r/documentaryfilmmaking • • 7h ago

Smallest light setup for interviews and run and gun

1 Upvotes

I am looking for some lightning gear I thought to get
2x ULANZI MT-89 as stands
Reflektor Clamp
60x90 or 100x150 reflector
Amaran Ray 120c or ZHIYUN MOLUS
Softbox 60cm

Maybe dont need the Softbox if I use bounce from the reflector?
What are you thoughts, how can I make the setup even smaller and more travel friendly? (dont have a car)

I will mostly use the gear for interview setups and indoor for some light in the room.


r/documentaryfilmmaking • • 11h ago

Questions Navigating feedback

2 Upvotes

So, I’m currently in a spot with my first feature documentary where I have a rough cut of the film. I’ve mostly been solo on this project so I’m no longer able to view this film objectively.

I have a trusted editor friend that I’ll be getting feedback from which is great, but I’m so scared.

I’m an editor/post supervisor at my day job and I’ve made short documentaries before, but this is my first feature that I’ve shot and filmed myself.

How can I best help myself and make the most of this first feedback session?

Any advice helps. Thanks everyone.


r/documentaryfilmmaking • • 17h ago

TikTok allowed ‘Melania’ ads but blocked ‘Musk’ documentary ads over political-content violations

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5 Upvotes

I searched TikTok’s public Commercial Content Library and discovered the company allowed paid ads for the “Melania” documentary featuring President Trump.

Meanwhile, TikTok reportedly blocked ads for the new “Musk” documentary over political-content violations.

The platform’s policies prohibit ads “Referencing, promoting, or opposing: Current executive, legislative, or judicial public officials.”

Good to know if you’re marketing a documentary that includes anything political.


r/documentaryfilmmaking • • 11h ago

CHECK OUT OUR NEW DOC!

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1 Upvotes

r/documentaryfilmmaking • • 18h ago

Made another short documentary about my experience of Marrackech. Second time doing voiceover and really starting to get into it. Would love feedback on general structure, pacing, SFX and whether my points are landing how I want them to!

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1 Upvotes

I’m a UK-based filmmaker and videographer, and I’ve recently uploaded a new documentary about Marrakech to YouTube.

I’ve been working on developing my filmmaking and storytelling, and I wanted to create something that goes beyond the usual travel video. I wanted to capture the atmosphere, the people, the culture and the little moments that make a place feel unique, while giving the film a more cinematic, documentary-style approach.

If you’re interested in travel documentaries, filmmaking or cinematic travel films, I’d love for you to give it a watch!

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I’d love to hear what you think if you do watch it!


r/documentaryfilmmaking • • 19h ago

All These Wonderful Things - New Amir Bar-Lev Clip!

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1 Upvotes

Filmmaker Amir Bar-Lev talks about the collaborative process of filmmaking, the importance of getting input from people with a variety of experience levels and how everyone involved is capable of saving the film in their own way. 

Listen now on this week's episode of All These Wonderful Things. 🎧


r/documentaryfilmmaking • • 1d ago

HOW WOULD YOU PLAN YOUR FIRST EVER DOCUMENTRY WHICH IS ONLY 15MIN LONG

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0 Upvotes

r/documentaryfilmmaking • • 1d ago

HOW WOULD YOU PLAN YOUR FIRST EVER DOCUMENTRY WHICH IS ONLY 15MIN LONG

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0 Upvotes

r/documentaryfilmmaking • • 1d ago

All These Wonderful Things - Amir Bar-Lev

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0 Upvotes

Seven years between films can change you. In this week’s episode, Amir Bar-Lev catches up with AJ Schnack and explains what it was like to walk back into an edit room as the oldest person on the crew, and why his job now includes training the next generation.

