You never know how much you appreciate someone until you get a scare that they might be seriously sick. I am grateful to everyone for their positive thoughts. They worked.

Link to doc grant application from NEH:
http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/BridgingCultures_Film.html

FROM DOC MENTORS:

FUNDING AND OPPORTUNITIES - It's a great time of the year!

Roy W. Dean Grant LA
Film and Video grants - dedicated to supporting films that are unique
and make a contribution to society. These grants provide a vast array
of in-kind services for projects in production worth close to 100K. Deadline June 30th, 2010.

Sundance Documentary Fund
- supports both US and international documentary films that focus on
current human rights issues, freedom of expression, civil liberties and
exploring critical issues of our time. Four areas of funding are
offered - development, production, post-production and engagement and
impact. Deadline: postmarked July 7th, 2010.

Kroll Fund for Jewish Documentary Film - a
generous grant funding post-production in the amount of up to 50K for
original documentaries that explore the Jewish experience. Deadline July 27th, 2010.

NEH Funding Initiative - Bridging Cultures Through Film - supports
projects that examine international and transnational themes in the
humanities through documentary film. Projects must be analytical and
deeply grounded in humanities scholarship. Deadline July 28th, 2010.

ITVS Open Call
- ITVS's largest funding initiative, providing completion funds for
single non-fiction television programs on any subject, from any
viewpoint. For US filmmakers already in production. Deadline: August 6, 2010.

Pacific Pioneer Fund - for emerging filmmakers in CA, WA and OR, granting up to 10K. All subjects welcome. Deadline August 15, 2010.

The Fledgling Fund
- supports innovative media projects that can play a critical role in
social change. The grant's primary focus is community engagement and
outreach. The next application cycle opens August 23, 2010 and closes October 1, 2010.

I'm not sure what to think about Berlinger's fight to suppress raw footage collected for his film Crude. Apparently, the Netflix online streaming version of Crude contained footage of Equadoran lawyers strategizing that the DVD version does not. Chevron's attorneys want to see all of that footage because they think it will help their case.

The journalist in me wants to defend his first amendment right to protect his "notes," which in the case of a documentarian, means raw footage. At the same time, I believe documentaries should reveal "truth." So, if the online version of the film shows the Ecuadoran lawyers making mistakes... and that's a more truthful version of the story than the DVD which does not contain the lawyer footage... what does that say about the manipulation of footage to create instead a less accurate "version" of the truth?

My sympathy, of course, is with the indigenous people of Ecuador who have clearly been screwed by Chevron. Further, the court's decision to force Berlinger to release his raw footage takes us down the slippery slope that could ultimately harm the protected sources of any journalist.

I guess I wish Berlinger had been more careful. Find the premise of your documentary, select the material that supports your premise, then stick with it. What bothers me most is one version of the truth online, and another on DVD. I'm afraid this damages the credibilty of his argument. I wonder what Michael Rabiger would say.

This article about multi-tasking is worth reading all the way to the end without any interruptions from your cell phone, Facebook or email.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/technology/07brain.html

I've noticed quite a few "documentary consulting companies" popping up in links to sites I browse. Here's one of the latest: http://newdocediting.com/land/ultimate_documentary_guide/

People should just read Michael Rabiger's book. It only costs $50.

This is a great link for those looking for other docs already done on their topic: http://documentaries.about.com/od/populardocsubjects/u/PopularSubjects.htm

Here is a good site for articles about docs with some links at the bottom for trailers and doc distribution companies. This comes from Mark Freeman, head of the documentary working group for the University Film and Video Association.

http://documentaries.about.com/od/documentarydirectors/a/

I've entered YCC in Amsterdam's International Documentary Film Festival, which is in November. While exploring their Web site I discovered they have an online TV Channel with free docs like this one about Haiti:

Whew! It has been a busy spring! I've had a blast screening The Young Composers Challenge at the Florida Film Festival and picking up the "best long form doc" award at BEA. Now the wait continues to see what other festivals may accept the film. I'm especially interested in a new festival in Park City, Utah that features "films about music." We shall see. I've also entered the film in another academic competition. The University Film and Video Association will have its national conference at Champlain College in Vermont in August.

