Sounds to me like you know nothing about the market you're trying to crack -- a big mistake.

Docs have an entirely different production track than features. Firstly, are you talking about feature-length TV or feature-length theatrical? 'Cause the TV market is much larger.

Many docs are made specifically with public TV in mind, designed, for example, to be shown on PBS's "POV." Which means that they are an hour long (or recut to this length, and often have a longer cut for DVD release). These kinds of docs are also subsidized with grant money or other similar sources.

The few known doc-makers who aim for theatrical release like Michael Moore or Errol Morris might have other sources, but their funding models won't work for a beginner.

Doc TV, like that produced for the History Channel or Court TV, are always done by small production entities and made for relatively low cost and created very quickly. I doubt as an individual you'll have the resources to do that yourself. What I would suggest if going to LA, would be to try to get work on one of these shows being shot down there, particularly stuff that features recreations, like "America's Most Wanted," which I have heard is a great inroad for young directors in LA. This will get you started in the TV doc market, should you want that.

Beyond that, I'd say that the only way to pitch theatrical doc features is to have already made a successful one. This is a HARD market to get into -- in some ways harder than narratives, as there are fewer theatrical docs successfully sold. (A wonderful model for self-release and distribution is what the guys who made the 9/11 conspiracy film "Loose Change" did. Check their site at www.loosechange911.com )

Good luck -- but DO YOUR RESEARCH.