TRAVERSE CITY -- It took Kevin McMahon six years to complete his film, "Waterlife" -- two years to make it and four years to raise money for it.
It's the kind of detail prospective documentary makers rarely consider but almost certainly will face, McMahon said in a TCFF Film School session Thursday called "Documentary 101."
The award-winning Canadian filmmaker walked participants of several ages and skill levels through the hows and whys of making the film, from writing proposals and getting investors, to mixing live action and special effects and working with environmental groups to get the film out to the public. The movie about the state of the Great Lakes premiered in May at Toronto's prestigious Hot Docs festival and screened twice this week in Traverse City.
Sharon Shattuck attended the session to get pointers for her first feature film, on beneficial parasites -- a thesis for her master's degree in news and documentary journalism at New York University.
"I'm really more interested in the post-production and marketing end of things," said Shattuck, a 2001 Petoskey High School graduate who majored in environmental science at the University of Michigan. "I feel pretty good about my technique, but I've never done this before."
Barbara Coye, of Suttons Bay, hoped to pick up tips for improving on her first documentary for the nonprofit independent living assistance group ShareCare of Leelanau.
"I want to learn all the things I did wrong and what to do next time," said Coye, at 77 one of the film school's oldest participants.
Others were aspiring filmmakers, like David Boni, 16, of Mount Clemens, and Bryn Davis, 11, of Traverse City. Boni is a TV broadcast station volunteer with an interest in screenwriting and directing, while Davis is an aficionado of The History Channel who someday hopes to make short films.
"I've dreamed about it, but I've never really done it," said Davis, who plans to start by making a Web film with her friends.
After fundraising, one of the most challenging parts of making a documentary is getting started, McMahon said in an earlier interview.
"One of the things that comes up in documentaries a lot is that people are interested in an issue, like homelessness, the environment, and they're motivated to make a film," he said. "They're interested in how to make a film, how do you construct that?
"There are a lot more styles of documentary than there are styles of dramatic movies. With documentaries pretty much you're starting from scratch. There are touchstones, there are markers, but it's not as easy to follow the generic form as it is in drama."
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