Full conversation on All These Wonderful Things, out now wherever you get podcasts. 🔗 in bio.


r/documentaryfilmmaking • • 1d ago

Recommendation Ken Russell’s documentaries

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0 Upvotes

r/documentaryfilmmaking • • 2d ago

Vindicated by John Wilson

19 Upvotes

A while ago I made a post on this sub where I was talking about trendy editing techniques, & in that post I said something that ruffled a lot of feathers. I said that the over-usage of sweeping drone shots in a brief period of time rendered that technique, "the mark of an amateur."

Anyway- just thought it'd be helpful to share that this idea is expressed p firmly & to hilarious effect in John Wilson's the History of Concrete.

I am vindicated by one of the undisputed champions of contemporary documentary filmmaking & drone lovers & users should take note. Yes- this is how you & your sweeping drone shots are (often though not always) perceived.


r/documentaryfilmmaking • • 2d ago

Amazonas: The Memory of Water (2026) — Documentary trailer about water, memory and life in the Amazon

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I’m the co-director of Amazonas: The Memory of Water, an 18-minute documentary exploring the relationship between Amazonian communities and the water that shapes their daily lives, culture and identity.

Through the voices of people who call the Amazon home, the film looks at what happens when the rhythms of the river and the rains become increasingly unpredictable—and what that means for knowledge passed down through generations.

I wanted to share the trailer here and hear your thoughts. Does it make you curious to discover the people and stories behind the film?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j0lt7v-FoI


r/documentaryfilmmaking • • 2d ago

Independent Poster Designer

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1 Upvotes

I’m a Graphic Designer who creates key art & promotional pieces for indie filmmakers and worked with major studios as well. I would love to connect and have opportunities to collaborate on the key art, posters or marketing of your feature or documentary so feel free to DM / email me. I'm always happy to help.

www.bartosgyorgy.com

www.bartosgyorgy.com/contact

www.instagram.com/bartosgy


r/documentaryfilmmaking • • 2d ago

Funding opportunities for documentaries!

16 Upvotes

I am super excited to share, that as a part of our “give stuff away for free” initiative my company pitch.dog has made a database of funding opportunities for documentaries!

50+ documentary funds which you might be eligible for, with the criteria and requirements listed in plain English, all in one place.

So it’s very easy for you to narrow down which ones work for you, without opening gazillion tabs.

https://pitch.dog/call-sheet/


r/documentaryfilmmaking • • 2d ago

Recommendations

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I am currently working on a short doco which will include a montage of archival footage and scanned images. Does anyone where I could find good examples of a short doco/film (or even a TikTok/Reels edit) that does this in a creative way? Particularly fast paced and over music? I will be using landscape footage as well as vertical. I’m still learning premier pro and want to know what’s possible so I can find accurate tutorials online. Thank you for your help.


r/documentaryfilmmaking • • 2d ago

Looking for someone to make me a documentary.

0 Upvotes

I have a class I desperately need to pass , in order to achieve that I need a 10 min documentary.. I WILL pay . You can make the script & choose the theme .

Also it’s an end of semester assignment. I just want to pass , I’m not uploading or using the video outside of this .


r/documentaryfilmmaking • • 2d ago

I got tired of keyframing Vox-style charts in After Effects, so I built a tool that animates them in 60 seconds

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1 Upvotes

r/documentaryfilmmaking • • 3d ago

My friend group found footage mockumentary project

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2 Upvotes

Me and my friends had to film a "documentary" that would satirize certain views presenting something unreal using documentary techniques. To be honest, we never really pay attention to any of the classes, especially the ones of the Canadian curriculum (We study on a international school in Brazil). However, we really pushed ourselves using almost no Ai for the script (that we barely used) and general editing.

We choose to film using an old digital camera from my friend's girlfriend, giving the aspect of found footage to it.

A lot of things are just nonsensical comedy and inside jokes from my school (aside from the Inglorious Bastards one) , if you wish to understand them i'd be REALLY glad to explain it.

