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The Latest Innovation in Documentary Filmmaking
April 21, 2012
You’ve heard of crowd-funding. How about cloud filmmaking? Leading the latest innovation to sweep the documentary world, Tiffany Shlain and her team at The Moxie Institute have developed a new way of creating collaborative films she’s calling Cloud Filmmaking, and it’s getting high profile treatment at the Tribeca Film Festival this week. But first…if you are interested in joining my six-month program for documentary filmmakers, please let me know today. The Inner Circle has been attracting many talented filmmakers lately, and the last two circles sold out. You can still get the early-bird registration savings. Go to: https://newdocediting.com/land/innercircle So…what is…
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Early Bird Deadline Is Tomorrow
April 18, 2012
Does your documentary speak beyond the choir? Before I explain how to keep skeptics watching your film, and why your documentary needs a “detractor“, first an important announcement: The early-bird deadline to register for the Inner Circle and save money is tomorrow, Friday, April 20th. Please contact me if you are interested in joining this 6-month program. We’ve been attracting several very talented filmmakers lately, as well as some passionate, emerging filmmakers! Learn more at: https://newdocediting.com/land/innercircle Now back to reaching beyond the choir. How do you keep skeptics watching your film? Give them a credible spokesperson. Not a straw man…
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The Most Positive Filmmaker I’ve Ever Met
April 14, 2012
Larry Shogbamimu was the most positive filmmaker I’d ever met in my Inner Circle program. So I began my second story consultation with Larry by thanking him for how supportive and cheerful he’d been with his accountability partners and on every Mastermind call. Little did I know that Larry was about to launch into a tirade of anger. He reported that after years of trying to get an interview with his film’s protagonist, the governor of a Nigerian state, he’d been stonewalled once again by a corrupt public relations official, who didn’t want to see Larry’s documentary made and wouldn’t…
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Shaking the Documentary Money Tree
April 11, 2012
I recently had lunch with the guru of documentary fundraising, Morrie Warshawski, who shared a story that could change your fundraising strategy. Before I reveal his insider advice, I want to announce that my upcoming Inner Circle begins April 30, 2012. If you need guidance crafting your documentary, the Inner Circle is a great way to structure your film with big savings off my normal story consulting fees. Learn more at: newdocediting.com/land/innercircle Also, in my last newsletter I shared a glowing testimonial about the Inner Circle and mistakenly attributed it to Tom Parker, rather than Tom Duncan. My apologies to…
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New Inner Circle Begins April 30th
April 4, 2012
I’m excited to announce that my new Inner Circle 6.0 program begins April 30th! The Inner Circle has become an extremely popular program, helping dozens of filmmakers achieve their vision. Last night, I held a special joint Mastermind Call with Inner Circles 4.0 (now ending) and 5.0 (ongoing). I was so happy to hear about their progress. With the group’s advice and support, one member had gotten an interview with an important government official that he’d been trying to get for years. Several other members of my recently ending Inner Circle 4.0 emailed me after the call to say how…
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Cut Until It Bleeds
March 22, 2012
I’m headed to Hawaii to meet with an Inner Circle client and to have some fun! Meanwhile, I wanted to leave you with one of my popular blogs last year, which will help you in editing your documentary. Here it is: I recently heard a PBS producer use the phrase “cut until it bleeds” to refer to the often painful post-production process. If you’re editing a documentary, chances are you’ve already begun cutting out some treasured sound bites and scenes. Good for you. In my opinion, ninety percent of documentaries that make it to a film festival could use another…
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Talented Documentary Editor Available
March 14, 2012
We currently have a talented editor available. Just yesterday he finished a riveting feature-length documentary being looked at by HBO. If you foresee needing an editor, please contact me. Choosing the right editor is an important, albeit time-consuming process. The stakes are high and you can spend a lot of effort vetting potential candidates. The good news is that I’ve already done a great deal of your due diligence for you. I’ve screened dozens of applicants and then trained a few talented editors in my story-telling expertise. Here’s why you might want to work with a New Doc Editing editor:…
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Best Documentary Links
March 2, 2012
Here are the corrected links from yesterday’s newsletter. Thanks for your patience! To listen to the inspiring NPR interview with the “Undefeated” directors who won Best Documentary Oscar, go to: http://www.npr.org/2012/02/15/146948697/undefeated-a-tale-of-football-teams-struggles To get my popular online seminar “Editing the Character-Driven Documentary” for half-price, go to: https://newdocediting.com/land/editingdocumentaryecourse/ Your price is $97, saving $100 of the normal $197 price. The sale ends in 48 hours.
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Why Character Driven Documentary Won Oscar
March 1, 2012
I wasn’t surprised when “Undefeated” won Sunday’s Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Although I haven’t seen this character-driven documentary yet, I heard the directors talk on NPR about how they persisted in gaining enough trust to build a narrative arc over time. Check out the inspiring NPR West report (link below). You’ll hear excerpts from the documentary, as well as what it took for directors Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin to film 500 hours, including a great climax scene, during the nine months they embedded in Memphis: http://www.wbur.org/npr/147216621/underdog-football-team-shines-in-undefeated Quick correction: Last week, I mentioned attending a wonderful story conference…
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Telling The Great Transition Story
February 21, 2012
The landscape of documentary filmmaking is shifting. For four decades, the bulk of American documentaries have focused on social issue films that documented societal problems. We needed these films. They include “Fahrenheit 9/11”, “The Corporation” and “Inside Job”. But now a new type of documentary is emerging. What is it? The emerging stories confront some of the same issues — environmental destruction, social injustice, and economic ruin — with hopeful ideas rather than doomsday scenarios. According to Duane Elgin, one of the most inspiring speakers at the recent StoryCon2 Conference in LA, “great transition stories” are emerging in both narrative…
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