The Mad Hot Adventures of an Unlikely Documentary Filmmaker

by Sewell, Amy

• ISBN13: 9781401303181
• ISBN10: 1401303188
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-04-24
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Summary

Meet Amy Sewell, a former stay-at-home mother of twins with no filmmaking experience, who fell in love with a story about ballroom-dancing kids. She went on to make and sell one of the most successful documentaries of all time. Is that possible? How did she do it? In this engaging and insightful book, Sewell, the writer and producer of Mad Hot Ballroom, takes readers through the process. She describes her struggles and shares what she learned, from refining an idea, to raising money, to hiring a crew, to the festival circuit, distribution, and beyond. Informed by charming personal anecdotes and her infectious enthusiasm and energy, this book is an essential and inspiring guide to filmmaking from someone who burst onto the scene, made her own rules, and survived to tell the tale. The Mad Hot Adventures of an Unlikely Documentary Filmmaker is a must-read for all aspiring filmmakers. Book jacket.

Table of Contents

Dear Reader	p. 1
The Idea	p. 3
The Film Concept	p. 12
The Research	p. 21
Fund-raising	p. 29
Copyright and Clearances	p. 40
Scouting	p. 51
The Business Side of Things	p. 61
Getting Started: Crew, Equipment, and Logistics	p. 71
Getting the Footage: The Neighborhoods Set the Stage	p. 86
Character Development: The "Cast" of Characters Emerges	p. 99
The Story Climax: The Competitions	p. 110
Editing and Postproduction	p. 125
Sales and Marketing of the Unsold Film	p. 134
Mad Hot Ballroom's Unusual Ride	p. 140
Epilogue	p. 161
Mad Hat Ballroom Time Line	p. 162
Recommended Reading and Mad Hot Ballroom "Clutch" Glossary	p. 171
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