Mark Bone’s Blueprint for Netflix-Worthy Documentaries

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. Download the full 2025 Artlist Trend Report here: https://artlist.io/blog/trend-report-2025/?artlist_aid=the505podcast_2970&utm_source=affiliate_p&utm_medium=the505podcast_2970&utm_campaign=the505podcast_2970 Check out Mark here: https://www.instagram.com/markandrewbone/?hl=en https://www.youtube.com/@UC4exYtWOlHd4mL-owyyA12w https://markbone.com/ The Creator Pricing Guide - The No BS Guide to Pricing Your Creative Services Coupon Code: ROCKNATION10 gets you $10 off at checkout for the boulders https://courses.thecreatorcoach.com/pricing-guide Collab with Artlist and get 2 extra months for free here: https://artlist.io/artlist-70446?artlist_aid=the505podcast_2970&utm_source=affiliate_p&utm_medium=the505podcast_2970&utm_campaign=the505podcast_2970 Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/xgEAzkqAvs Kostas’ Amazon Storefront: https://amzn.to/3GhId25 Concert Photography Masterclass: www.kostasgarcia.com/masterclass Chase’s Totality LUT pack: https://www.chasealexanderfilm.com/color/totalitylutpack COP THE BFIGGY "ESSENTIALS" SFX PACK HERE: https://courses.thecreatorcoach.com/BFIGGYSFXPACK Kostas’ Amazon Storefront: https://amzn.to/3GhId25 15% OFF Prism Lens FX with code: KOSTAS15 https://bit.ly/42sNdej 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 If you liked this episode please send it to a friend and take a screenshot for your story! And as always, we'd love to hear from you guys on what you'd like to hear us talk about or potential guests we should have on. DM US ON IG: (Our DM's are always open!) Bfiggy: https://www.instagram.com/bfiggy/ Kostas: https://www.instagram.com/kostasg95/ Chase: https://www.instagram.com/chaseronii/ TikTok: Bfiggy: https://www.tiktok.com/bfiggy/ Kostas: https://www.tiktok.com/kostasgarcia/