Anonymous?

[User]

I'm curious if there are any of you here who publish your works under another name... preferring - for whatever reasons - to remain anonymous?

In going forward, I'm carrying a fairly large doc project set in a country where a bunch of right wing thugs have taken over and have previously banned Western filmmakers for mining socially relevant stories that society is still struggling to come to terms with. At the same time, part of me likes the idea of publishing works that are less prone to attacks because of my race, social class, age etc. And finally, I don't exactly have a name that rings with excitement.

And as quiet confirmation, I noticed another another cinema traveller out there there years ago, who does wonderful work and goes under pseudonym... a big part of me likes it how he doesn't bring his name to what he does, though he easily could.

Any thoughts?

[FranciscoB]

That's tough. While I understand your wish for privacy and security, what made you choose to make that doc? We all don't have a name until some of us do. Do you plan on working on other docs? Maybe use your name under initials ou just first name and the first letter of your last name? That's a difficult decision and managing another identity must also be challenging. I guess you must decide how much of that security risk is enough to make you keep your identity a secret. Because that could be a decision for the long run. 

[User]

I chose the topic because I like projects that are difficult to capture and convey. And yes... my wish is to make more docs in the future, despite how terribly challenging it is.
I've passed over a decade in that country and love the people and culture and it was always my plan to retire there... so I don't want some government stooge denying that. To give some perspective, a previous top commissioning editor for a very forward thinking European country was blacklisted because she commissioned a film about an extremely uncomfortable even that happened there. The director was also blacklisted. The film caused a necessary stir and was immediately banned and blocked from Youtube there. The good news is that the film was added to a growing voice of social media and consciousness that has brought important discourse, and change. My project doesn't mine this hard ground... it's more of a deep dive into the outlandish absurdities of daily life with some far out and tough characters who tell the story... but still, I don't want any issues from the 'high-minded' conservative keepers of cultural integrity.

Managing another identity sounds like a pain if you are trying to leverage other peoples money... which the other cinema traveller I mentioned, is most probably not. But I quite like this... the freedom part.

[fuzzynormal]

I've had way too many projects I've certainly wanted to "Alen Smithee," but they were just corporate videos, no production credits involved.

[User]

31 minutes ago, fuzzynormal said:

I've had way too many projects I've certainly wanted to "Alen Smithee," but they were just corporate videos, no production credits involved.

- Bread and butter... it can take you there. Or at least buy you a meal when you get there.

[FranciscoB]

fortunately very few people need to know about those jobs😅

[kye]

One of the things that I have read time and again is that creative people need to form a "personal brand" and then stick to that brand.  I've read this in the context of photography, film-making, music, art, and others.  I get why that's the advice that's given (people go to mcdonalds to get something familiar and reliable, not the best food or the most experimental new ideas) as that's how people want to get sold to, but from a creative perspective it's ridiculous.

The reason I mention this is that, naturally, many successful creative people get around this by having lots of pseudonyms which all have different brands.

To certain extent what you're talking about is having a duplicate brand, which comes with all the overheads of maintaining that brand.  Also, you're talking about being distanced from that as a person (in terms of blacklisting etc) which I guess can range from obfuscation to deliberately hiding your identity.  I have no idea how you would film a doco and hide your real name to the point that a government couldn't find out who you are, but I guess if you want something badly enough then sure.

To me I guess the question is if the costs are worth it, and only you can really weigh up that equation.

[IronFilm]

15 hours ago, fuzzynormal said:

I've had way too many projects I've certainly wanted to "Alen Smithee," but they were just corporate videos, no production credits involved.

"Mike Russell" 😉
Or "Justin Frame"
 

[Katrikura]

I understand the situation that you pose, I live in a country where human rights are trampled by the state, despite the visits of the UN, Amnesty International HRW, it is increasingly difficult to register these violations, the state and its police, you They chase, destroy your equipment and harass you. I am currently working on a project to denounce these acts and I am evaluating the same alternative, beyond the use of a pseudonym, it is about avoiding pressures, jail or harassment of your family. I personally believe that documentary cinema has a commitment to historical memory and is a small act of cultural resistance.

[User]

8 hours ago, Katrikura said:

I personally believe that documentary cinema has a commitment to historical memory and is a small act of cultural resistance.

I agree... and it's also resistance against a culture of apathy, indifference and ignorance that helps bring perspectives that can offset the singular voice of corporate media empires and unethical self-serving governments. Carry on amigo, we need you, let us know how you proceed and... vive la revolucion!

 

18 hours ago, kye said:

I have no idea how you would film a doco and hide your real name to the point that a government couldn't find out who you are, but I guess if you want something badly enough then sure.

I didn't inform that nation's government of what I was doing, otherwise they would have simply refused and I would be forever marked as a journalist (which has consequences). So shooting the doc wasn't really the problem - despite continually being taken off the street for police questioning (where I would feign ignorance, silly tourist etc). The trick is going to be releasing it and somehow remain 'anonymous enough' so that I can continue to travel there after release. How that will be done, I've haven't quite worked out yet. The easiest path is to just use another name, but the weird part is that part of me wants my work to be correctly associated with my name and perspective... because like you've mentioned, this has a certain 'brand appeal'. However, one thing for sure is that I ain't no big brand... so what to do? I wonder what Banksy or Josh Oppenheimer would say?