I've also finished a new short film with my Honors Documentary Workshop class. Dr. Robert Cassanello from the History Department is the co-director and producer of this film about the only married couple slain together for their work in civil rights. Aaron Hose did a masterful job in editing the film, and you can watch it on his Vimeo site: http://vimeo.com/11268452 This film screened at the Harry and Harriette Moore Festival in Mims, Florida back in mid April. We will be submitting this to the Global Peace Film Festival. I was pleased that UCF President John Hitt watched the film online and sent me a nice note about it.

This summer I intend to get to work on a new short, The Circle Closes and finish my feature, Wally's Way to the Moon. I'll also be taking my Foundations of Story large lecture course up on the Web so that it will be offered fully online this coming fall. Looks like a busy summer!

Here is a link from Chris Ramsey's blog that I want to share:
http://www.indiewire.com/article/good_advice_documentary_dos_and_donts_from_a_vet_programmer/

Chris, thanks for finding this treasure and sharing it with us!

I keep thinking that things will calm down, slow down, I'll be less stressed and overwhelmed. This never seems to happen. It feels like every term it just gets worse.

Then, there are the days when I get to watch my students' films. I don't know how it happens (because I believe it has very little to do with me) but every spring at this time I start to see their films take shape and I am amazed... amazed at the courage, the skill, the depth and the hard work that the documentary students put into their films. They are the ones that make all of this crazy running around and going to meetings and everything else worth it. Just those 2-3 hours each week I get to spend with them in class talking about their films. They are my sanity.

Last night my van broke down on the way back from Mims. I had it towed to the Firestone place in Sanford, but in all the darkness and confusion of shifting gear from one car to another, lost track of my camera tripod plate.

I discovered this as I set up for an important interview today, but luckily, my friend Aaron Hose was there (he's documenting the Honors student project for his TV program, "Gallery.") Aaron took his own tripod and lined it up with mine. We balanced the front of the camera on one tripod and the back end of the camera on the other tripod. It worked beautifully. Of course we were limited in the framing of the interview, but once we got it all set up, balanced, etc. the shot looked great.

THANK YOU AARON, for teaching me something new and being just damned determined to find a way to get something done with what we had. That... to me... is what film making is really all about.

Dr. Robert Cassanello (history) and I are teaching a pilot honors class this spring in which we make an historical documentary as a service learning project. We chose the Harry T. and Harriett V. Cultural Complex in Mims because we believe this special place has great potential... and the folks leading it are so nice. We've been out shooting with the students on Saturdays since early January and we've amassed about 25 tapes of interviews. We still need to shoot more b-roll, but I think we can start putting this together now. We have a shoot today in Sanford with an elderly man who was a boy when Harry and Harriett were rushed to the Colored Hospital there. He taught literature at Bethune Cookman College until retiring. We'll have him read the Langston Hughes poem "The Ballad of Harry T. Moore" and talk about what he remembers about hearing the Moores had been murdered.

One of the judges for the Young Composers Challenge, Keith Lay, is doing the final audio post work right now on the documentary. I'm very excited about this because Keith is both an audio technician and a composer. I want to make sure the musical sequences are mixed well. I know that Keith is "centering" the audio as well. I think this means that instead of the sound coming out of the left or right speaker it will be balanced between the two.

It has taken a few years to meet all of the people that can help me do this film thing. I am very fortunate to be friends with people that have special skills to help me. I'm realizing that no good film is made on an island. It's a truly collaborative art.

This week I've launched my new Web site lisamillsfilms.com It is not entirely complete but I'll have to just keep working on it little by little. I need to find a way to stash my film EPKs on the site so festival programmers can download stills, trailers, etc. If anybody has any ideas on how to do this, please let me know.

Also, there is a Facebook page for the Young Composers Challenge (you can become a fan) and we have five new clips and a trailer posted there. If you want to access them through YouTube, go to the search box and type "ucfmills."

We welcome all feedback.

I guess my favorite thing about making documentaries is the new friends I make. Last night I had the privilege of talking to three of the composers I met while shooting The Young Composers Challenge. I went to the "String Romance" Focus Series concert by the OPO Chamber Orchestra to shoot Keith Lay's piece "On the Playground, Concerto for Violin and Strings." I just wanted to shoot an archival video for him to have. He's been so warm and supportive of my work, and right now he's perfecting the audio for the film. I could tell it was a special night for Keith and for his wife, Joy. They were the superstars of the event. The piece was beautiful. I especially liked the second movement.

On the way in to set up I ran into Catie Weddle and Sue Bigsby, who were likely there because Catie's harp teacher Rosalind Beck was performing a solo piece. That was gorgeous, too. It was great to see those two lovely ladies... mother and daughter out for a night of music. I gave them the "secret" information about the documentary and they seemed very enthusiastic about it.

