The Doc Shop is an industry-focused feature of the festival that offers documentary filmmakers opportunities for networking, discussion, and professional development. The schedule includes workshops, Work-In-Progress presentations, panels, and the annual Big Sky Documentary Pitch session. These events deal with topics from funding to distribution, and everything in between. The Doc Shop brings filmmakers, industry decision-makers, and experts together in a dialogue about what matters most in the world of documentary film. This year, the Doc Shop will be taking place February 18th - 22nd, 2013 in the middle of the 2013 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival.

Doc Shop Schedule

Filmmaker Panel, Going Viral: Creating an online community for your film
1:00pm, Feb.18 - The Crystal Theater, 515 S. Higgins Ave
Guest filmmakers explore strategies to build an online community. Topics of discussion will range from using social media to crowd funding. Confirmed Panelists: Hank Green from EcoGeek, Damon Ristau (The Bus)

Workshop, “Maximize Funding and Manage Legal Risks: Practical Tips for Doc Filmmakers About Dollars and Sense,” David B. Smallman and Katy-Robin Garton
10:00am, Feb. 19 - 131 S Higgins Ste. P-2 (Entrance across from Caras Park)
Join co-hosts David B. Smallman, Esq. and Katy-Robin Garton for a fast paced audio-visual presentation about real world problems and solutions for documentary filmmakers facing old and new challenges on the journey from conception to distribution.  David, an experienced media & documentary film lawyer (Fair Game, No End in Sight) and producer (Spies, Lies & Surprise) and Katy, a producer, director and CEO of Sprout Films (Young Voices Ancient Song) will provide key insights, tips and guidance for experienced filmmakers and newcomers alike.

Panel, “Changing Trends In Media Production and Consumption”
12:30 pm, Feb.19 - The Crystal Theater, 515 S. Higgins Ave
Learn about the changing landscape in filming, finishing and distributing documentary films. Moderator: tbd. Confirmed Panelists: David Fassio. Pam Voth (The Little Red Truck), and Rob Whitehair (True Wolf)

Workshop, “The International Documentary,” Shanida Scotland, (Documentary Storytelling @ the BBC)
2:30 pm, Feb. 19 - 131 S Higgins Ste. P-2 (Entrance across from Caras Park)
BBC’s Shanida Scotland walks you through how and when to take your film to an international audience. Learn what films and topics interest international viewers, broadcasters, and distributors.

Workshop, “The Art of the Documentary Pitch,” Claire Aguilar
10:00am, Feb. 20 - 131 S Higgins Ste. P-2 (Entrance across from Caras Park)
This workshop is designed to highlight the do’s and don'ts of the documentary pitch. It will cover everything from the "elevator" or "cocktail party" or "watercooler" pitch to the more formal pitches at documentary forums and co-financing venues.  We will look at some strong sample pitch materials and unveil 10 short pointers for the exemplary documentary pitch.

Panel, “Industry Executive Panel”
12:30 pm, Feb. 20 - The Crystal Theater, 515 S. Higgins Ave
A panel of top commissioning editors and funders will address issues in contemporary non-fiction film. The panel will also involve an extensive Q&A session. Confirmed panelists: Claire Aguilar [ITVS], Lizzie Kerner [CNN], Sanida Scotland [BBC Storyville], Adnaan Wasey [POV]

Web Workshop, Adnaan Wasey, POV
2:30 pm, Feb. 20 - The Crystal Theater, 515 S. Higgins Ave
Adnaan Wasey, POV's Digital Director, offers advice for making documentaries that work for the web.  The Webby-award winning interactive arm of POV produces companion sites and features for the 14-16 films it showcases each year on PBS, and organizes hackathons that explore the future of the documentary.  The workshop will involve an extensive Q&A, so attendees are encouraged to bring works in progress and have questions ready.

Doc Shop Party, sponsored by Submittable
7:00 pm, Feb. 20 - 131 S Higgins Ste. P-2 (Entrance across from Caras Park)
A sparkling opportunity to meet Doc Shop attendees, The Doc Shop party allows for general hobnobbing with industry executives and other industry folks. Drinks, food, music, and excellent company.

International Pitch Session
9:30 am - 4:30 pm, Feb. 21 - The Crystal Theater, 515 S. Higgins Ave
14 carefully selected documentary filmmakers will publicly present their work-in-progress documentaires. A panel of commissioning editors, funders, and other film industry executives will then engage in a dialogue with each filmmaker. These elite 14 films, chosen from a large submission pool, represent some of the most promising and diverse documentary films in production today.

Canon Demo
2:00 pm, Feb. 22 - The Crystal Theater, 515 S. Higgins Ave.
Discover the strengths and capabilities of the new Canon Cinema Series.   In this two-hour session, we will discuss the differences between the multiple cinema cameras, mixing together DSLR and Cinema footage, controlling the “look” of your clips, understanding camera features, as well as a hands-on section for you to try out the Canon Cinema Series. Genaro Arroyo from Canon will be conducting the Demo.

PARTICIPANTS AT A GLANCE

Claire Aguilar, Vice President of Programming, ITVS
Kristin Feeley, Labs and Artist Support Director, Sundance Documentary Film Program
Katy-Robin Garton, Independent Filmmaker (Young Voices, Ancient Song)
Hank Green, Vlogger and Entrepreneur, (ecogeek.org)
Genaro Arroyo, Technology Specialist, Canon
Lizzie Kerner, Director of Development & Acquisitions, CNN
Shanida Scotland, BBC Storyville
David B. Smallman, Attorney, Smallman Law PLLC
Adnaan Wasey, Director, POV Digital
Rob Whitehair, Independent Filmmaker (True Wolf)