[Katrikura]

Perhaps it may sound like a distant reality to some, here in Chile (South America) a documentary filmmaker who made a documentary film about the Mapuche people (indigenous people), was sent to jail for 100 days, for doing that work. The state staged an imprisonment assembly, which was fortunately underrated, but the objective was to intimidate journalists to report on the problems of indigenous peoples.

After these events, the people who audiovisual recorded these events, think about the possibility of using other names, to publish these events.

For more information on the case, you can consult:

http://www.icei.uchile.cl/noticias/elena-varela-documentalista-y-presa-politica.html

 

[kye]

7 hours ago, User said:

I didn't inform that nation's government of what I was doing, otherwise they would have simply refused and I would be forever marked as a journalist (which has consequences). So shooting the doc wasn't really the problem - despite continually being taken off the street for police questioning (where I would feign ignorance, silly tourist etc). The trick is going to be releasing it and somehow remain 'anonymous enough' so that I can continue to travel there after release. How that will be done, I've haven't quite worked out yet. The easiest path is to just use another name, but the weird part is that part of me wants my work to be correctly associated with my name and perspective... because like you've mentioned, this has a certain 'brand appeal'. However, one thing for sure is that I ain't no big brand... so what to do? I wonder what Banksy or Josh Oppenheimer would say?

Yes, how to remain unscathed after it is released is the challenge, and Banksy did come to mind when I was reading your post.

I guess there's a few options:

• Use your real name, go under the radar while filming then risk the fallout after it is released
• Use a production company / name and don't put your real name in the credits - they might still find out who you are but you can always deny it while people you know and film circles can "all know it's you"
• Use a production company / name and take measures to ensure that no-one can trace it to you, knowing that ultimately the fame and glory associated with that name will not get added to your own

Obviously I don't know Banksy, but my completely uneducated guess would be that he/she/they would suggest that you create the alter-ego with as close to zero links to yourself as possible, and use that anonymity to pursue as honest and uninhibited an agenda as you can, and take payment from the work in terms of reward for authenticity and contribution to humanity.
Of course, Banksy is also very likely a hugely successful individual independently of their Banksy persona, so they don't need the money or fame, whereas I'm sure you probably could do with a bit more of that (unless you're secretly a famous rich person hanging out here talking about consumer cameras for some reason!).

Of course, there's always bitcoin....

[User]

1 hour ago, kye said:

whereas I'm sure you probably could do with a bit more of that (unless you're secretly a famous rich person hanging out here talking about consumer cameras for some reason!).

Hilarious. It's actually staggering how little I live on to do the work I love... with food being my main luxury these last years. If I can just keep it together enough to cover my living expenses over the next 6-8 months and I'll be able to bring forward this decade-long deep dive double phd on one of the most fascinating cities in the planet! Let's see what comes.

 

[barefoot_dp]

22 hours ago, IronFilm said:

"Mike Russell" 😉
Or "Justin Frame"
 

Cam Raman?
Phil Merguy?
Ed Eitor?
Matt Box?
 

[BTM_Pix]

Lou Mix

Evie F

Elsie D

Len Scap

Dee Paf

Mo Dyal

Jay Pegg

Mike Rofourthirds

Anna Morphic

Bo Keh

 

[kye]

I think if we're talking about guerrilla film making then it could also be Han Dheld.

[Mark Romero 2]

On 5/27/2020 at 11:02 AM, User said:

In going forward, I'm carrying a fairly large doc project set in a country where a bunch of right wing thugs have taken over and have previously banned Western filmmakers for mining socially relevant stories that society is still struggling to come to terms with.

Oh... so you are filming here in the United States???

[User]

6 minutes ago, Mark Romero 2 said:

Oh... so you are filming here in the United States???

Nationalism isn't just confined to the U.S.

But yes, what a mess. Years of selling itself out by its own people, the glory days or certainly over. The future is Mandarin. Ugh.

[sanveer]

You're lucky it's a right winger country. I know a few friends who've lost family members in communist countries. Genocides are common there, and nobody dares to report things. Much like China and the whole curious Covid-19 story. Nobody in the media has lived to tell the tale. 

[Super8]

45 minutes ago, User said:

Nationalism isn't just confined to the U.S.

But yes, what a mess. Years of selling itself out by its own people, the glory days or certainly over. The future is Mandarin. Ugh.

Do you live in or from the U.S.?  The glory days aren't over compared the the rest of the world. The world is fuc$% up together.

But if you look at real cities and towns across the U.S. you see life that's normal and the way it used to be.  Now take that same perspective and put it on the internet and media and you get a twisted picture of reality.  The same highs and lows have always been around forever. 

The media only reports the bad and is one sided. The media doesn't report the news anymore they report what they want and what they decide to report.

I have no preconceived notions of Europe because I've never visited there.  If I watch the news I would say Europe is just as messed up as the states.