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New Guide Provides Focus for Documentary Filmmakers
September 28, 2010
Last week I announced the release of the new version of “The Ultimate Guide to Structuring Your Documentary,” which sold out when I first offered it in May. There are 4 days left to take advantage of my new guide for documentary filmmakers at a thirty percent discount. If you’re wondering if this online seminar is for you, ask yourself: Do I have trouble staying focused on making my documentary? Do I feel uncertain about what direction the film should take? Am I having trouble making decisions about what and who to include in this film, and how to order…
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September 22, 2010
Last week’s blog generated so much interest that I am offering a new version of my popular program, The Ultimate Guide to Structuring Your Documentary. As you may know, I teach editing at the top documentary program in the world (according to Documentary Magazine) and I’ve helped hundreds of filmmakers in my story consulting practice. I’ve put everything I know into The Ultimate Guide to Structuring Your Documentary, a 12-week home study course that I first offered last Spring. Back then, I limited enrollment to 30 filmmakers to ensure that the live group coaching calls were manageable. The course sold…
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Declaring Your Documentary’s Central Thesis
September 14, 2010
Have you ever watched a documentary that meandered so much you wondered if the filmmaker was on her own little acid trip? Most of the topic-based documentaries that are showcased at the big festivals, screened theatrically and/or broadcast on television (“Supersize Me”, “Religulous” and “Who Killed The Electric Car?”) don’t suffer from a meandering structure. But if you’ve ever been to smaller, more niched film festivals, you’ve probably run into a documentary plagued with a chaotic approach to its topic. And the problem often stems from the director having failed to identify and declare the film’s central thesis. The central…
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Eat, Pray, Launch Your Documentary
September 7, 2010
In my Inner Circle this week, we were discussing how real life doesn’t always neatly fit into the classic three-act structure that works so well in fiction. Since members of my documentary coaching circle are all familiar with my online courses in adapting documentaries to classic narrative structure, we took our discussion a step further. We explored what I call the “double boost inciting incident”, as illustrated in the recently released narrative film “Eat, Pray, Love”. Since the discussion was so interesting, I want to share with you what this technique is and how to use it. Before I do,…
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Is Your Documentary Film Green?
August 24, 2010
Ever wonder if making your documentary is causing damage to the environment? Probably not, is my guess. We filmmakers have enough to worry about! Frankly, I never worried about polluting the environment when making my five films. But a recent UCLA study exposed the film and television industry as the third biggest polluter in Los Angeles. Yes, but I’m not a Hollywood production, you might be thinking. Well… the green movement in independent documentary filmmaking is the focus of an interesting new documentary, “Greenlit”, by filmmaker Miranda Bailey. And the Independent Magazine has a great article this month on tips…
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Narrative Arc in “Fierce Light” Documentary Trailer
August 17, 2010
One of my clients turned me on to a compelling trailer for a new documentary, “Fierce Light”. I was intrigued by the film’s tagline-“where spirit means action”–and even more so by the trailer’s simple technique for setting up the film’s narrative arc. The filmmaker, Velcrow Ripper, who is also the film’s protagonist, uses words in his narration straight from narrative bibles like “Story” by Robert McKee and “The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers” by Christopher Vogler. Ripper says he “set out” on both a geographical and internal “quest” to combine activism with spirituality. While these words are classic (and…
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Working With a Story Consultant
August 11, 2010
I get several inquiries a week about my services, so I want to share a recent client experience to give you an idea of how I work as a story consultant. As an award-winning editor and teacher at the nation’s top documentary program (at UC Berkeley), I love to share my expertise with committed documentary filmmakers who are making a difference in the world. And of the hundreds of filmmakers I’ve been able to help in the last 15 years, a number of them have been funded enough to hire my services over the course of their filmmaking, or at…
Read More...Documentary Circle Begins August 17th
August 4, 2010
As my successful program The Ultimate Guide to Structuring Your Documentary comes to a completion, I’m excited to begin my new Inner Circle for documentary filmmakers on August 17th! I still have a few openings for this unique coaching circle for committed filmmakers. You’ll get in-depth story consultations over several cuts, one-on-one instruction and peer support. Find out more at and register at: https://newdocediting.com/land/innercircle/ And feel free to email me for more information. I look forward to working with passionate filmmakers who want to make a difference in the world!
Read More...When Is Your Documentary’s Rough Cut Done?
July 27, 2010
One of my students recently asked a question about documentary structure that made me laugh, and I wanted to share it with you. “I am spending a large amount of time making lists of feedback and potential ideas, and endlessly reorganizing the lists,” she said. “I get a cut done, and then I take it apart, re-do it a little, and get a thousand new ideas. Isn’t there always a better idea, a more exciting scene, a new possibility for structuring things?” Yes, it can certainly feel that way! I’ve spent too much time on my early films spinning my…
Read More...Crafting Motifs in Documentary Films
July 20, 2010
I just saw an enjoyable documentary biography, “Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work”, which made use of a great motif…a datebook! Before explaining how you can use a motif, let me first mention that I have (at the time of this writing) two slots left in my new coaching program. You can find out more about the New Doc Inner Circle, which runs August 2010 to January 2011 at: https://newdocediting.com/land/innercircle/ Now…what exactly is a motif? And why would you want to edit one into a documentary film? You’ve probably heard of the word “motif” in terms of novels or other…
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