
sizzling
Nearly every doc needs some kind of sizzle reel to generate interest from distributors and investors. This is where you need to be careful because the money can fly out of your pocket at this stage. You are suddenly hiring a camera crew and filming actual scenes. Then you have to prep that material and hand it off to an editor. It may take a couple of weeks to finish it.
It can cost a lot. Especially if your story is not worked out in advance . Your sizzle -- your first little doc - can become a sprawling and expensive mess.
This is why I emphasize building a strong story structure at the outset. It informs your treatment, production deck and then, your sizzle reel.
I consult on sizzle reels and sometimes clients ask me to produce them for them. It's something to take seriously. I see it as seriously fun.
This is a sizzle I produced for a client about a drug court in Tallahassee. It's more of a proof of concept for the project, so it's longer than most sizzle reels. But I like it anyway.