In Chapter 7 of 17 in her 2009 Capture Your Flag interview, filmmaker Tricia Regan measures personal performance by looking within the project, as outside comparables, including other films or festival accolades, are not useful until a film is complete. She finds documentary success stories such as the film "Hoop Dreams" can remind filmmakers the importance of maximizing given material and characters. They do not, however, serve as competitive barometers. Regan asserts once initialized, documentary filmmaking is about making the best with what you have.