I've always found documentaries intriguing from a filmmaking perspective. A director can start with a certain idea of how and where his film will go, but when you're so dependent on what footage you get shooting in uncertain situations and talking to people who aren't always going to behave or speak as you expect them to ... well, it's kinda like walking a tightrope without a net. You hope you're going to end up with the kind of footage that will make for an interesting film, that will build toward a cohesive experience for the audience (even if it ends up being a different cohesive experience than the director thought it would be), but there are no guarantees. That any documentary ends up coherent, never mind entertaining or provocative or any of those other good things films can be, is astonishing.

Which is why I'm so fascinated by Living With Geeks, the blog documentarian Jill Foster is using as a kind of scratchpad to worry out the details of her work-in-progress documentary of the same name. This is where she thinks out loud about her film's theme (the idea is that it'll be about the spouses of supernerdy computer-lovin' types), about what questions to ask those she interviews, about how to conduct interviews, about how to cut an effective trailer, and a lot more. She calls for interviews on the blog, asks for suggested questions to ask her interviewees, and generally puts her artistic heart out on her online sleeve. It's an extraordinary glimpse into the process, and I'm looking forward to seeing the finished film, not just because her subject is so interesting, but also to see how closely the sausage resembles the recipe.

Jill Foster's Living With Geeks

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MaryAnn Johanson
author of The Totally Geeky Guide to The Princess Bride
minder of FlickFilosopher.com

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