FourDocs is the broadband channel for documentaries from Channel 4.
Anyone with a story to tell, or an opinion to voice, can send FourDocs their film link.
Films should be no longer than fourminutes and should comply with our legal standards.
To send us your film, you need to upload it to a video hosting website and send us a link. There's a lot out of these sites out there so here's some advice. Make sure you check the terms and conditions of each of these sites so you know what might be done with your film with and without your consent. The most widely-used is of course YouTube which accepts most video formats known to humanity and means your film might be viewed by millions. Equally, it might look terrible due to this open upload format policy and you'll be squished amidst pranks and shaky footage of playground fights, so it's not for documentary purists. Another widely-used place is MySpace Film, a devoted film portal for the social networking site. It's a lot more professional than you might expect from such a big place, being run by real film enthusiasts, and it's obviously very widely viewed.
Often, smaller means more nippy and innovative when it comes to uploading your video, plus there's a load of potential for taking distribution into your own hands out there. We heartily recommend Blip tv for instance. It's very cool, for one thing, but more importantly, your video can be seen in high Flash quality and it's all Open Source software so you can build exciting websites and video channels of your own using it. They've got links to Archive.org which comes from related people interested in Open Media. We also recommend uploading your video here - it's an intelligent community of media-makers who'll treat your video responsibly and you won't be sifting through spam comments. You can find more Open Source video sites and lots of advice on how to get your video seen widely on From Here To Awesome and The Workbook Project.
And there's more - Metacafe is nearer the YouTube end of the spectrum but you can earn money from your videos there, as you can on Revver - in both cases, you just have to decide whether you're happy with the advertising surrounding your doc. Current TV is dedicated to factual content only, just like FourDocs, so it's a good place to upload and get feedback, plus you might progress to their TV channel - and they've changed their rights structure so if this happens, you can now still have your film elsewhere. And at the high-resolution end of things, you might like to try Vimeo which screens your film beautifully in full-resolution HD quality - although if you shot on mini DV, that won't be as much of an attraction. Finally, don't forget about developing your own website or video channel, whether using the tools above or a facility like Miro - you just need to have some basic web skills or know someone else who does.
Remember, you can (and maybe should) put your film on all or some of these sites to get the widest exposure. And this isn't even scratching the surface of all the video sites out there. There's no right or wrong, just the ones you find the most useful. And remember too that uploading your film to these sites is just the start - after that you need to get spreading and embedding - on FourDocs, on blogs, and everywhere else.
We will look at all the links sent into us, and some of the films will be reviewed by our editors in the blog. If the commissioner at Channel 4, like Kate Vogel, think your film is really great, we'll ask you to FTP your film over to us, so we can transfer it into our new Brightcove video player. Your film fill need to meet our video spec, which is just to help us make your film look and sound its best.
Not straight away, but each month, a selection of docs are seen by commissioning editors at Channel 4. See the last batch here. If they like your films, you may get screened on Channel 4 or More4, or get a commission for making future film work for the channel
Sure. FourDocs is full of hundreds of brilliant documentaries of between 3 and 5 minutes for you to watch and review. Some are serious, some are funny. Some you'll learn something from, some you'll be entertained by. Explore the Film Index here for those submitted by the FourDocs community. Or if you want to see the classics from the last 100 years, take a trip through the Archive. The timeline there gives you a crash course in docs, or if you want to get straight to the films, go to the Archive Film Index
You can watch fascinating exclusive interviews with famous people from the world of documentaryAnd you can also Upload and Download Short Video and Music Clips for you or other people to use in their FourDocs
You can email us at fourdocs@channel4.com
Renowned documentary maker and exec Producer of FourDocs, Patrick Uden, says "We wanted to establish a new medium for the public to air their views on issues they felt passionate about. FourDocs is the first time that anyone has given both practical support and a high profile platform for people to make and display their own personal documentaries. The site is free to use and open to everyone, whatever their level of experience."
Peter Dale, Head of More4, says "The rise of relatively cheap and easy to use digital cameras and editing equipment means that the tools to make a documentary are more widespread than ever before. There's so much filmmaking talent out there but until now there's been no natural home for it - we wanted to find a way of harnessing all the energy and ideas. Ultimately, the success of FourDocs will be down to the richness of submitted documentaries, so we encourage anyone, from first time documentary makers to experienced professionals, to stop watching documentaries and start making their own."
FourDocs was created by Magic Lantern Productions for Channel 4.
