December 26, 2016

As we wrap up 2016, some congratulations are in order. (One of the benefits of having taught at a top-notch documentary program is seeing your students kick butt.) Here are a few films to see and directors to inspire you. I’m very impressed with alum Alexis Bloom, whose documentary “Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds”, will air on HBO in 2017. This intimate portrait of family and fame debuted earlier this year at Cannes. My former student and colleague Dan Krauss won Best Documentary Short at the Tribeca Film Festival for “Extremis”. This Netflix release is a fascinating…

Having directed two biographical documentaries myself and consulted on dozens, I’m happy to share some tips for navigating three of this genre’s biggest challenges. First, let’s deal with the issue of being in love with your subject. Many filmmakers, myself included, pick up a camera because they want to pay tribute to a great person. But how do you avoid making a puff piece? You can lay off the adulation and, instead, subject your character to the slings and arrows of critics within the first seven minutes, while your viewer is still forming an opinion about your film. In Transcendent…

December 15, 2016

Last newsletter I shared my experience with A-List Film Festivals.  Today we’ll identify and explore the benefits of B and C Level film festivals. There are dozens of respectable B-List festivals, and if you haven’t yet joined Withoutabox, this online resource makes identifying and applying to festivals simple. In fact, there are so many B-list festivals that you’ll want to design a strategy. Here’s mine, after conferring with Jilann Spitzmiller of DocuMentors. Since my film’s subject lives in California and appeals to a progressive sensibility, I’m applying to most of the respectable West Coast festivals. These include Santa Barbara, Los…

December 13, 2016

I’m in the midst of researching film festivals for my own documentary, and I’d like to share what I’m learning in a 2-part newsletter. Today we’ll focus on the A-list festivals, and next time on B and C list festivals. Many thanks to Jilann Spitzmiller whose distribution advice contributed to this post. I highly recommend her if you need a distribution consultant. As you might suspect, the prestigious “A-list” festivals often require some sort of a premiere—world premiere, country premiere, region premiere, etc. These include U.S. festivals such as Sundance, SXSW, Tribeca, Fullframe, Telluride, DocNYC, AFI Docs, Hot Springs and…

December 7, 2016

I’m often asked about our editors’ credentials, so here are some highlights: One of our editors recently cut a documentary that won top prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Another, whose experience ranges from PBS to MSNCB to HBO, cut a film that won a CINE Prize and the Chris Award, after he graduated from the #1 documentary program in America. He also worked on a documentary that won a “Best of” award at Sundance. A third editor worked with acclaimed director Joe Berlinger on the blockbuster documentary Crude. Here at New Doc Editing, credentials are a given, so I…

December 3, 2016

There’s a movement afoot. And it’s changing the way social issue documentaries are conceived. One of the visionary directors whose film we are editing recently turned me on to the Solutions Journalism Network. I was excited to read their motto, “Journalism can be so much more than just gloom and doom.” So can your social issue or investigative documentary. Representing 67 news organizations, this innovate network supports and connects journalists who are interested in “rigorous reporting about how people are responding to problems.” Their tagline, “reimagining the news,” is the newsroom counterpart to the call for reinventing documentaries that I…

November 30, 2016

Today I’m giving away module #7 of my 12-part series The Ultimate Guide to Structuring Your Documentary. Download it for free here: newdocediting.com/ultimateguide/7week7uqw.mov You’ll learn tips for writing narration (even if it’s text on screen) and structuring your documentary’s first act. Get all my online seminars for $297 at: newdocediting.com/products        

November 28, 2016

I want to share a personal story, but first this: December 2nd is the deadline to submit to two prestigious festivals: AFI Silverdocs and the Los Angeles Film Festival. Recently I had the opportunity to show an excerpt of my own work-in-progress at a tribute for my film’s 86-year-old subject, Barbara Marx Hubbard. I was excited because this group represented my core audience, and I would have a chance to generate a buzz for the film. As I contemplated showing the first ten minutes of my fine cut, I realized that it would not contain one of the film’s most…

November 23, 2016

In the spirit of gratitude for visionary filmmakers, I’m offering half-price on our all our documentary seminars for the next 48 hours: newdocediting.com/products I’ve been so blessed to work with hundreds of passionate, talented filmmakers who are changing the world one insightful film at a time. Thank you, my creative tribe.

November 20, 2016

I want to share a Kickstarter campaign from one of the talented directors with whom I’ve worked, Tom Meadmore, because it’s a stellar example of charismatic pitching: www.kickstarter.com/projects You’ll see that Tom’s Kickstarter video (which at 4 minutes is a tad long) sandwiches his trailer between two personal appearances. The first of these two direct-camera addresses is particularly compelling. And it’s not just his charming British accent. Tom has a talent, which he’s worked at, for addressing the camera in a way that’s friendly, disarming, and informative. If you have that knack yourself, use Tom’s delivery as a model to…