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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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Documentary Editing Tip #12: The Forgotten 2nd Act Climax
March 24, 2015
It’s a common mistake that I see time and again. Filmmakers editing a three-act documentary fail to include a second act climax. The result? A film that looses momentum three-quarters of the way through, lulling viewers to sleep before the final rally. Ideally, each act in the three-act structure ends with the highest emotional moment in the film thus far. Imagine a timeline with three arcs representing three acts. Now, delete the second arc’s peak. What’s left? A peak at the 25% mark, representing the emotional spike of the first act climax, followed by a long, slow ascent to the…
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Documentary Editing Tip 11: Essay Climax
March 18, 2015
How can you end an essay-style documentary with a big climactic feeling? I’ll give you five ideas, but first…our Inner Circle program for documentary filmmakers has been moved to April 13th. Learn more at: Inner Circle 9.0 In our last editing tip, we looked at how to construct a climax scene for a character-driven documentary. Today, we’ll examine five tried and true ways you can end your film with a splash. First, you can conclude by presenting your most damning piece of evidence. Ramp up to the anecdote or the statistic that cements the thesis statement you’ve been arguing throughout…
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Inner Circle Documentary Program Extended
March 15, 2015
I hope you’re enjoying the Spring! I’m going to Joshua Tree National Park to delight in the wildflowers. Our Inner Circle 9.0 program has been extended to April 13th. Since our last program was such a success, we’ll be repeating our Filmmaker’s workshop in San Francisco. And I’ll pay up to $400 for your plane ticket to get here! There is no better program that I know of, short of a university film program, in which to structure your documentary over three months. Here’s what our recent Inner Circle member Roddy Maclean, an accomplished filmmaker, has to say: “The Mastermind…
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Free Footage Critique
March 6, 2015
The Sundance Documentary Fund recently announced its 2015 Application is now open, so I’m offering a free footage critique to the first five filmmakers to get back to me. Here’s how it works: Email me a link to your work-in-progress (fundraising trailers are OK). I will critique up to five minutes, so please specify which section you want me to review: karen@newdocediting.com Then we’ll schedule time for a phone chat about what’s working well and suggestions for improvement.
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