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Free Video for “Thinking Outside the Doc Box” Event
February 18, 2010
I’m excited to share with you the video of a packed documentary seminar sponsored by the San Francisco Film Society last week. This seminar breaks the myth that funders, especially ITVS, are only seeking character-driven documentaries. But much more than giving filmmakers permission to “Think Outside the Doc Box”, the seminar also presented several innovative ideas to spark your thinking for your own documentary projects. Access the video, as well as other free resources, here: https://newdocediting.com/documentaryinnovation/ No matter where you are in production on your film, it’s never too late to start thinking outside the documentary conventions. Strong, innovative ideas…
Read More...The Comeback of Spoken Narration
February 17, 2010
I recently spoke at an event in San Francisco aimed at getting documentary filmmakers to “Think Outside the Doc Box”. I invited the audience members to consider common documentary conventions, such as narration, and ask themselves, “How could I turn this convention on its head?”. Spoken narration has fallen out of favor in the last decade or so because filmmakers are loathe to invoke the so-called “voice of God”, an omniscient, authoritative male voice of exposition. This traditional convention has largely been replaced by title cards to deliver necessary information. However, I predict that spoken narration will make a comeback,…
Read More...Advice to Filmmakers: Reverse Engineer Your Psychobabble
February 16, 2010
I had the pleasure of having a former psychotherapist in my recent weekend seminar, “Structuring the Character Driven Documentary”. When we began our story focusing exercises, he was picked to be the guinea pig. One of the documentary story exercises involves filling out three simple sentences, which provide the skeletal backbone for acts one, two and three. For example, the first sentence reads, “When _____ happens, _______ (the protagonist) wants ___________. The idea is to try to pinpoint act one’s inciting incident, protagonist, and quest. For the film “Man on Wire”, for example, the sentence might read “When he sees…
Read More...Why “8: The Mormon Proposition” Inspired Me
February 11, 2010
I saw a documentary at the Sundance Film Festival that disturbed and ultimately inspired me. Reed Cohen’s “8: The Mormon Proposition” investigates the Mormon Church’s hidden activist involvement in California’s “Yes on 8” campaign, which would only allow a man and a woman to marry. What disturbed me was the film’s tone, which pointed the finger at Mormons (understandably so) but without the degree of compassion for which I was hoping. This gets personal for me. As some of you may know, I am bisexual and have made several documentaries about and for the gay community. What you may not…
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The Power of Focused Titles in Biographical Documentaries
February 10, 2010
There were more biographical documentaries at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival than I’ve ever noticed before. I counted five biopics among the 16 films in the U.S. documentary competition. The problem with many biopics that never make it to broadcast, and the genius of those that do, often comes down to how skillfully the documentary focuses on the key events in a person’s life. Rather than trying to chronicle every seemingly significant event in the lifespan of your subject, consider focusing on a few key events that shape your subject’s character, define their overarching quest in life, and portray their…
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When to Include Your Personal Story in Your Documentary
February 9, 2010
I have worked with many filmmakers who wrestle with this question, “Should I include my own story in my documentary film?” Given how difficult it is to raise money for personal docs (I know, having I’ve made three of them), your decision should take into account these important questions. First, are you related to the subject of the film, and are they famous? These may sound like crass questions, but this sub-genre of personal documentaries made by the relatives (usually children) of famous people has emerged in the last decade as a powerful way of shedding light on the personal…
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Best Length for Documentary Films
February 4, 2010
How long should your documentary be? I get this question a lot in my work as an editor and story consultant. Frankly, I think the majority of documentaries that were not shaped by experienced editor, story consultant or a supervising executive at a broadcast outlet such as HBO or Showtime are too long. And the problem with “too long”, of course, is that your audience begins to glaze over or feel restless, and you, my dear director, have lost the opportunity to leave them wanting more. So how long should a documentary be? As long as it needs to be.…
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J-school alumni from UC Berkeley at Sundance
February 3, 2010
This year’s Sundance film Festival has been one of the most rewarding for me because of the participation of a number of outstanding J-school alumni from UC Berkeley, where I teach editing. Arriving into the Salt Lake City airport, I ran into Pete Nicks, director of the upcoming documentary feature “The Waiting Room”. Pete (class of ’91) invited me to share a ride to Park City, and I got to hear a preview of his presentation on a panel about film and Web 3.0. “The Waiting Room”, a film about uninsured patients in urban hospitals, is at the vanguard of…
Read More...What’s New at Sundance
February 2, 2010
I’d love to hear from others Sundance trekkers found new, innovative, and possibly trendy in the documentary world. A few things caught my eye. First, I learned about the emerging field of online virtual cinematography called “machinima”, showcased brilliantly in Jason Spingarn-Koff’s delightful “Life 2.0” about Second Life. I saw my first “live” documentary, in which director Sam Green narrated in person his “Utopia In Four Movements”. The music was live too. And the observational footage in the Afghan war zone was remarkable and perhaps unparalleled, giving “Restrepo” the Grand Jury Prize. Looking at the list of award-winning documentaries, as…
Read More...Antarctica
January 26, 2010
Endurance Inspired way back in 2000 by the Sundance Film Festival’s premiere of The Endurance, I finally visited Antarctica, where I heroically stripped down to my bathing suit and took a dip in icy waters. (No, this is not a rant about global warming.) To be honest, the beach had a natural hot springs flowing into the ocean, thus making the task bearable and undermining my bragging rights. If you haven’t seen the story of Shackleton’s legendary voyage, rent it to be entertained by a powerful example of a character-driven documentary. To my point: I need a volunteer to help…
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