The biggest challenge facing the entertainment industry documentary is the "Access Problem." To make a documentary about Disney, you need Disney's cooperation. But if Disney cooperates, will they let you show the toxic waste dumping, or the wage theft, or the executive firings?
This creates a spectrum:
The best recent example of threading this needle is Listen to Me Marlon (2016). It used only Marlon Brando’s own audio diaries. The star was dead; the archive was the source. No PR team could filter it. -GirlsDoPorn- 18 Years Old -E302 02.20.2015-
If you want to see how the modern music industry chews people up:
If you are a filmmaker reading this, the market is hungry for specific, weird stories. Do not pitch "A documentary about Hollywood." Pitch a specific drawer in the Hollywood filing cabinet. The best recent example of threading this needle
Here is the winning formula currently selling at festivals:
"A nostalgic look at [Forgotten IP] through the eyes of [Unsung Worker] that ultimately reveals [Hidden Social Issue]." "A nostalgic look at [Forgotten IP] through the
Example: "A nostalgic look at Mall Madness the board game through the eyes of the failed inventor that reveals the gender bias of the 1990s toy industry."
Streamers are looking for vertical slices. Don't try to cover the history of Warner Bros. Cover the history of the Warner Bros. water tower.
In a chaotic world, we return to the media of our childhood to understand why we turned out this way.
These are the "fly on the wall" docs that follow a creator under pressure.
The biggest challenge facing the entertainment industry documentary is the "Access Problem." To make a documentary about Disney, you need Disney's cooperation. But if Disney cooperates, will they let you show the toxic waste dumping, or the wage theft, or the executive firings?
This creates a spectrum:
The best recent example of threading this needle is Listen to Me Marlon (2016). It used only Marlon Brando’s own audio diaries. The star was dead; the archive was the source. No PR team could filter it.
If you want to see how the modern music industry chews people up:
If you are a filmmaker reading this, the market is hungry for specific, weird stories. Do not pitch "A documentary about Hollywood." Pitch a specific drawer in the Hollywood filing cabinet.
Here is the winning formula currently selling at festivals:
"A nostalgic look at [Forgotten IP] through the eyes of [Unsung Worker] that ultimately reveals [Hidden Social Issue]."
Example: "A nostalgic look at Mall Madness the board game through the eyes of the failed inventor that reveals the gender bias of the 1990s toy industry."
Streamers are looking for vertical slices. Don't try to cover the history of Warner Bros. Cover the history of the Warner Bros. water tower.
In a chaotic world, we return to the media of our childhood to understand why we turned out this way.
These are the "fly on the wall" docs that follow a creator under pressure.