Case Studies of 50 successful documentary & unscripted projects:
Track the many paths taken by filmmakers, from their initial concept and pitch to the funding and deal-making process, and then production and editing to distribution via theaters, and on channels like Discovery and platforms like Netflix
Theatrical
- The Woman Who Loves Giraffes (from leading Canadian director Alison Reid)
- The Siege of Mecca (ARTE, NDR-Germany, PBS International)
- United Skates (Tribeca audience award-winner +HBO)
- Letters from Baghdad (Successful theatrical run + BBC)
- The Beatles: Eight Days A Week (Ron Howard’s $10 Mn +/- budget. Unique access.)
- Sweet Micky for President (Celebrity production led by Fugees’ Pras Michel)
- 2016 Obama’s America (Theatrical hit from the Trump-aligned right wing)
- Flight of the Butterflies (Giant Screen release with a big budget)
- BESA: The Promise (From veteran U.S. factual producer JWM Productions)
History
- Bernie Blackout (A fast turnaround documentary on Bernie Sanders ’20 campaign for VICE)
- 26 Days to Kill De Gaulle (from Fance’s Talweg Productions)
- Native America ($3-4 Mn budget Signature PBS series)
- MLK: The Assassination Tapes (Peabody Award-winner Tom Jennings)
- The Fidel Castro Tapes (PBS/NGC International Co-production)
- The Archive Comes Back in the ‘Post-Schedule Documentary Economy’
- Challenger Disaster: The Lost Tapes (Nat Geo event reaches 171 countries! From Tom Jennings)
- Every Face Has a Name (4K archive conversion creates value for Scandi producers)
- A Shot to Save the World (Pittsburgh non-profit creates Smithsonian / BBC hit with Bill Gates. Peter Hamilton co-EP)
- The LOST Kennedy Home Movies (History Channel U.S. special from veteran producer)
- An Aussie / ABBA Love Doc (A $500k Aussie production)
Coproductions
- Stormborn (A $1.5 Mn Wildlife copro by Love Nature, Smithsonian Channel, ARTE, BBC- & Screen- Scotland)
- Pompeii Rising (A €1.6 Mn Copro from France’s Gedeon Productions)
- The Cleaners (Sundance finals for a US$1.3 Mn investigative documentary from Berlin)
- Japan from Above (NHK, Arte, Voyage + others share €1.5 Mn budget by Gedeon)
- In Ebola’s Wake (High-risk production backed by Al Jazeera)
- The Rise of the Killer Virus (Smithsonian, ARTE, CCTV-10 China + others)
- Dino Stampede (ABC Australia, Smithsonian Networks)
Crowd Funding
- An Honest Liar / Sons of Perdition
- “Who the F*@% is Frank Zappa” ($1.1 Mn Pledged on Kickstarter)
- Plimpton! (from New York-based indie producers)
Science
- Inside Wuhan (Short turnaround for CTV-Canada’s W5 strand)
- A Producer at Risk in Siberia (Cold + corruption threaten project)
- Cosmic Shore (NHK’s $6.5 Mn Live kick-off from Space + Special. Adapted for PBS)
Reality & Lifestyle
- Pawn Stars (History)
- The Rise & Rise of Pawn Stars and Leftfield Entertainment
- The Rise & Rise of Pawn Stars and Leftfield Pictures: Concept, Talent, Sizzle Tape, Pitch, Green Light, HIT!!
- Leftfield Pictures After Pawn Stars: A Structure, Doors Open, Renewals, Pitches, Green Lights. What Next?
- Leftfield Pictures, 2007-2014 Snapshot: Episodes, Hours, Networks
- Pawn Stars: Leftfield Puts Casting Under a Microscope
- Pawn Stars: The Inside Story
- Ten Negotiation Secrets of the Pawn Stars
- ITV Studios to Pawn Stars Producer: “You’re Worth US$450 Million!”
- Celebrity Ghost Stories (A+E Networks)
- Antiques Roadshow (Long-lasting hit public television format)
- Globe Trekker (Global public television and travel series)
Platforms
- Australia’s Stadium Documentary project (Big brands, government agencies and a sport leagues fund a highly creative project)
- Tasty’s “Hands & Pans” (Online formats threaten value of channels)
- Choppertown: (LA producer navigates Facebook, Amazon’s various platforms with their changing revshares, Download-to-Own, and more)
315 pages
These and more are combined in my Case Study success pack, an invaluable resource for producers, network executives, researchers and new entrants to the nonfiction industry.
