Well, kind of… I should explain. Since July 2007, WHATEVER IT TAKES has been supported by the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund. Besides CAAM, Sundance has been our other major backer, providing us with not only a large grant, but also much needed creative and technical assistance.

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Everyone tells you that you can’t make a film by yourself. So true. But while it’s absolutely crucial to have a wonderful camera crew and editing team, it also really helps to have an awesome film organization (or two) backing you up. For this project, we have had amazing support from CAAM, and I want to spend some time bragging about them… (FYI, CAAM did not put me up to this; this is completely my own doing.)

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For those of you who have been keeping track of this blog about my film “Whatever It Takes”, let me first apologize for being a bad, bad blogger these past four weeks. I do have a decent excuse, though, because I was incredibly busy planning some fundraising events in three different cities. As someone who has never done this before, let’s just say that it was (and continues to be) a mighty difficult undertaking.

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Open to first time feature directors in the later stage of narrative and documentary post-production, the Labs identify high quality, independent features that can benefit from the support and expertise of experienced film professionals. Led by seasoned independent producers, the Labs help independent filmmakers achieve the full potential of their material prior by providing feedback and advice.

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Started editing today on our Final Cut Pro system. Definitely feels good to finally be at this stage, when all the footage gradually morphs into comprehensive scenes. I’m looking forward to developing our main characters into the fullest and most meaningful realization of who they truly are.

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I used to think that the hardest part of producing a documentary was the shooting and editing. Now I know better. Raising money is far more difficult… Why? Because ultimately, one has absolutely no control over how the funding decisions are made.

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Shooting 140 hours of footage is one thing. Logging, organizing, capturing, and digitizing it is quite another… We are now just over halfway done with the review, and it’s obvious that the discussions we are having now will save us a tremendous amount of time and effort later.

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Hi everybody, my name is Christopher Wong, and I’ve been asked to write a weekly blog about my feature-length documentary film WHATEVER IT TAKES – a year-long story about a new public school in New York City’s South Bronx.

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One exciting new feature you’ll find on the new CAAM website are the Guest Filmmaker Blogs. We’ve asked a few of our Media Fund filmmakers to share their stories on the blood, sweat and tears that go into making a film and getting it finished.

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