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Documentary Audience: Part 2
March 24, 2017
Happy Spring time! As promised, here’s Part 2 of my recommendations for expanding your film’s audience beyond your niche audience. If you missed my previous post, get Part 1 here and watch the free Filmmaker.MBA webinar “How to Find Your Film’s Audience” here. Last week I explained one key reason Supersize Me was so successful in reaching a large audience. And it’s not about Big Macs. Morgan Spurlock used language and appealed to the values of three major worldviews at play in America today. The other key reason that doc was such a block buster—and here’s the second key to…
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Kind Editor With Storytelling Chops
March 20, 2017
I have an editor coming available soon with terrific storytelling chops. If you’re looking for a talented cutter and all around nice person, email me about next steps. We can edit your documentary in record time in our Accelerated Post program.
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Documentary Audience: Part 1
March 16, 2017
Today I’m sharing new ideas that I presented on last week’s Webinar, “How To Find Your Film’s Audience”. If you missed the live session, listen for free here. The webinar focused on why finding the smallest possible niche audience for your documentary will ensure its success. I believe that’s true for many reasons. Here’s one—as well as my contrarian ideas about expanding your audience beyond your niche. First, a bit of cultural theory. In America today, according to many theorists, there aren’t just two competing worldviews (left and right), there are actually three major worldviews. The first worldview, according to…
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Documentary Distribution Workshop
March 13, 2017
I’m happy to announce that the popular distribution workshop, HOW TO SELL YOUR FILM, is coming back to my alma mater at UC Berkeley, on April 8 & 9th. I took this weekend workshop last year, and it was fantastic—totally worth the money. Jilann Spitzmiller and Anna Darrah will be offering their content-packed workshop, along with a new optional Day 2, where they will work directly with 10 projects to craft customized distribution strategies. DAY 1 lays the groundwork for a comprehensive understanding of film distribution, empowering you to seek out deals from an educated and confident place, helping you to decide when…
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Documentary Webinar Recording Available
March 10, 2017
Wednesday I had the pleasure of being a guest on the webinar “How To Find Your Film’s Audience”. If you missed the live session, you can register and listen for free at filmmaker.mba/karen-everett-audience. I developed new material for this topic. Unfortunately, my microphone didn’t come through crystal clear (I’m audible), so I’m including some of my ideas below and in next week’s newsletter. Hosted by my former story consulting client Chris Rufo and his partner Keith Ochwat, the webinar was full of nuts and bolts strategies for finding your documentary’s niche audience. I urge you to check out their Filmmaker.MBA…
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Webinar Tomorrow On Finding Your Audience
March 6, 2017
As a reminder, I’m co-hosting a free webinar tomorrow, Wednesday, at 10am PST on how to identify your documentary’s niche audience. I’m excited to introduce you to one of my former story consulting clients, Christopher Rufo, who with his partner Keith Ochwat will show you how they earned $1.5 million with their last film through DIY distribution. I believe that Kevin Kelly’s famous blog on how artists can thrive with 1000 true fans is still relevant today. We’ll be sharing the nuts and bolts on how to build a powerful fan base around your documentary. Space is limited, so register…
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Webinar: How to Find Your Film’s Audience
March 1, 2017
I’m delighted to invite you to a free webinar on Wednesday, March 8th at 10am PST on how to identify your film’s niche audience and build a network of fans. During the webinar, I’ll partner with Filmmaker.MBA instructors Christopher Rufo and Keith Ochwat to walk you through the steps of creating a network of passionate fans and evangelists for your film—from conducting research to building partnerships within your niche. Also, my former story consulting client Christopher and his partner Keith will show you how they earned $1.5 million with their last film, Age of Champions, through direct distribution to their…
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Documentary Seminar on Multiple Protagonists
February 25, 2017
I hope you’re enjoying your weekend! Today I’m giving away module #10 of my 12-part series The Ultimate Guide to Structuring Your Documentary. Download it for free here: newdocediting.com/ultimateguide/9week9b9s.mov You’ll learn strategies for structuring a documentary with multiple protagonists and storylines. You’ll also learn how to blend character-driven and topic-based films. See all my online documentary seminars at: newdocediting.com/products
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Overcoming Cynicism in Documentary Filmmaking
February 23, 2017
A few months ago I read a thread on Doculink about how making documentaries can lead to cynicism. One filmmaker felt the herculean effort to fund, make, and distribute a doc was, in hindsight, simply not worth it. Others argued that a labor of love pays off in the end. I understand how artistic idealism can lead to despair, especially when making a doc drags on for years. Without funding and a clear narrative approach, what’s the point? Not to mention the cost. And yet, every month I hear from filmmakers that we’ve worked with who tell me their success…
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Structuring Your Documentary In Three Acts
February 7, 2017
Happy Wednesday! Today I’m giving away the best tutorial you’ll find on applying the Three Act Structure to documentary films: newdocediting.com/editing_course1/M4DocumentaryArc We’ve all heard of the three-act structure, and screenwriters have it down to a science. But often I find that documentary filmmakers arbitrarily divide their film into three parts, and label each part an act. Actually, each act looks very different. According to screenwriters, Act One (about 25% of film) launches your protagonist’s quest. Act Two (60%) shows your protagonist facing challenges on that quest. And in Act Three (15%), we learn if they actually achieve their goal in…
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