NEED STORYTELLING EXPERTISE
THAT RESPECTS YOUR VISION?

“I Shall Not Be Removed: The Life of Marlon Riggs … sings in the face of rejection, loss, racism, homophobia, and AIDS”. - San Francisco Examiner

Your vision deserves expression through the most compelling and inspiring story possible. At New Doc Editing, you’ll benefit from a new kind of storytelling expertise, one that will provide you with clarity, guidance and a Doc Plot Map™ customized to your documentary.  In addition, your vision for the film will receive the respect it deserves.  Our powerful DOVES™ exercise (Director’s Outcome, Vision and Editorial Statements) creates a compass that will keep the entire post-production team calibrated to your goals and sensibilities.  At New Doc Editing, you’ll experience close collaboration no matter where you live.  And you’ll enjoy with the security of knowing that your post-production budget will not spiral out of control.

CHARACTER-DRIVEN DOCUMENTARIES

Picture directing a complex, longitudinal documentary–one that involves multiple characters navigating their lives over several years.  You hand the film over to your editor and they face the most daunting documentary editing assignment of their life.  Meanwhile, you check your post-production budget and cross your fingers.

Karen Everett, owner of New Doc Editing, explains the rise of character-driven documentary films in her seminar at the San Francisco Film Society. (Photo by Betty Bastidas, www.babphotography.net.)

Character-driven documentaries have eclipsed essay-style films as today’s dominant genre, but there is still very little guidance available on how to structure them.  Most editors seem to intuit their way into a character-driven film rather than mapping out the story arc in advance.  The problem with this approach is that it frequently takes several rough cuts to find and hone a story, thus sky-rocketing the post-production budget.

SUSPENSEFUL FILMS

As you know, good stories depend on a rising arc.  Screenwriters are experts at creating this momentum.  Most dramatic films build suspense with the three-act structure that originated with Aristotle and has withstood the test of time in myriad art forms, including drama, short stories, novels and narrative films.

But what about documentary filmmakers?  How can we harness the power of a classic dramatic structure to tell a true story?  At New Doc Editing, we understand the challenges of applying a fictional structure to journalistically-sound films about real life.  We also understand–and are continually developing–new solutions.  Imagine working with an editor who will craft your story into a documentary that is as suspenseful as a Hollywood movie.

POWERFUL INCITING INCIDENT

For example, Hollywood screenwriters have a rule about the film’s inciting incident, the mandatory scene kicks off the story. The rule is that the scene is so important that it must unfold visually on screen…not through backstory or exposition. The problem for most documentary filmmakers is that by the time we have an idea for a film, that crucial inciting incident has already happened-and it wasn’t captured on tape.  How do you then construct a powerful inciting incident?

The next challenge is the problem of pacing.  Act Two is supposed to build momentum by presenting the protagonist with increasingly difficult problems.  But real life doesn’t unfold that way.  How do you rachet up the tension to keep viewers engaged, while remaining journalistically true to the order of real events?

STORY MAP GIVES GUIDANCE

Have you ever been lost on a car trip, driving around and around, and then you finally break down and buy a map that gets you to your destination quickly?  Trying to find a story by editing one rough cut after another is a bit like driving without a map.  It’s a waste of time and energy.

Your timeline and budget will benefit from our exclusive, copyrighted Doc Plot Map™.  Designed to guide documentary directors and editors as we collaborate, the Doc Plot Map™ is a tool we use early on–often before the assembly cut.  It saves money by shortening the time it takes to locate a film’s storyline.

“Karen Everett has worked with me on several film projects. She is an editor of great depth and creativity.  Her mastery of her craft as well as her sterling values shows through in all she does.”

–  Dr. Matthew Fox,  The Hidden Spirituality of Men

TOP-NOTCH EDITORS

As a director, you hold the film’s vision and surround yourself with the best brains you can afford to translate that vision into a stirring film. Imagine benefiting from the expertise of two minds for the price of one:  a talented editor and a veteran story consultant. At New Doc Editing, we have assembled a group of top-notch cutters with veteran experience.  At rough cut stage, we provide one of these sage independent “story doctors” to provide expert feedback–at no cost to you.

REVOLUTIONARY EDITING TECHNOLOGY

Enjoy the convenience of easy collaboration no matter where you live with our revolutionary, easy to use, free software technology. Picture yourself watching a rough cut with your editor in real time and collaborating in depth-all without having to fly or drive anywhere. Our cutting-edge technology saves you time, facilitates clear communication, and benefits the environment.

FREE CONSULTATION

To begin our collaboration, we’d like to offer you a free 30-minute telephone consultation.  Email us today to schedule your free session.  Keeping your viewers glued to the screen is our goal!