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New Distribution Models: FourDocs

Published on January 12, 2006

by Charlie Phillps

Groundbreaking projects are taking place throughout the UK grassroots documentary community and leading the way is Channel 4's new online initiative, FourDocs. We pitched the idea of FourDocs because we believe that everyone has the right to voice their opinion on issues they feel most passionate about and everyone deserves for their voice be heard. We designed a platform that enables anyone to and share four minute videos so that together, these stories and voices can be used for social change.

The mission of FourDocs is to "represent the democratisation of documentary filmmaking. Anyone with a story to tell or an opinion to voice can submit their film." FourDocs is a broadband channel designed by Channel 4 as a place to showcase documentaries. With practical advice and guidance from experts, anyone can produce a film about any subject. All submitted four minute documentaries can be viewed and reviewed by other registered users with the most popular films promoted on the homepage. The site also offers archives of some of the best documentaries from Channel 4 and elsewhere, interviews with famous filmmakers and a wide range of practical support on how to make and upload your film. The site is free to use and open to everyone.

We recognize opportunities presented by the age of affordable cameras, accessible editing software, blogging and internet publishing. But beyond the technology, FourDocs is a pioneering attempt to increase access to tools for creating and distributing documentary films. We want to cultivate a vibrant and educative community of grassroots documentary filmmakers. By sharing films online, we hope to enhance the democratic process of media making. We are providing alternatives to the declining opportunities for participation in mainstream UK media outlets.

Despite our unprecedented access to information, people are losing faith in the media outlets once coveted as trusted news sources. FourDocs wants to give the world their opportunity to speak their mind in four minutes -- whether it is a movie about the was in Iraq or a schoolboy talking about about his local shop. We recognize the value of both these stories and encourage films covering any issue to use the reach of Channel 4's trusted name and burgeoning community.

The FourDocs website is still in its early days, but there is already an excellent and diverse selection of shorts available. You can search our film database by title or by theme. Our films cover a diverse range of social topics such as gun violence in It’s All About Dialogue, the experiences of Red Cross war nurse Claire Bertschinger in Never At Rest, and the fate of an isolated seaside mud-dwelling community in Lower Beach Road.

Watch an interview with doc filmmkaer Kim Longinotto.

In addition to watching films, we are dedicated to providing comprehensive education in the making and understanding of documentary film. Our website includes an impressive archive of films from the likes of uber-documentarist Humphrey Jennings, austere British founding father John Grierson, and Nick Broomfield's hilarious, The Leader, His Driver and The Driver's Wife. We designed a timeline using Flash technology to allow an at-a-glance crash course in the development of factual-based moving images. You can swing from The Great Train Robbery to Bowling for Columbine in seconds by scrolling through our interactive timeline.

There are currently over 100 profiles of registered users on the site. And we continually encouraging media enthusiasts and engaged citizens from around the world to join. Since you can reach us from anywhere, we want users from everywhere!

We offer inspiring interviews in the People section from independent doc-makers, including the insatiable Franny Armstrong, maker of the revolutionary McLibel. These filmmakers have been chosen for their unique demonstrations of the independent filmmaking spirit, and span generations and subject matters. To date, all are British filmmakers so as to highlight the national heritage of free-spirited, public service doc-making that we have inherited. More interviews are to be added over the next year, broadening the focus internationally and multi-ethnically.

Best of all, there are 18 extensive user-friendly guides to the entire doc-making process. You can road test directing and editing through short games, and see how you might best approach documentary storytelling, light, sound and general narration tips. The guides were written and filmed by the FourDocs team and if you look closely, you can even spot some of us in there! This section also includes a series on technology for digital filmmakin. We want filmmaking to be so easy to understand and practice that nothing should impede a first time filmmaker from picking up a camera.

The process for uploading your media is delightfully simple, for both technophobes and technophiles. First, you must register with FourDocs, which is free and takes only few seconds. You then must complete various forms ensuring that you received consent by all contributors and that all music is being used legally and within rights. The copyright of your contributions is taken very seriously and our legal requirements are set out in a user-friendly Creative Commons license.

Once uploaded, films can be watched and rated by anyone in the FourDocs community. Reviews, whether good or bad, appear beneath the film. For example, read about legal and best practices guidelines. The only other requirement is that the film be a documentary-and our definition is extremely malleable. Take for example an adapted Mouth That Roars, an East London organization that trains young people in TV/Video production who wouldn't ordinarily have access to media equipment. In addition, a documentary is in the works by a young homeless person with the help of the charity Shelter.

Once we've encouraged individuals and communities to pick up a camera, we want the camera to stay in their hands. We therefore offer educational materials and resources that are directed towards sustaining a career in low-budget filmmaking. You can learn where to get equiptment on a tight budget as well as funding ideas. As Franny Armstrong says in her interview on the site, "Why does not having any money stop you from making documentaries?" FourDocs recognizes that people will improve and feel empowered when they know someone is paying attention.

We hope that viewers will be in inspired by the films they see and want to take action. If a member of FourDocs is particularly interested in one of the films on the site, they can contact the filmmaker through us. The maker of It's All About Dialogue, has been inundated by requests for information- an ideal example of how community and collective action is being stimulated.

The era of the conventional documentary is over. This is the time for everyone to particiapte and use film for social change. So what are you waiting for? Get out there, and make your four-minute film for the world to see!