Using Who’s The We? as a case study, filmmaker and Northwestern professor Clayton Brown takes apart a scene from the film to look at what happens on location to the choices made later in the edit, including structure, sound, music, and the relationship between what was shot and what ultimately appears onscreen. From there, we’ll zoom out to the larger process of getting an independent documentary across the finish line: finishing, distribution, acquisition, and the sometimes surprising technical and legal deliverables required by broadcasters such as PBS.

Clayton Brown is a documentary and narrative filmmaker interested in exploring the hidden stories and compelling characters that emerge when people pursue their passions. His last three co-directed documentaries (The Atom Smashers, The Believers, and We Believe in Dinosaurs) were distributed nationally and internationally (Gravitas, PBS, 1091, Cinephil, TVS) and played festivals worldwide.