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Documentary Trends
Integral Filmmaking Trend, Part 2
October 28, 2018
News flash: I have a brilliant editor coming available in November, so let me know if you’re entering post! Big thanks to the many filmmakers who responded to my blog about the trend in integral documentaries. As I described in Integral Filmmaking Trend, Part 1, this emerging movement calls for directors to recognize stages of human development and think from multiple worldviews. For example, an integrally-minded director might try to understand the level of moral development of a dictator, as in The Act of Killing, directed by Joshua Oppenheimer. Another great example is At the Dragon’s Gate, a yet unreleased…
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Integral Filmmaking Trend Part 1
July 10, 2018
There’s a new trend emerging on the horizon of documentary filmmaking. First, a look back. Four years ago, I sent out a call for more solution-oriented, transformational documentaries. That trend is now visible! And a newer movement is nascent. In 2017, the NEA’s report from the Documentary Sustainability Summit called for a more “open and solution-oriented” approach to filmmaking. Elevating the conversation, said IDA director Simon Kilmurry, would “build a stronger documentary field that not only survives but thrives”. Films like Godwatch, Searching for Sugarman, and An Inconvenient Sequel are solution-oriented, social issue documentaries that leave viewers feeling inspired rather…
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New Developments in Storytelling
May 24, 2018
Since my teaching days at UC Berkeley, my innovative work in applying screenwriting principles to documentary film has evolved. Initially Hollywood gurus like Robert McKee (Story) and Syd Field (The Screenwriter’s Workbook) informed my process of tailoring the three-act structure to make documentaries more dramatic. But in a day when the big news from Cannes is that 82 women are calling for gender equality, I’m happy to report there are female fiction script consultants who are revolutionizing our understanding of story! These include Dara Marks (Inside Story), Kim Hudson (The Virgin’s Promise), and Carol S. Pearson (Persephone Rising). I love…
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Documentary Trends and Kind Encouragement
April 29, 2018
I love writing this newsletter about documentary trends. I also impart post-production advice, kindly encourage filmmakers, and occasionally offer our story consulting and editing services. If you appreciate this newsletter, please share this email with two fellow filmmakers. They can subscribe here and also get a free copy of my acclaimed book Documentary Editing (which sells for $27). In case you missed some recent newsletters that helped out other filmmakers, check out: Stages of Post-Production Guide Trend in Positive Documentaries Five Ways to Create an Inciting Incident Editing Film with Multiple Protagonists Overcoming Filmmaking Cynicism This just in, from a…
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Animation Becoming Popular Documentary Solution
April 19, 2018
At Sundance in 2007, I witnessed filmmaker Brett Morgan rock the festival with rotoscoping scenes that were edited with courtroom transcripts, read by actors. In the past decade, animation has become a popular part of the documentary filmmaker’s palette. In our own Accelerated Post program, we’ve been editing three documentaries that use animation to solve common problems: illustrating past events that weren’t filmed, and evoking inner or altered states, such as dreams and hallucinations. To visualize historical events, Matej Silecky’s Baba Babee Skazala and Mimi Malayan’s The Stateless Diplomat: Diana Apcar’s Life employ beautiful, hand-drawn animations–artfully edited with talking heads.…
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