After I finished shooting Keith's piece, Dr. Stella Sung invited me to sit with her for the remainder of the concert. Stella is a very warm person and I love to watch her work the crowd at these OPO events. She gives everyone who speaks to her warm wishes and takes the time to pay attention to her "fans." They really appreciate that.

I would have to say that these people... Keith Lay, Stella Sung, Catie Weddle... and of course Chris Wilkins and David Schillhammer with the OPO... and Carl Rendek, the orchestra manager... deserve a lot of credit. They are passionate about what they do and that shows in the quality of their work. They are also very friendly and warm, making everyone feel welcome. It is always uplifting to spend time with them.

I've been enjoying the music programming on my Internet radio since I got it on Christmas day, but when I got home tonight the first thing I did was search for a radio station still on the air in Haiti. I spent about 10 minutes listening to two deejays there taking calls from earthquake victims. I couldn't understand anything anyone said, as it was all in Creole. But I heard screams, sobbing, shouting, pain. It was one of the most compelling things I've ever heard and it made me feel terribly sad.

Facebook Lisa Mills: "Write something about yourself."

Documentaries drive me crazy.

Stella Sung and Chris Wilkins watch the film on their mobile devices.
This blog post is for all of the nice folks who are attending the Baltimore Womens Film Festival the weekend of October 23-25th. Stella Sung and I wish we could be there for what sounds like a wonderful event, but our day jobs teaching at the University of Central Florida prevented us from making the trip. However, we would like to use this blog to tell you a little bit more about the making of Peace Corps: JFK's Bold Legacy.

How the idea for the music came about. The Orlando Museum of Art was planning to host an exhibit of Norman Rockwell's illustrations in the spring of 2008. Maestro Christopher Wilkins spoke with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra's Composer-in-Residence, Stella Sung, about the possibility of her composing some music inspired by any illustrations in the exhibit of her choice. The result was Rockwell Reflections, a suite with five movements, each inspired by a different illustration. Peace Corps: JFK's Bold Legacy was the last movement of the suite. When the OPO performed the suite as the final work for its concert on March 1st, 2008, the audience was extremely enthusiastic and gave the OPO and the work's composer a standing ovation.

The music on film. Meanwhile, backstage, Lisa Mills and one of her documentary students were filming Dr. Sung pacing nervously as her work was performed in Orlando for the very first time. Dr. Mills actually had several cameras in the Bob Carr Auditorium that night for a documentary she is filming about the OPO's Young Composers Challenge. The footage from the performance was so stirring, she and her husband/editor Tim Brown edited the entire concert together as a gift for Stella Sung and Mastro Chris Wilkins. When Sung and Wilkins received the gift they were delighted, and suggested that something else be done with the footage.

Winning Outstanding Cultural Achievement a MOFILM. Maestro Wilkins suggested that Mills edit together a special five-minute film and submit to the Mobile World Congress Film Festival in Barcelona, Spain. This film festival receives submissions from filmmakers who believe their short works would be good choices for cell phone subscribers to view on their mobile devices. Dr. Mills felt that the film about the birth of a new music piece should say something about the creative process. She was editing the film during the election of the Fall of 2008, and was inspired by its outcome. In January, 2009 actor Kevin Space presented the Outstanding Cultural Achievement Award at MOFILM to Peace Corps: JFK's Bold Legacy. Dr. Mills, Dr. Sung and Maestro Wilkins hope that anyone who views the film will be inspired to make connections between creativity and leadership.

Thank you for reading our blog post, and enjoy the festival!

It's rainy and chilly but I could care less. This morning after a farmer's breakfast I followed Joachim out to his garden and pulled weeds for a while. It was wonderful. The tomato plants inside his hothouse are already 3 feet tall and loaded. There are mounds of potatoes, rows of strawberries and cucumbers and heads of lettuce inbetween it all. He showed me the bulbous celery that will be ready to harvest in the fall. Right next to the garden is the orchard yard that has trees with about 5 different kinds of fruit, plus about 7 kinds of berry bushes and... oh yes... some grapevines.

Behind the garden is the chicken coop and pigeon house. I got to hold some baby pigeons but you can't get too attached because they'll be the centerpiece of meals one day. They are Joachim's pride and joy. He's been raising pigeons for food since he was 10, taught by his uncle.

