Navigating the Financial Landscape of Documentary Filmmaking

What's up Rock Nation, today we welcome the Documentary Filmmaker Savant Mark Bone. Mark just finished filming Chris Bumstead capture his 6th Mr. Olympia title, for their new documentary "The Standard." In this episode, we talk to Mark about what makes a great documentary, what it was like to film CBUM for the past year, and his YouTube journey.

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Timestamps:

0:00 - Trailer

0:56 - Intro

2:12 - One Handed Crack

3:34 - How The CBUM doc came to life

6:03 - What makes an incredible documentary

8:06 - How Mark figured out the structure of the CBUM doc

12:21 - Mark didn’t know who CBUM was before filming

14:21 - Artlist Trends Report 2025

16:14 - Sitting in on CBUM’s therapy sessions

19:07 - How to build trust

22:57 - The perfect documentary crew size

25:37 - Balancing Filming and Directing

29:15 - How Mark lights documentaries

32:51 - When Mark shifted from commercial to documentary filmmaking

35:25 - How to get your films funded

40:19 - How Mark was making money when he was first starting out

43:49 - How to build out a “Scene” in a documentary

47:40 - Reviewing Dailies

50:05 - Mark’s go-to camera setup for documentaries

51:32 - Canon C70 vs. Sony FX6

54:07 - Why Mark hates the Sony FX9, but loves the FX6

57:31 - The best shot of Mark’s career

59:49 - Tips for lighting interviews

1:01:57 - Best interview tips

1:03:14 - How to get your subjects to say what you want

1:06:58 - Mark’s favorite B ROLL lens

1:08:45 - Mark’s favorite scene in the CBUM doc

1:10:01 - What Mark hopes the audience takes away from the CBUM doc

1:12:10 - What inspired Mark to create “Art of Documentary”

1:15:28 - The structure of A.O.D.

1:18:14 - What beginner documentary filmmakers are getting WRONG

1:21:53 - How to create a trailer

1:24:40 - What the big streamers like Netflix are looking for in documentaries

1:28:58 - Mark’s decision to start YouTube

1:35:31 - Mark’s first YouTube brand deal

1:37:53 - Going ALL-IN and staying consistent with YouTube

1:39:23 - Advice for someone wanting to start YouTube

1:40:42 - How Mark decides what videos to make on YouTube

1:42:47 - How Mark avoids burnout

1:45:32 - The biggest opportunity that has stemmed from YouTube

1:47:28 - Advice to your 18 year old self

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