Jamaica Daye

Well I can write. No, I have no reel. I crave experience...

I am willing to add my available time and dedication. I am a sponge and I'd love to learn from you! I have done some research on film production and writing for various genres. I will be of value to you without your having to pay cash. You can email me at tee_jay22@hotmail.com or respond here. :)

thanks guys. I applied to Roger's in mississauga but they told me they have a waiting list of two months before they even consider people... :unsure: Someone suggested I called TVO. I'll give the CBC a call... I'm really eager... :)

still no response...? :( maybe this should be moved to another forum? by the way, I am near toronto...

how can I break in if I never went to school for this stuff? So far I applied to volunteer at the local community tv channel so that I can learn about lighting, camera and sound stuff, but they haven't gotten back to me as yet. is there some production companies in toronto you know that uses volunteers? :unsure:

The book by barry hampe suggests that without proper lighting picture quality is almost nil. He repeats it almost everywhere in the book so it wont be lost on me. He however emphasise that one needs to go for the best equipment one can get, along with the best technical personnel one can get, because the better the original end product, the better the generational copies. This guy has years of documentary experience behind him and I'm taking his advice.

Hi Laurent.a, one of the books I'm reading suggests that a documentarian have good knowledge of all aspects of documentary production. I was thinking of taking a course or volunteering as an apprentice at a tv station somewhere. which do you think may be a better choice? I want to be very well prepared.

Hi, I want to do a documentary but it seems I need to have a bit of intimate working knowledge of film production(including some of the things you say is your solid background). I too am in Canada. Can you tell me the name and location of the school you attended? Maybe I should try being an apprentice first....

i googled the cameras suggested. thanx, but video is not an option.

that's digital, right? can it be blown up for theartrical release?

Oh thanx, thanx, thanx. this is great advice. some i've already done, and others i plan to do. it's interesting that i see (write a script) advice from time to time because that's the very first thing i did even before seeking advice or buying a book. of course it has evolved since then. I visualized the scenes and imagine the people I'd be interviewing and highlighting along with some visual evidence and footage from other media(i'll of course need to seek consent...) no. it will be nothing like 'supersize me'. it might be a cross between micheal moore's 'roger and me' and some real interesting scenarios and people. I want it to be both an expose and scientifically informative to people. It will be very controvercial, not intentionally, but because of the subject matter and the exploration into what I've observed over the years. i think it's very important and i am very intent on making it. as a start, i plan on volunteering at a women's center or somplace where i can reach some women. i just thought of it this morning while reading barry hampe's book. i'll do a search on google for some centers near me. anyway, thank you for being serious and up front with me on the subject of making a documentary.

I am not being specific. I'm being quite general. I have stated nothing about approach or style. hell, I've not even told you the disease. :rolleyes: polictics often bore alot of people, doesn't it?(I bet it bores the hell out of you too <_< ) but look what micheal moore produced. if I said I was going to make a doc about a family of eskimos in the cold alaska wild, you would say the same thing, wouldn't you? have you seen 'nanook of the north' ?

Hi Phil, thanx for responding. Again, I have to say, please use layman's term with me. esoteric words and jagons will confuse me as I know zero about the film world. ok, what is 'SD'? for that matter, what's telescine? :blink: By profession, I'm a software programmer and when I'm explaining certain concepts to clients, I have to speak in layman's term... From what I gather, if I'm not mistaken, you are saying that I should be a digital handcam to produce the documentary? why would I do that? Phil, I am not interested in showing a mini movie to a bunch of my friends. I am embarking on a serious move with the hope to educate and inform the public about a serious issue and I came here to seek advice on the most cost effective direction to go, while still able to produce a quality that wont cause the viewer to be distracted. the guy told me that star-wars was shot in HD so that means that it can be of decent quality for a world-wide audience, but if you say that it is extremely expensive to convert to film, what do you suggest is a better alternative?

my ego??!! oh God no! :blink: :o I am just rifing through info about types of cameras and since I'm a complete novice, I thought I'd rather not deal with what I see rated(by people with way better knowledge of cinematography than I) at the very bottom of quality: video. what I've read is that video produces the lowest quality for the average tv screen, and I was just imagining how bad it would look on a larger screen. While image is not everything, I want to create a mood and feeling in the viewer's mind and as such, I want something that wont be annoying to look at, causing the message or idea of the film to be ignored. the guy at Panevision told me that Fahrenheit 9/11 was shot on 16mm and blown up to 35mm, you say otherwise... He suggested I go HD because it will produce good quality for way cheaper than film. He told that 'spy kids' was shot on HD and they blew it up to film. I dont know what a super 16 is. I keep saying I'm a novice. Please bear that in mind when you speak to me. I am here to learn and am greatful for the advice you all offer.

Just got me the books I ordered from amazon last week. 'making documentary films and reality videos' by barry hampe as a companion to 'writing, directing and producing documentary films and videos' by alan rosenthal Ok, I guess I needed to be more specific. The documentary is about a particular disease that women are more susceptible to than men. I want interview medical experts along with some women affected. I also want to find out how much the 'man on the street' knows about the disease, treatment or who is the biggest victim. I dont want the documentary simply to be a talking heads kind of thing, but I want to show graphics. days in the life of female patients and so on... I want this to be in a postion to reach millions of women worldwide so a landscape picture thing is not what i am after, niether is a video thing.

I am beginning to grasp that concept, beleive me. Actually I was waiting on the book to give me some proper guidelines on preparations first. I baught it online from amazon since I cant find it in a bookstore near me, and it has not reach me yet. I just thought I'd still try preparing without it. Someone gave me the name of two professors at two universities close to me where i could either seek guidance or have their students work on the cinematography with me. Do you think that's a good idea to begin with? I may need to work out control for the film if students grades may be affected. I have thought about grants and the like, but like I said, maybe the book may point me to how I should go about applying for one in a professional manner. what do you think? :unsure:

Actually, I am preparing. My preparation included joining a forum such as this one where I can learn from people such as yourself. I have had this idea for a documentary for years, a passion actually, so thought has been long on this, trust me. research, yes. I am to recieve this book writing, directing and producing documentary films and videos by Alan Rosenthal "http://www.siu.edu/~siupress/titles/f02_titles/rosenthal_writing3rd.htm" hopefully it will help

Well answer anyway, :P I called a film rental place called Panevision and they suggested that I should go HD. Is that a good option? Please bear in mind that I want to go to theartre at the end with this film, but I'm currently very low budgeted now...

will somebody answer me already please? :(

Hi, I am completely new to the film world but I have an passion for an area that I think needs to be researched, documented and shown. Since to date no one seems interested to do it, I've decided to. The thing is, I want it to reach the widest audience possible so I'm thinking film. what's the difference between a 35 mm film and a 16 mm one? what's the least expensive, highest quality ratio 35mm camera? how expensive is it to rent a camera?(in Toronto) what are the tools I'll need? What is the average budget I'll be looking at? for someone without money, where do I start?