After the morning in the garden, Angela and I walked to a neighbor's house where we bought about 10 jars of local honey. The elderly many has a collection of taxidermied animals that is out of this world. I suggested to Angela that she ought to make a documentary about him.

Right now I'm in the kitchen watching Ute prepare Sunday dinner. So far she's peeled and trimmed white asparagus from the garden. I think there are also potatoes on the boil. She begins cooking each vegetable with water, salt, a little sugar and butter. That's basically the way she prepares all of their fresh vegetables, then they are served hot with more melted butter and perhaps some bread crumbs sprinkled on top.

I am absolutely in love with this family, their farm, their little village and rural (East) Germany. Later today we'll drive around Brandenburg and tomorrow Angela is taking me to Pottsdam.

I've left Sweden for a visit with Angela Friedrich, a young woman I met while teaching in Jonkoping three years ago. We became friends and she came to stay with us in Winter Springs two years ago.

Germany day 1 June 5, 2009
When I arrived at Angela’s family home in Weseram Ute and Joachim seemed excited to see me. For dinner, Ute had prepared a soup of potato and kholrabi and sausauge. It was delicious. We also had bread and ham and cheese. I like the way Ute keeps the cheese and meats in separate Tupperware containers in the refrigerator. Refrigerators over here are much smaller. Tupperware is very valued over here, because it just arrived in the East in the early 1990s. We watched Barack Obama on the German newscast and then I slept very, very well in the guest room.

Germany day 2 June 6, 2009
I woke up early and Joachim took me for a walk in the garden. It was beautiful. They have a new flock of chickens that are very cute. The rooster is actually smaller and prettier than the hens. For breakfast I enjoyed Ute’s plum preserves and she made the key lime coffee I had brought. Angela mentioned that I had remarked about the 80s band Spandau Ballet. The next thing I knew Joachim had brought up Spandau Ballet’s “This Much is True” on YouTube. Today I think we will go out on a boat and drive around their county, Brandenburg.

Here's a 10 minute film

My trip to the glass shop went great. I think I got some pretty decent footage, although when I look at what I shoot I'm always annoyed with myself and wondering, "what was I thinking?" Shooting a guy flinging around molten glass at about 1000 degrees was challenging and a bit scary at times, but the guy was very nice and protective of me and gave me great access. The couple that ran the glass shop were wonderful and insisted on giving me all these glass animals that Gunne made. I'm going to do somethings special with them for the film.

After I left the Nybro glass district I drove to Kalmar on the coast and spent the weekend there, all by myself, and had a great time. There were some lonely moments but only because I wished I could share all that I was seeing. Saturday morning I went to Kalmar castle and the local modern art museum. Great exhibit on Munch. Then in the afternoon I drove over to a barrier island on the Baltic sea. I found one of the widest beaches in Sweden and went for a run. It felt great.

Driving back from the coast was fun on Sunday. I got used to the traffic circles quickly. But when I got to the gas pump I realized I had no idea how to use it. A nice lady helped me.

I had some trouble with the PAL settings in FCP, but today I finally figured it out and got about half of my footage in the computer. I can't wait to start cutting.

Things are going very well. I've figured out Adobe Premiere much easier than I'd expected, but I'm still glad I have my laptop and final cut pro. My documentary shoot is now finalized for Friday. I'll be renting a car and driving for the first time in Europe. I'm a little nervous, but I figure if I take it slow I'll be ok. There's not much traffic in Sweden because there's not a very big population.

This week my teacher host went on maternity leave so I'm all by myself with the students. I think they're a bit afraid of their serious American teacher. I'm trying to smile more. I adore the students from Bangladesh. They are so very respectful. It's very sweet. The class spent today finishing the edit on their short documentaries. Tomorrow they present them in class. Next week we begin our TV studio production that will include the documentaries. It will be like a magazine show with mini docs inside it.

I'm very excited about my trip to the Glass Blowing studio in Southeast Sweden. Turns out I may not be shooting female artisans after all, which is a shame. But the guy they have lined up for me is apparently world famous and very nice. We'll see. After my shoot I intend to drive a bit further east to the coast for a day or so. I need to get out of the house here in Jonkoping because Josefina went into labor tonight. They will probably have a new baby here by Thursday. At the end of the weekend I'll be moving to someone else's apartment.

More later, now that my laptop is back up and running. I had a problem with the Swedish=American power adaptor but I bought a new one and it's working great.