The Film Panel Notetaker

Hard to believe 2011 is almost over already. It’s been another great year of notes from film panels and filmmaker Q&As, but I have to give most of the credit to my contributing notetakers Erin Scherer, Liz Nord, Erin Essenmacher, and Rebecca Banach, all of whom have an incredible knack for transforming source discussion into compelling summations and analysis. We also had the great privilege to be chosen by The Christian Science Monitor as a blog partners in its Culture Cafe.

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By Liz Nord | Twitter @lizfilm

Telling Global Stories at DOC NYC
November 5, 2011
New York, NY
PANELISTS:
Andrew Berends (Director: The Blood of My Brother. Upcoming film: Delta Boys)
Ross Kauffman (Director: Born Into Brothels. Upcoming film: The E-Team)
Pamela Yates (Director: Granito, When the Mountains Tremble)
Elizabeth Cantrell & Mara Tshibaka (NYU Master’s students, co-directors of a yet-unnamed film [...]

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The Crowdstarter Revolution: How to Build an Audience
Master class presentation at IFP’s Independent Film Week on 9/21/11
Notes by Erin Essenmacher

“Get Over Yourself.”
That’s how Paola Freccero from Crowdstarter opened her Master Class presentation on how to build an audience at this year’s IFP Independent Film Week filmmaker conference.

“I’m going to be coming back to that [...]

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Notes from The Master Class on Directing with Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing
AFI/Discovery Channel Silverdocs
Silver Spring, Maryland
June 25, 2011
Notes by Erin Essenmacher
*Read also on Christian Science Monitor’s Culture Cafe.
Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady are fierce. As Loki Films they have produced countless works for television and four feature length documentaries, with a fifth currently in production.  [...]

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Notes from A Crude Awakening Panel
AFI/Discovery Channel Silverdocs
Silver Spring, Maryland
June 21, 2011
Notes by Erin Essenmacher
Filmmaker Joe Berlinger spent three years travelling between the US and Ecuador following a lawsuit between Chevron and a group of 30,000 indigenous and colonial rainforest dwellers that claim the oil giant poisoned their land and ruined their way of life.  The [...]

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DocPoint Encounters in NYC
Scandinavia House
New York, NY
June 9, 2011
Notes by Brian Geldin
(June 14 Update) – You can also now read this post on The Christian Science Monitor’s Culture Cafe.
As part of its 10th anniversary, the Helsinki-based DocPoint festival celebrates Finnish documentaries with DocPoint NYC – a program of 47 films hosted by its New York [...]

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Sex It Up!
Moderator:
Lisa Vandever, founder, CineKink Film Festival
Panelists:
Zach Clark, Director, Modern Love Is Automatic
Vivian Darkbloom, Director, Indietro
Lynn Comella, Professor, Women’s Studies, UNLV
Alan Levy, Partner, Buckley, Zinober, and Curtis

l-r: Zach Clark, Vivian Darkbloom, Lynn Comella, Lisa Vandever, Alan Levy
The line between art and porn are becoming increasingly blurred. Independent filmmakers are gravitating toward graphic sex [...]

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“Making Magic Happen: The Art of Producing”
March 12, 12:30pm, Austin Convention Center
Moderator:
Christy Lemire, Associated Press
Panelists:
Barry Mendel, producer, Barry Mendel Productions
Christine Vachon, Killer Films
Monnie Willis, The Jacobson Company
Jason Blum, Roadhouse Productions

“Making Magic Happen: The Art of Producing” focused on the ever-changing landscape of producing, and how the options for a producer are evolving.
The panel began with [...]

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Sound Decisions: A Reality Check On Using Music in Film
March 13, 2011, 11am, Austin Convention Center

Moderator:
Doreen Ringer-Ross, VP Film/TV Relations, BMI
Panelists:
Dayna Goldfine, Director, Something Ventured
Laura Karpman, Score Composer, Something Ventured
Seth Kaplan, Evolution Music Partners
Carter Armstrong, Vice President of Music, Warner Bros. Pictures
DIY Production Contracts: 7 Agreements Every Filmmaker Needs
March 14, 2011, Austin [...]

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DIY Days New York
March 5, 2011
Notes by Brian Geldin
DIY Days returned to New York where I attended another full day of discussions and workshops at the New School organized by WorkBook Project founder and Do-it-Yourself filmmaker and guru Lance Weiler. Below are my raw notes I typed on my laptop that I hope can be [...]

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