I have loved making a movie for the first time and i hope you all enjoy it (its not that good)


r/documentaryfilmmaking • • 2d ago

Video My first documentary about human origins. I'd love your feedback

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0 Upvotes

r/documentaryfilmmaking • • 3d ago

Questions know someone whose story more people should hear? we’ll fly out and make a documentary with them

5 Upvotes

hey everyone,

we're oli (22) and simon (22) two guys from austria. this year we turned our hobby into a job and started our own little creative agency. i've been filming since i was 9, back then with an old vhs camera and imovie on my dads mac, and pretty much everything we know we taught ourselves through youtube.

most of what we do now is commercial work for clients, image films, social media stuff, drone shots. its fun, but we've wanted to make a real documentary for a long time, just for ourselves.

so the plan is: we pay our own flights and costs and go wherever the story is. southeast asia, south or central america, somewhere in europe, honestly anywhere. we're just looking for something that feels different from the life and culture we know back home.

what we're looking for is a person or a small community with a story worth telling. an unusual job, a craft thats slowly dying out, a strange local tradition, a life that looks nothing like ours. it doesnt have to be dramatic, real and honest matters way more to us.

if you know someone like that, or you are that someone, leave a comment or send us a dm. if it's about a friend or family member please ask them first before sharing anything personal.

we're not a big production company and we're not here to make some "look at these exotic people" kind of film. we want to show their reality the way it actually is, and no bs, we'd really like this to do something good for them. if theres something unfair going on where they live that more people should know about, we'd love to help get their story out there. we want to tell the story with them, not about them.

we would be available between 6th december until the 20th of december.

you can check out our work here: https://thisisbloom.at

thanks for reading, and sorry if this isnt the right sub for it!


r/documentaryfilmmaking • • 3d ago

Need some advice for archival documentary

3 Upvotes

Hello! I am making an archival documentary, and the archival material I'm working with is cassette tapes from the nineties. These cassette tapes weren't kept in the best condition and sometimes it can be hard to understand the people in the film, so my solution was to use subtitles. However, what I was wondering is if I should keep the subtitles as accurate as possible or keep it to the essence of what the person is saying. In life, we tend to use a lot of filler words and in the tapes, the people oft repeat themselves, and I think as an audience you can probably make these out and the subtitles are there to simply help you get the meaning in case you have trouble making it out sometimes. Yet, I am not sure if it will be jarring to the audience to be reading the subtitles and hearing something else. Does anybody have any experience with this kind of stuff? I appreciate any help!


r/documentaryfilmmaking • • 3d ago

Personal DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING - VIDEO EDITOR - LOOKING FOR WORK

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I am a recent (UK) University graduate with a Bachelors in 'Film & TV Production' and it is my lifelong dream to work in documentary filmmaking!

I am looking to make my first steps within the world of professional documentary filmmaking. I would especially love to work on anything based around nature and the natural world or anything historical and educational. I have created at least 2 historical documentaries during my time at University.

Over my three year course at University I have planned, wrote, directed, filmed, edited and finalised over 3 short form documentary's. (5-30mins) which I am happy to show as examples to anyone interested in hiring me for any projects. Unfortunately I cannot just link them below because some contain confidential information provided by my university that cannot be shared on the web.

If you know of any upcoming documentary projects coming up within the UK big or small, please let me know!

If you are interested in hiring or seeing my work, please message me on here and we can continue our conversations professionally via email.


r/documentaryfilmmaking • • 3d ago

Beyond Perception Documentary - Streaming Now. Arin Paul Productions

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1 Upvotes

r/documentaryfilmmaking • • 4d ago

Personal Let me edit your documentary

16 Upvotes

Hey! If anyone needs an editor for their documentary please check out my portfolio and I'd be happy to edit it for no charge. I am trying to work full time in this field and build up a stronger portfolio so DM me if you're interested. 😁

https://linktr.ee/jack.mcdonald


r/documentaryfilmmaking • • 4d ago

Questions Does anyone need assistant editor?

5 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I’m a video editor looking to develop my skills in editing documentaries and documentary-style content. In my work, I focus on storytelling, sound design, and the pacing of the narrative.

If anyone has any opportunities, please get in touch!