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Structuring the Hybrid Documentary
April 23, 2013
There’s good news for those of you who don’t have the footage to sustain a character quest through three solid acts. My groundbreaking work on how to adapt documentary films to the three-act narrative structure has recently expanded to include guidance on how to craft the “hybrid documentary”. “Structuring the Hybrid Documentary” teaches you how to combine the best of the three-act structure with the essay-style structure. This new, 4-week seminar begins Monday, May 6th. You can participate in this live, virtual teleseminar from anywhere in the world, and each class is recorded so you can listen to it later.…
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New Documentary Seminar
April 22, 2013
You may be working on a documentary that doesn’t have a strong enough story to qualify as a legitimate three-act narrative, yet you want to maximize your characters’ appeal and drama. What do you do? Chances are your footage can be crafted into a hybrid documentary, an art form that borrows elements of the three-act structure and the classic essay form. An example of this kind of documentary is Werner Herzog’s “Grizzly Man”. Available on Netflix, this highly successful film explores ideas about how we humans connect with animals, while leveraging the story elements of his main character, Timothy Treadwell.…
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The State of Documentary Filmmaking
April 18, 2013
I’m pleased to announce a new documentary seminar that I think will help many of you who are concerned you don’t have a strong enough story arc. But first, this reassuring pronouncement from one of the biggest funders of documentary films: the state of documentary filmmaking today is extremely healthy and robust! That’s coming from veteran filmmaker Orlando Bagwell, who will soon be stepping down as a Program Officer for the Ford Foundation. If you’re making a documentary with a strong social justice theme, you should definitely be applying for the Ford Foundations “Just Films” initiative. Their goal is to…
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Crafting an Elegant Essay Documentary
April 13, 2013
First, a quick reminder: the sale on our most popular documentary seminars ends in 24 hours. Go to: https://newdocediting.com/products Having just seen a wonderful essay-style film (my story consulting client Katie Teague’s “Money and Life”), I want to share a free resource to help other filmmakers edit a filmic essay. If you are crafting an essay-style film—meaning you are structuring ideas rather than a hero’s journey–check out my popular blog on how to do this: https://newdocediting.com/editing_essay_documentary_film If you find this blog interesting, check out my online seminars (money-back guaranteed). Note that half of the content of “The Ultimate Guide to…
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Spring Sale on Documentary Seminars
April 9, 2013
Happy Spring! I’m proud to announce that my story consulting client Katie Teague is debuting her smart new documentary, “Money and Life”. One of the most inspiring films I’ve ever worked on, “Money and Life” is a terrific example of a well-crafted essay film. Katie and I worked hard to create a three-part essay structure that would easily segue from the history of money, to its current faulty system, to solutions for our future world economy. If you live in the Bay Area, you can catch the theatrical premiere at: http://mnlsf.brownpapertickets.com Whether you’re crafting an essay style film or a…
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Help Getting Your Film on HBO
April 2, 2013
I’m proud to announce that my story consulting client Steven Pressman’s documentary will premiere on HBO on Monday, April 8th! His film “50 Children: The Rescue Mission of Mr. and Mrs. Kraus” (masterfully edited by Ken Schneider) is an excellent representative of what I call the “New Documentary Movement”. These solution-oriented films inspire viewers about vexing issues. In this case, Steven tells the story of a couple who single-handedly decided to rescue children whose lives were endangered by the Holocaust, a powerful embodiment of the idea that “we are the ones we’ve been waiting for”. Steven benefited from my story…
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We Chose A New Film Title
February 14, 2013
I am happy to announce the new title of the documentary I am directing: “American Visionary: The Story of Barbara Marx Hubbard”. Thanks to everyone who weighed in on the film’s title. We selected this title because we strongly feel it will reach a wider audience than “Bold Mother Hubbard”. Our survey revealed that people who do not know Barbara preferred “American Visionary”. And we intend for this film to reach millions and spread Barbara’s message of hope! Tomorrow I fly to Boulder to film Barbara meeting with a large hub of people interested in conscious evolution. I am excited…
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Help Us Choose Film Title
February 6, 2013
We at New Doc Films would love your help choosing the best title for our documentary-in-progress, about the life and message of Barbara Marx Hubbard. Tentatively titled “Bold Mother Hubbard“, this film tells the story and message of a passionate 82-year-old woman with big ideas about how to create a better world. The film is aimed at people who don’t already know Barbara’s amazing story and will resonate to her hopeful message. Please give your input by answering this one-question survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KZRYWCM Thank you for your input! Also, we are currently inviting a special group of people to a fundraising…
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Great Example of Story Structure
February 2, 2013
I am thrilled to announce that my talented filmmaking client Tiffany Shlain, whose acclaimed film “Connected” many of you have been asking to see, is now available on iTunes beginning today! You can download the film here: http://connectedthefilm.com I highly recommend watching this film twice. First, for a purely enjoyable emotional and intellectual experience. Then watch it again and analyze the structure. I worked closely with Tiffany and her team to weave together two distinct documentary structures: the character-driven quest, and the essay. The result worked so well that after a Sundance world premiere, a theatrical release, 14 awards (including…
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Intentional Filmmaking Course
January 28, 2013
I’m happy to say that I’m the first filmmaker to register for Carole Dean’s new 9 month course, “Intentional Filmmaking“, which I highly, highly recommend, even for experienced filmmakers like myself. Carole, author of the best-selling “The Art of Film Funding” and “The Art of Manifesting”, is one the world’s leading consultants for helping documentary filmmakers get their projects funded and created. She’s also a great coach. As you may recall, I’ve been taking a break for a few months from my informative New Doc Editing newsletter to direct a new documentary, “Bold Mother Hubbard”. So I’m intending that this…
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