding mountains is the place & the scenery. If u have been there u would know what I mean. To date, I have not seen a documentary showing the beauty of the place with an intro to the dozens of tribes living there. I suppose westerners still have a certain tinge of guilt for what they did to Vietnam during the war.

Anyway, if there is an interested crew of people who are with me on the idea, the 1st step is to actually visit the place. Get a feel for the place, explore story angles, talk to the locals, stay in the villages etc. If the majority feels there is no story there, we can forget the idea and move on to explore another location.

I have some contacts there, mostly NGOs and I can make the connection easily. Besides Sapa, there are also many other "exotic" places in China. I am just using one as an example. Eventually, would be good to do a series. It has to be first & foremost a travel series with just slight undertones for social causes.

Once we can agree on a tangible (and marketable) story, we can talk about fundings.

PS: On a sidenote, this project wld not be practical for those who have a regular 9-5 job and need to apply for annual leave etc.

 

[GauthamD]

May be a good idea, but who's caddy in particular with a compelling story?
Liang Wen Chong's? Simon Yates'? Gaurav's? Artemio?
I'm sure the documentary will be hell boring in terms of shots because all u see is putting, walking around the golf course, finding the ball, interviews, travelling....if you can convince that there's a better story to be told, then it may sell, and I have a sports channel in mind who may be interested to fund. ;p

The objective or focus would be the caddy. His background, preparation for the game, his travel, his logistics, his mindset, his relationship with his boss, his takeaway from the game, his aspirations (remember Mardan?), his take on the game itself after each round - more of the before and after the game; the game itself should be out of focus. The whole idea is to show the importance of his role beyond carrying the bag and how thankless or satisfying his job is. Take these two cases - the Chinese no1 at that time giving a mere USD500 (I might be worng on the figures but it was paltry) and the yoga guru who carried the bags of an Indian golfer giving him that much needed emotional and physical support that helped in win the game.

 

[Hobbes00]

Do religon, =)

 

[DXNMedia]

I have some contacts there, mostly NGOs and I can make the connection easily. Besides Sapa, there are also many other "exotic" places in China. I am just using one as an example. Eventually, would be good to do a series. It has to be first & foremost a travel series with just slight undertones for social causes.

Once we can agree on a tangible (and marketable) story, we can talk about fundings.

PS: On a sidenote, this project wld not be practical for those who have a regular 9-5 job and need to apply for annual leave etc.

All very valid points made, but still there's the question between making a travel series for bread & butter vs. our passion. I need to have a certain level of comfort or percentage of success (in terms of fundings in this case) before I will commit.

I quit my comfortable day job as a senior broadcast editor to go freelance & pursue my passion, but still have to make $ to survive. Now I dun have a 9-5 job and I love what I do....for ages, I've been thinking of funding & producing my own docu for which I'm going to drive from Singapore to as far as I can go, visiting all the ulu towns and write briefly about the life there, then move on to another town, and so on....

Unfortunately I'm no rich man's son who can fund for my dreams and pleasures :cry:, but I'm someone who will be willing to give up some forms of comfort to do what I like to do. :thumbsup:

keep developing on your idea, and if something concrete does come up (eg. some fundings from some organisations who may be keen?), do keep me updated.

 

[astroboy]

DXNMedia
We can discuss general stuff here for the benefit of those who may be following our discussions. Yes, I visited your site and now I know better your background which parallels mine. Your expertise would indeed be useful if u come onboard as a team-member.

I spent many years in MNC ad agencies, SPH and MediaCorp. And like u, I gave up the life of a salaried employee & opted to go "indie" so that I can pick and choose the assignments I want. I am now a full-time travel writer and photographer (Check my latest work in the upcoming Sept/Oct issue of AsiaSpa. Hint: I am easy to spot, probably the only Asian in a team of ang mohs).

My years in advtg taught me the kinds of ideas which sells. I also go by the adage: "If it sells, it's creative." I constantly grapple with what's of personal interest and what's mainstream with commercial appeal and value. Stuff like "the life and times of a caddy", while interesting, will have little mass market appeal unlike travel or food, for eg.

My assignments take me to some really nice locations and sometimes I feel a tinge of sadness and wish that I could do more to capture the "spirit of place" and package the experience in an audio-video media format. And bring it back for the enjoyment of the general viewing public.

As for fundings, I know EDB etc can offer some help but we must have a great viable concept to begin with.

DXNMedia, I will take my discussions with u off-line after this. Meanwhile, anyone else out there? The film/multimedia students are also encouraged to come onboard as this would be a good learning experience and a chance to add something good to your showreel.

 

[aeskywan]

Hmmm a piece of advice, professional crew do not do anything for free no matter how wild and solid your idea is. Reasoning very simple, any awards that you get, they wont have a part in it. You have never heard of Best Grip or Best Camera Assistant award right? So to them its the money that talks. You are asking crew to come out with their own money to join you on this venture... I would say you will not have much luck. Of course there will be students that might naively think this could be a big break for them, but honestly you will then get problems like bad lighting, poor camera work, lousy sound and end of the day you shoot for nothing. Not trying to pour cold water but just trying to let you know the facts. Students are cheap or free but most of the time, they are just not experienced. What we do is we have experienced crew and some students as juniors to help. But letting students run the show completely? Recipe for disaster.

Good luck in your project.

 

[astroboy]

Just curious, how did you come to this conclusion? :think:

But letting students run the show completely?

 

[Hobbes00]

Let me know what I can do, I've some spare time on my hands after I finish my national service.

 

[aeskywan]

Just curious, how did you come to this conclusion? :think:

Not an conclusion, just some friendly advice. Know of some people who have the impression that they can save money by using students as crew and frankly students are more willing to do stuff for free. However results turn out to be an disaster. Put it this way, if you get students to be crew, you cannot guarantee the results, not blaming the students but rather they are new and inexperienced. Anyway hope you are not offended.

 

[jaegersing]

Let me know what I can do, I've some spare time on my hands after I finish my national service.

Finish national service and then hold a film premiere you mean?

 

[Faiz]

Finish national service and then hold a film premiere you mean?

hahahaha finish your NS 1st tan can talk lah............;p

 

[jaegersing]

hahahaha finish your NS 1st tan can talk lah............;p

Hahaha finish film first then can talk a lot!