At the end of the weekend, I'd like to briefly refer to a chance find on Twitter -- according to the motto "what I would have liked to know at the beginning of my film career", the British documentary filmmaker Tim Wardle has compiled 15 tips or insights for those who are still at the beginning. It's not about technical tricks and only a little about filmmaking, but mainly about how to behave as a documentary filmmaker and how to deal with each other in the industry.
Much of the advice can be applied to other areas, such as the relevant tip not to work with "dickheads" or to gain some experience through assistant jobs first. Other things are more docu-specific, such as: it's often better to be brief, even if you theoretically have enough material for a 90-minute film in the can... All in all, nice tips and food for thought.
Tim Wardle works as a documentary film director and producer. His feature documentary "Three Identical Strangers" about three brothers separated at birth received several Emmy nominations and the Special Jury Award at the Sundance Festival.
