Music for Documentaries Day (Nov. 15)

Does your film rely on music to bring the story alive? Are you curious about which music needs licensing, who should be on your music team and how to navigate the process? You love that song but how do you legally use it in your film? Attorney and filmmaker Christopher Poindexter shepherds a conversation with directors Jessamyn Ansary and Joyce Mishaan (Lee Fields: Faithful Man), Al Hicks (Quincy) and music supervisor Doug Bernheim (Dick Johnson is Dead).  Bringing honesty and insight to the conversation, our speakers will equip the audience to move forward with certainty on their music license journey. Directors Ansary and Mishaan will share the lessons learned from their inaugural directing experience and director Hicks will share from his veteran point of view.

As a director, you have a vision, and your vision needs a score. So you hire a composer. But how do you effectively communicate with your composer to bring your vision to life? Hear from director/composer teams Paul Brill/Dawn Porter (Rise Again: Tulsa and the Red Summer) and Blake Neely/Ryan White (Good Night Oppy) as they discuss the conversations that lead to the successful collaboration between director and composer and the spaces intentionally created for creativity to blossom in the process. Eric Johnson (Trailblazer Studios) will share his expertise and lead the conversation.

Go behind the scenes with director Isabel Castro and her award winning music documentary about emerging pop music manager Doris Munoz. Moderated by producer Liz Nord (formerly of Sundance and No Film School), Isabel will share how she expresses the complex emotional tapestry of Doris’ hopes and dreams through the lens of music as she navigates the challenges of being both a daughter of immigrants and an emerging visionary in the world of music management. With both an original score and performances by up and coming Latinx pop artists, Isabel will educate and enlighten about telling heartfelt stories with music as the backbone.

Hazing from award-winning filmmaker Byron Hurt, offers a deeply personal look inside the culture, tradition, and secrecy surrounding hazing rituals in fraternities and sororities, sports teams, marching bands, the military and beyond. In this case study, director Hurt and his music team, music supervisor Aurelia Belfield (Trailblazer Studios), and composer Wendell Yohannes Hanes (HBO’s Black and Missing) will explore how music plays a critical role in the storytelling. How does film’s music and score impact the tone and subject matter in a delicate balance? How can we use music to become a character in our films? Moderator Eric Johnson (Trailblazer Studios) will share his insight as an established music and sound professional.