WHY I’M LAUNCHING DOCUMENTARY COACHING

Oct 16

I've been teaching documentary filmmaking at Olympic College for years now, and it's some of the most rewarding work I do. There's something magical about watching a student grasp the fundamentals of story structure, or seeing their face light up when they nail their first interview.

But here's what I can’t stop thinking about: I can only help the students who walk through my classroom door in Bremerton, Washington.

What about the filmmaker in rural Wisconsin who's three years into a passion project and completely stuck? Or the journalist near Memphis who wants to make the leap into documentary but doesn't know where to start? What about the established filmmaker tackling their first international co-production, or the recent film school grad who got great theory but needs practical, project-specific guidance?

They don't need a semester-long course. They need someone who's been there to look at their specific situation and say, "Here's what I'd do."

The Questions Nobody Answers

Every documentary I've made has had a moment—usually several—where I wasn't sure if I was doing it right. Sometimes it's in development: Is this story actually strong enough? Do I have the right access? Other times it's deep in production: Should I restructure the entire narrative? Is this timeline realistic? And post-production has its own special hell: When do I know it's actually done?

The questions vary by project, but the feeling is the same: isolation. The sense that everyone else knows what they're doing and you're the only one fumbling in the dark.

Here's what I've learned after making multiple feature documentaries: everyone feels this way. The difference between filmmakers who finish and those who don't often isn't talent or resources—it's having someone to turn to who can say, "Yes, this is normal. Here's how I navigated it. Here's what I wish I'd known."

I figured it out, eventually, on each project. But it didn't have to take as long as it did, and it didn't have to be as hard.

What Teaching Taught Me

In the classroom, I can teach the fundamentals. Story structure, interview techniques, budgeting basics, festival strategy. I can assign projects and give feedback and grade their work.

But a classroom has limitations:

One-size-fits-all curriculum that can't always address every student's specific project
Quarter/Semester timelines that rarely match actual production schedules
Academic constraints that prioritize grades over real-world problem-solving
Geographic boundaries that limit who can access the knowledge

The best moments in teaching—the ones where I make the biggest difference—happen in one-on-one conversations. A student comes in with a specific problem: "My main subject just backed out," or "I can't figure out how to structure this," or "I'm running out of money."

Those conversations, where we dig into their actual project and solve their real problem, are where the magic happens. That's not teaching. That's coaching.

The Documentary Loneliness

Here's something else nobody tells you about documentary filmmaking: it's lonely.

You're working on something for months or often years. Most of your friends and family don't really understand what you're doing or why it's taking so long. Your subjects trust you with their stories but can't advise you on how to tell them. You're making a thousand creative and practical decisions, often in isolation, hoping you're making the right calls. Even when you have partners, they’re likely only committed to one portion of the project. You’re in it for the long haul and in all aspects.

Narrative filmmakers have clearer roadmaps. Documentaries? We're making it up as we go, responding to reality, discovering the story as we tell it.

Even experienced filmmakers feel this. I've made multiple feature documentaries, taught for years, and I still have moments on every project where I think, "Am I doing this right?"

The difference now is I have a network. I can call another filmmaker and say, "Talk me through this." I can't imagine making films without that.

But most filmmakers—especially those starting out or working outside major film hubs—don't have that network. They're figuring it out alone, making mistakes that could be avoided, taking longer than necessary, sometimes giving up on projects that could have been great.

What I Bring to This

I'm not launching coaching because I have all the answers. I'm launching it because I've made enough documentaries—and enough mistakes—to help you avoid the worst of them.

I've directed films like THE GLAMOUR AND THE SQUALOR and CLAYDREAM and THE DIAMOND KING. I've worked with tiny budgets and substantial ones, like for my Bigfoot project I’m currently making. I've produced internationally, navigated cross-cultural storytelling, dealt with subjects who changed their minds, faced technical disasters, restructured films entirely in post-production, and submitted to festivals that rejected me and festivals that programmed me.

I've also taught hundreds of students at Olympic College, which means I've seen every version of challenge imaginable, from concept development through distribution. I know which problems are universal and which are project-specific. I know when to push someone and when to tell them to take a break. I know the difference between a project that needs more work and a project that needs to be abandoned.

More importantly, I remember what it feels like to not know. To be paralyzed by options. To wonder if you're wasting your time. To need someone to just tell you, honestly: "Here's what I'd do, and here's why."

Why Now

My upcoming Bigfoot documentary is likely to be my biggest hit. After years of work, I'm watching it come together in exactly the way I hoped, and there's a specific moment where everything clicked into place—when I finally understood what the film was actually about.

That moment didn't happen by accident. It happened because I've developed a process, a way of thinking about documentary development and production that I've refined over multiple films and years of teaching.

And I realized: this process, these insights, this way of navigating documentary challenges—it's valuable. It could help other filmmakers get to their "aha moment" faster, with less pain and uncertainty.

Why keep it locked in a classroom or to myself when I could share it with filmmakers worldwide?

What Coaching Actually Is

Documentary coaching isn't me telling you how to make your film. Your film is yours. Your vision matters more than mine.

Coaching is:

Asking the questions that help you clarify what you're actually trying to say
Pointing out the blind spots you can't see because you're too close to the project
Sharing what worked (and didn't work) in similar situations I've faced
Providing accountability when motivation flags
Offering practical solutions to specific problems
Giving you permission to make the hard choice you already know you need to make
Being the experienced voice that says, "You're on the right track" or "Here's where I'd pivot"

It's office hours for your documentary, whenever you need them, for however long your project takes.

The Films That Could Be

Another thing that drives this for me: there are great documentaries that will never get made because the filmmaker got stuck and didn't know who to ask for help.

Stories that matter. Perspectives we need. Films that could change how people see the world.

They'll die in hard drives because someone couldn't figure out how to structure the second act, or ran out of money before they found funding, or lost confidence in their vision, or simply burned out from trying to figure it all out alone.

I can't save every project, but if I can help even a handful of filmmakers push through and finish their films—films that wouldn't have existed otherwise—that feels like a worthy use of what I've learned.

An Invitation

I'm not trying to replace film school or the classroom experience. Olympic College and institutions like it provide something essential: community, structure, foundational knowledge, and the space to experiment and fail safely.

But for those of you who need something different—personalized guidance on your specific project, strategic help at a critical moment, or ongoing support through the long journey of documentary production—I'm here.

For the filmmaker in Portland, Maine who's stuck. For the journalist in Billings making the leap. For the film school grad who needs practical guidance. For the experienced filmmaker tackling something new.

For anyone who needs someone who's been there to look at your specific situation and say, "Here's what I'd do."

That's why I'm doing this. Let's talk about your documentary.

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Marq Evans is a documentary filmmaker and director of the documentary film program at Olympic College. His films include THE GLAMOUR AND THE SQUALOR, CLAYDREAM, THE DIAMOND KING, an upcoming Bigfoot documentary, and an international co-production made in Haiti. He offers one-on-one coaching for documentary filmmakers at all stages of production.

Schedule a free consultation: www.documentary.coach/free-consultation

Marq Evans