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Educational Hot Spot for Documentary Filmmakers
December 21, 2010
In 2010, I added two comprehensive seminars to our e-course line up, making New Doc Editing the leading online educational hot spot for documentary filmmakers! As a holiday gift to yourself–or a fellow filmmaker–consider giving the gift of illumination. I’m grateful to have gotten terrific feedback this year about all our educational seminars. See below. Which of these courses is right for you (or a colleague), depending on the nature of your documentary and where you’re at in your film’s production timetable? Note that I offer a full money-back guarantee if you’re not happy for any reason: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE…
Read More...Seven Elements of a Story
December 15, 2010
Last week I attended a Tony Robbins conference called “Date With Destiny”. I used to make fun of Tony Robbins because I first saw his hyper-energetic act in the 1980’s on a tele-commercial, not the most flattering vehicle for his gifts, even by his own admission. I now know Robbins to be a passionate man with a big heart and an amazing ability to see what drives human behavior. During the seminar, he told the audience of 2000 people (who were there to transform their lives) that if they weren’t succeeding at something, it was due to their “story” about…
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“Connected” Got Accepted at Sundance!
December 7, 2010
Last week we received the thrilling news that one of the documentaries that I have been story consulting on for a year has been accepted at the Sundance Film Festival! We had to keep the news under wraps, but now I can proudly announce the Tiffany Shlain’s new feature documentary “Connected” will premiere at Sundance…and in the highly esteemed “competition” camp to boot! When I first began my story consulting business, I envisioned working on important films like “Connected,” documentaries that would change the world in a profound way. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with Shlain…
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Tonight’s Free Teleseminar on Documentary Rough Cuts
November 29, 2010
I’m looking forward to our free teleseminar tonight, November 29th! In “Secrets to Transforming Your Rough Cut”, I’ll be sharing strategies for taking your rough cut to the next level. If you want to learn more about how to edit music, structure suspense and add more visuals to a film that’s heavy on talking heads, be sure to register at: https://newdocediting.com/land/secrets-for-transforming-your-rough-cut/ The teleseminar is 5:30-6:00 p.m. PST. If you can’t make the time, we’ll send you the recording. Also be sure to check out my new “Story Doctoring Kit for Documentary Filmmakers”, a series of video tutorial and other tools…
Read More...November 22, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving! In the spirit of gratitude for the many opportunities I’ve had this year to help documentary filmmakers, I’m offering a free teleseminar next Monday evening. In “Secrets to Transforming Your Rough Cut”, you’ll learn how to pinpoint common structural and storytelling problems that plagued editors in post-production. More importantly, you’ll receive several innovative strategies for fixing these issues. For example, how can you… Manage emotional nuance with music? Add suspense to a slow section? Give a visual makeover to a documentary that’s heavy on talking heads? This content packed teleseminar will be recorded, in case you can’t make…
Read More...The Crowdfunding Success Summit
November 19, 2010
I am really excited to announce the upcoming online event, The Crowdfunding Success Summit which is taking place on December 5th, 2010. I think that Crowdfunding has emerged as one of the most exciting developments in Independent Filmmaking recently, but there seems to be a lot of confusion about which platform to choose and how to set up campaign parameters to ensure success. Many crowdfunding campaigns struggle to meet their dollar targets and it can be really frustrating for filmmakers to see the promise but not to reach the goal. The Summit is set up to help you break through…
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Can’t Afford a Story Consultant?
November 16, 2010
I just heard that the 2011 Sundance Film Festival has chosen New Doc Editing for its outreach table. So if you’re going, please drop by and say hi! I hear from a lot of filmmakers who would love to hire a story consultant, but who can’t afford the service at the moment. So I’ve created a way to help filmmakers who find themselves budget-challenged. Launched just last week, “The Story Doctoring Kit” is an online program that can help you solve your documentary’s biggest quandaries. If you’re puzzled by structural or storytelling problems, you’ll learn how to: Use cinematic language…
Read More...Announcing The Story Doctoring Kit
November 11, 2010
I’m thrilled to announce a new online program, “The Story Doctoring Kit,” which draws from twenty years experience helping documentary filmmakers craft exceptional films. Created specifically to guide filmmakers in transforming a clunky rough cut into an elegant locked picture, “The Story Doctoring Kit” allows you to become your film’s own story consultant. Priced at $77.97 (for early birds), “The Story Doctoring Kit” contains more than three and a half hours of video tutorials, as well as articles, worksheets and audio interviews that will help you: Craft emotionally compelling narration and a musical score Solve your film’s structural problems Implement…
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How Much Should I Charge?
November 9, 2010
I’ll be announcing my new online program for documentary filmmakers on Thursday! I’m excited, given the great feedback on my previous online seminars, to be introducing a brand new program. But first I’d like to get your input on what price to offer it at. I’ve created a new set of tools, including more than three and a half hours of video tutorials, to guide filmmakers who are in post-production. You’ll be able to use these videos, worksheets and case studies from more than forty award-winning documentaries to transform a messy rough cut into an elegant fine cut. Considering that…
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Pinpointing Your Film’s Frailties
November 6, 2010
I received some great questions this week from readers of this column that I’ll use as I finish my new documentary post-production guide. Stay tuned for the announcement next week. I’m very grateful for readers’ input because many of the problems that filmmakers face in post-production are universal, and the input will make this new program even more effective. To that end, I want to share a story that you may be able to relate to. One of my story consulting clients held a disastrous rough cut screening earlier this year. He had invited several filmmakers to watch his provocative…
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