Includes bibliographical references and index.

Overview: the route to success -- Making the most of film school -- First steps in the real world -- Vital survival knowledge -- Working for others -- Becoming an independent filmmaker -- Writing your winning proposal -- More on proposals : treatments and problems -- Budgeting for survival and profit -- Financing your film -- Production contracts and other agreements -- Making money -- Notes from the front.

Unlike traditional manuals on documentary filmmaking, this user-friendly volume draws upon real-world examples and the advice of experienced filmmakers to provide essential information about the nonfiction movie business...