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by Nicole Docta
Why aren’t there more women in film? In my last post, I wondered aloud whether it is because women are less interested or because they are discouraged since they’d be in the minority. Is it the physicality of some roles? Big cameras, big lights, heavy sandbags. We might be perceived as not being capable of doing certain work but you need to prove yourself.
While the Brewers were headed for the playoffs, I took a freelance job where I was the only female in a 7 person crew. My main job was to monitor a camera taking stop motion footage of the setting sun behind the stadium. I taped a green square around myself and the camera and guarded it from the thousands of Brewers fans heading in to watch the game. For 3 hours, I warded off distracted children, obnoxious drunks, and people who would jump in front of the camera. Sounds fun, right? It was actually. Most people were intrigued and would politely ask what was going on. Some would tease me by purposefully stepping into the box and running away or joke about whether they ever let me out of the box (only if I behaved). It is interesting to see how people react when a camera is around. You also have more chances to find a date because women crew always get hit on more than men be it by other crew members or by Brewers fans.
Nicole Docta & Brad Lichtenstein, 371 Productions. Photo credit: Kaleigh Atkinson
Another part of my job was to haul sandbags from one end of the stadium to another. The other guy doing it, a former football player, didn’t have a problem while I sort of struggled with the weight. I was sweating like nothing else but I held my own and didn’t complain. I didn’t ask for help either, nor was I offered any. I took this as a sign of respect. I felt as though the rest of the crew saw me as an equal being able to do the same task as this other guy (or they just didn’t want to carry the sandbags…). In all seriousness, if someone would have asked me if I wanted help, I would have refused. If I want to be an equal in the business, I need to be able to perform at the level of my peers.
Sometimes, it is better to be a woman in the film industry. I found that people are more willing to open up to women and we are given access to more intimate moments. In my current film, As Goes Janesville, one of our characters, Cindy, finds a lump in her breast. She had to schedule an ultrasound, which we wanted to film. This was a major turning point in Cindy’s life and in the film because her healthcare was about to run out. She was very hesitant to allow us to film because her chest would be exposed to the camera. I promised Cindy the utmost discretion and I, not my male director, was allowed to film her exam.
She was understandably nervous for the ultrasound but I think my presence helped take her mind off the seriousness of the event. “Nicole, now I’m trusting you here. No boob shots!” Afterword, we watched the footage together so she could make sure she wasn’t exposed. It was remarkable for her to step way out of her comfort zone and allow me to film. It was a great honor and made me realize how far my relationship with Cindy had come from the beginning of filming.
Documentary filmmaking is mostly about relationships. You build a rapport with the people you want to film so they will show you a window into their lives. I genuinely care for Cindy and consider her a friend – I even invited her to my wedding! You won’t get along so well with everyone but it was my relationship with Cindy as much as my gender that got me access. Being a woman in the industry definitely has its benefits but just being a woman won’t cut it. You also need to be a competent and caring worker.
Nicole Docta, formerly Nicole Brown, has co-produced and co-directed a number of documentaries. Nicole writes: I’m a Wisconsin girl at heart. I spent most of my childhood in Oshkosh and went to college at UW-Milwaukee, where I received my BFA in Film. I made mostly documentaries for my student projects and am able to continue to tell stories about real people in my professional career. I’ve worked on feature and commercial sets but for my own work, I hope to show people things they never would have encountered on their own and show more depth in familiar things. Although I’m relatively new to the filmmaking world, I’ve learned a lot about the industry and have had success in the national festival circuit and airing pieces on Wisconsin Public Television. I produced and edited Chosen Towns: The Story of Jews in Wisconsin’s Small Communities (2007), I co directed, shot, and edited A King In Milwaukee (2009). I’m currently co-producing As Goes Janesville which is funded by the MacArthur Foundation, The Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund, The Lubar Family Foundation,and ITVS and will air nationally on PBS in Oct. 2012.
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