"Staying organized as an assistant editor is probably more like keeping a clean and organized room, apartment or house than anyone realizes." Editor Colin Nusbaum shares everything you need to know to get started as a film editor.

Freelance writer Amanda Hirsch, former editorial director of PBS Interactive, blogs about documentaries and the Web in her column, Outside the Frame. This is part 3 of my series on producing great documentary websites. Read part one and part two. The results are in! 24 filmmakers responded to our survey, “How Much Does It Cost […]

Freelance writer Amanda Hirsch, former editorial director of PBS Interactive, blogs about documentaries and the Web in her column, Outside the Frame. This is the second installment in a series exploring great documentary websites. Read part one. Over the past week, I invited filmmakers, academics, web producers, awards organizers and documentary film fans to nominate […]

Freelance writer Amanda Hirsch, former editorial director of PBS Interactive, blogs about documentaries and the Web in her column, Outside the Frame. You fundraise, you shoot, and you fundraise some more. Years pass, and still, you toil. Finally: a finished film. And then, the question: “What about a website?” You aren’t a website producer — […]

Freelance writer Amanda Hirsch, former editorial director of PBS Interactive, blogs about documentaries and the Web in her column, Outside the Frame. If you meet Andy Carvin, it’s almost certain that he’d tweet about it — and for a brief moment, the 11,000+ people who follow him on Twitter would know your name. He might […]

Oh, the woe of the documentary filmmaker. Nothing strikes a filmmaker to the core more than that singularly sad, stress-inducing word: funding. My POV minders recently directed me to filmmaker Patrick O’Brien, who has sought out a creative way to get financing. O’Brien has joined forces with Skinny Corp, a progressive, community-based company that backs […]

Freelance writer Amanda Hirsch, former editorial director of PBS Interactive, blogs about documentaries and the Web in her column, Outside the Frame. In his latest book, Fans, Friends and Followers, writer Scott Kirsner explores how a range of artists — filmmakers, comedians, writers and others — are using the Web to build an audience, and […]

Cinematical reviews the Iraq War documentary Body of War, directed by former talk show host Phil Donahue and filmmaker Ellen Spiro. Read an interview with the filmmakers, along with Tomas Young, the Iraq War veteran who is the subject of the film, at Democracy Now! The New York Times reviewed Benson Lee‘s Planet B-Boy, a […]

Chris White is POV’s director of programming & production. He spent two days at the Realscreen Summit in Washington, D.C. last week, hearing producers pitch their films at a speed pitching session. Here’s the inside scoop from a programmer’s perspective, and some tips on how to craft a successful speed pitch. As a select group […]

Environmental issues are a hot topic this election year. David Nanasi caught up with POV alum Judith Helfand (A Healthy Baby Girl, POV 1997 and True Lives 2005, and The Uprising of ’34, POV 1995) and Daniel B. Gold to hear more about what they’ve been doing to support their latest film, Everything’s Cool. Both […]

So you’ve got a great idea for a documentary short, and you want to get started making your film. But how do you light your shoot? What music is legal for you to use? What releases should you have your subjects sign? How do you edit, compress and upload your video? Luckily, there’s a ton […]