Creative Documentary Today: Challenges and Opportunities for Directors and Producers

Željko  Mirković

doi:10.25038/am.v0i15.240

Authors

Željko Mirković

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25038/am.v0i15.240

Keywords:

documentary, film director, producer, business, digital, economy, monetization

Abstract

In today’s creative documentary, a director often decides to simultaneously assume the role of producer. This new situation has its own advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, it gives the director/producer more freedom in story development and in leading a project. In addition, he or she is able to work more flexibly with the film budget and has a chance to change the direction of the project while following the storyline without fear that a producer will refuse such ideas. This position gives the director/producer room to work with smaller budgets and to claim the entire profit in the end. On the other hand, he or she must be prepared to work within a high-risk situation and assume complete responsibility.

The new digital economy has opened opportunities to identify the most innovative ways to integrate digital platforms into the phases of story development, direction, promotion, and distribution of documentaries, thus allowing filmmakers to identify their niche audiences, build new value with it and find the right ways for monetization and revenue increase.

Article received: December 30, 2017; Article accepted: January 10, 2018; Published online: April 15, 2018; Preliminary report – Short Communications

How to cite this article: Mirković, Željko: "Creative Documentary Today: Challenges and Opportunities for Directors and Producers." AM Journal of Art and Media Studies15 (2018): 173–184. doi: 10.25038/am.v0i15.240

Author Biography

Željko Mirković

Željko Mirković
http://optimisticfilm.com

Faculty of Media and Communications, Singidunum University, Belgrade
Serbia

Željko Mirković, award-winning film director and producer, earned an undergraduate degree in TV directing at the Academy of Art in Belgrade in 1999, and an MA at Bournemouth University, Media School, UK. Currently he is completing his Ph.D. at FMK, Belgrade, Serbia. He the owner of Optimistic film, company founded by him at 2007. Željko Mirković is a professor of film and digital media. He has been an invited film lecturer in universities in: New York City, Los Angeles, Berlin, Barcelona, Geneva. He has won 52 international awards for his documentaries. His documentary, The Second Meeting, was an official Oscar candidate.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.25038/am.v0i15.240 DOI: https://doi.org/10.25038/am.v0i15.240