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Submit Your Best Cut to Sundance
September 17, 2015
Are you submitting to Sundance this year? Here at New Doc Editing, we are fine-tuning a stirring biography that we’ve been editing in time for next week’s late submission deadline. If you are looking for help to submit your best possible cut, email me today to talk about our three story consulting packages. We’ll discuss the best option for you to perfect your rough cut or fine cut in time for this important festival deadline. Last year, director Chad Gracia took advantage of this opportunity, and we worked hard to improve his film’s inciting incident. The result? The Russian Woodpecker…
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Free 20-Minute Documentary Consultation
September 14, 2015
I am currently offering select filmmakers a free 20-minute phone consultation about their documentary. If you are considering the guidance of a story consultant or a talented editor who can execute your vision, please email me. I’m pleased to say that several of the documentaries we’ve recently worked on are reaching mainstream audiences at HBO, PBS, and top film festivals such as Telluride (see Tyrus, this month). In 2014, two of these films were nominated for an Emmy Award. In 2015, another documentary, The Russian Woodpecker won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. Assessing whether your film is right for…
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Editing Tip 14: What Happened, Miss Simone?
September 7, 2015
I hope all is going well with your film projects. Big congrats to our story consulting client Pamela Tom, whose documentary Tyrus Wong: Brushstrokes in Hollywood is premiering at the Telluride Film Festival! Another director with whom I am working recently faced a classic editing problem. His rough cut’s introduction started with a news report. Although gripping, the news report would have immediately introduced the viewer to someone else’s editorial voice, not the director’s own. Today’s editing tip solves the problem of opening your film with someone else’s footage. Does your current rough cut open with a news report, a…
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Talented Editor Available
September 3, 2015
As the summer comes to a close, I hope all is going well with your projects. Here at New Doc Editing, we’re wrapping up a terrific biography of an African leader. If you foresee needing an editor, please contact me today because one of our chief editors will be available. We are looking for the next inspiring documentary to help craft. Our editors have great track records, working on projects that screen at prestigious venues such as PBS, Bravo and the Toronto International Film Festival. Talented and fast, the editor who is coming available is also a really nice guy.…
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Esalen Inspirational Film Festival Starts Sunday
April 16, 2015
Thanks to the many filmmakers who applied to our Inner Circle program, which has sold out. Every year the prestigious Esalen Institute brings together filmmakers, educators, activists, and film buffs to watch and talk about films that empower and enrich the human spirit. This year I’m honored to present about transformational documentary filmmaking on Tuesday, April 21st. Let me know if you are coming! Learn more at: Esalen Transformational Filmmaking Festival Please let me know if you will be at the Esalen festival so we can connect! Here’s a brief synopsis of my presentation: “Traditional ways of making social issue…
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Last Day to Join Accomplished Filmmakers
April 12, 2015
Tomorrow is the final day to register for our New Doc Inner Circle program. Here’s what our Inner Circle member Tom Duncan has to say about his experience: “I was at a crossroads and close to hanging it up. The Inner Circle program was a very economical solution to identifying and tearing down the walls that held back my project. Without Karen’s analysis of my footage and the courage to create, I wouldn’t be watching a tangible assembly cut today. THAT’s a remarkable accomplishment for me and I owe my deepest gratitude.” Join our supportive group of accomplished filmmakers at:…
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The Myth of Post Production
April 9, 2015
Applying to Sundance for funding? I’ve got two tips. First though, I’m offering the one remaining spot in our upcoming Inner Circle for $2600 (rather than $3979). You will receive two story consultations rather then three. Email me immediately if you are interested because this final, discounted spot will go quickly: karen@newdocediting.com Tip #1, which is straight off the Sundance Documentary Fund website, is to wait until you have the best submission clip possibly to submit. Their new Rolling Open Call initiative (now open) allows you to submit as late as August, 2015. If you can significantly improve your cut…
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Filmmaking Can Be Lonely
April 7, 2015
Filmmaking can be a lonely process. Having taught at a top-ranked documentary program at UC Berkeley, I know how isolating it can be without peer support. That’s why I’m extending the Early Bird deadline … to allow more filmmakers to register for our New Doc Inner Circle program. Here’s what our recent Inner Circle member Jo Nemoyten says: “Making a documentary can be very isolating so knowing there are others out there with the same kinds of problems and a willingness to find solutions together is extremely valuable. The Inner Circle gave me so many things – a real storyline…
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Documentary Editing Tip #13: The Detractor
April 4, 2015
I’ve finally discovered a stellar example of a documentary that makes ample use of a detractor. What’s a detractor? The equivalent of the bad guy–only for an essay, rather than a story. Essay-style documentaries often lack the emotional appeal of a character-driven quest. One way to bring emotional drama to your dry essay is through the clash of ideas. Use a detractor to assail your film’s thesis statement. Barry Ptolemy’s “Transcendent Man” examines the ideas of futurist Ray Kurzweil, advocate of the approaching acceleration of artificial intelligence known as “the Singularity”. While Ptolemy allows his subject ample screen time to…
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Early Bird Deadline for Documentary Program
March 31, 2015
Today is the Early Bird deadline for registering for our New Doc Inner Circle program. If you want to make significant progress on your film, join the ranks of our award-winning filmmaker alumni. Check out what Judy Kohn says about how the Inner Circle helped structure their award-winning film “Uranium Drive-In”: “We needed help with our story and structure for our next film, and another filmmaker recommended Karen Everett and New Doc Editing. We’ve learned an incredible amount about story structure that will help us shape our rough cut!” Register today at: Inner Circle 9.0
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