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Two Film Funding Opportunities
November 26, 2020
Happy holidays! I’m grateful for all you courageous filmmakers who are engaging viewers with important ideas. Thank you all for taking on your film projects and seeing them through. To this end, some help! First up, here’s a grant I once won for my own film. Contrary to popular opinion, the Frameline Completion Fund isn’t just for queer filmmakers. Frameline gives up to $25,000 to emerging and established filmmakers to push LGBTQ+ film projects over the finish line. Apply here. The deadline is soon: Monday, November 20th. Next up, ITVS is America’s largest funder of documentary films. Their Open Call…
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Black Friday – Documentary Seminar Sale
November 23, 2020
Happy Thanksgiving and Native American Heritage Day to my U.S. readers! I’d also like to express appreciation for my international readers by offering a big discount on my online documentary seminar. Click here to buy The Ultimate Guide to Structuring Your Documentary (formerly sold for $297.97) for $50. With your purchase, I’m also including my other seminar “Editing the Character Driven Documentary” for free. Here’s what Emmy-Award-winning director Paige Bierma had to say about The Ultimate Guide to Structuring Your Documentary: “This class was invaluable for bringing into crystal clear focus the three-act structure as it applies to documentary filmmaking.”
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Tips for CAAM Funding – Deadline is Nov. 20
November 15, 2020
The deadline is Friday to apply to CAAM Documentaries For Social Change Fund! And ITVS’s Open Call has begun sooner than expected. Funded applicants can receive up to $350,000 for a standalone documentary. Thanks in advance to past CAAM funding recipients for these tips: If you’ve already written a boilerplate Core Documentary Proposal (the IDA template), applying shouldn’t take too long. That said, be prepared to explain additional questions, such as how you’ll be accountable to the specific Asian American community you’re covering. Some filmmakers observe CAAM moving toward topics that would easily fit into PBS series such as POV,…
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CAAM Documentary Fund + Junior Editor
November 10, 2020
Now that election day is over, I’m glad to hear that Joe Biden’s north star is “compassion”, which both sides could use right now. Two announcements: the deadline for the CAAM Documentaries for Social Change Fund is Friday, November 20th. More below. Also, I have a newly-groomed junior editor. He’s fast and highly personable and happens to be my nephew. The last doc he cut played on public television. Email me to learn more getting one-third off our normal editing rates for this auspicious collaboration. Also, we’re currently helping filmmakers apply for CAAM development funds up to $15,000. This year…
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Best “Go Vote” Doc Short
October 30, 2020
I first met prolific film producer Tiffany Shlain when I helped structure her first feature documentary, “Connected” (2011). It premiered at Sundance and won an astounding seventeen awards. Since then, she and her team have perfected the art of the short doc. I’m honored to have helped with her latest 2-minute burst of sunshine, “Dear Voter”. When the culture zigs, Tiffany zags. And yet, she is a master of crowd-sourcing. Watch how these bursts of soundbites—which used to be called “MOS”, or “man on the street” videos—support her anomalous thesis. A few quick announcements: Congrats to Carmic Productions whose documentary…
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Pointers for Applying to Roy W. Dean Grant
October 24, 2020
Quick reminder: email me for pointers on applying to the Roy W. Dean grant; the deadline is October 31st.
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Documentary Filmmakers and Mental Health
October 17, 2020
Last week I emailed fifty filmmakers with whom I’ve recently worked. I wanted to check in about their progress since our last story consultation. Happily, a handful reported they had finished their docs! That includes Nitsan Tal whose “8000 Paperclips” received this lovely review in The Jerusalem Post: “…a delicately crafted and touching story”. But many filmmakers said they’d made little progress since Covid-19 hit. “Working in relative isolation for so long, I’m wondering if anyone would be interested in this subject matter besides the people involved,” said one filmmaker. Last year D-Word founder Doug Block said something that is…
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Roy W. Dean Grant Deadline is Oct 31st
October 14, 2020
It’s time to apply to the Roy W. Dean Grant! The deadline is October 31st. Contrary to popular belief, this grant offers a cash component, as well as a slew of free and discounted services. For example, the winner will receive 50% off New Doc Editing’s Grant Writing Services. I came in second place for this grant myself, and I have three tips: Stress the urgency of your documentary. (This was the big reason I was not selected for the grant; the winner had exigency on her side.) If you’re making a social issue documentary, highlight what’s being done about…
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Rates for Doc Editing and Story Consulting
September 30, 2020
We are now offering two levels of editorial talent: emerging gifted editors as well as seasoned veteran editors (who have at least two awards under their belt). Check out our new editing rates here. While they come with their own valuable experience, our editors are further trained by me. I oversee all our edits by contributing story consulting notes free of charge. For stand-alone story consultations, I’ve recently lowered our story consulting rates to adjust to the Covid Era. Email me if you’d like to know more!
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Documentary Editing Seminar
September 15, 2020
With the hope of helping many filmmakers who may have time on their hands due to COVID, I’m giving away my popular seminar Editing the Character Driven Documentary (which sold for many years for $297). Filmed live, these six 30-60 minute modules explain how to adapt screenwriting principles to documentary films. I developed this groundbreaking work while teaching at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism (#1 documentary program in the U.S.), and later at the San Francisco Film Society. The weekend seminar was the Film Society’s most popular educational offering, selling out semester after semester for five years. I loved…
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