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Documentary Editing is a Marathon, Not a Sprint
April 11, 2023
My subject line is a direct quote from the Alliance of Documentary Editors (ADE). ADE is a terrific organization born out of the tension between Reality TV and other Hollywood show producers–who expect that non-fiction editors can cut as quickly as editors on scripted films. But they can’t. Why? “Because the documentary editor is also writing and shaping the story, the edit schedule for documentaries is necessarily much longer than reality TV or fiction,” says the ADE. How much longer? For an average documentary, a good rule of thumb for scheduling is “1 month of editing per 10 minutes of…
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New Tips for Logging Quickly
March 16, 2023
I’m releasing a new tutorial on how to log footage quickly and edit more efficiently. You can download our Log Quickly Tutorial here. Be sure to check out our recommendation for logging verite footage; it’s at 7 minutes. This one tip alone will save you days of logging! Also, if you’re on the fence about ordering transcripts for your interviews, watch this entertaining example at 1 minute and then decide. This 15-minute tutorial attracted fans when included in a recent webinar hosted by From the Heart Productions. “It was OUTSTANDING!” said director Connie Bottinelli, “I’ve been to many editing webinars,…
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Editors’ Storytelling Quiz
February 28, 2023
We recently welcomed aboard a talented new employee. To be hired, he had to pass a quiz that I designed for hiring editors. Listen in on the Editor’s Storytelling Quiz, as my senior editor quizzes our prospective hire about documentary structure for character-driven films. I hope you’ll learn some dramatic principles that can help tell your own non-fiction, cinematic story!
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Listen to Webinar – Save Money Editing Your Film
February 6, 2023
Earlier this week I did a webinar with 500+ participants which you can listen to here: Saving Money Editing Your Film Thank you to our host Carole Dean for making this link available. At the end of the webinar, I gave out a link to free resources about editing. But many of you had problems getting to the download page. I discovered that’s because you’re already on my newsletter list! So, I’m giving out the link to useful editing instructions such as how to edit a trailer and how to direct a character-driven documentary. Download here. Enjoy!
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Join Our Webinar on Affordable Ways to Edit Your Film
January 30, 2023
Join me and film funding expert Carole Dean on January 31st as we address the predicament of funding post-production. Saving Money Editing Your Film is a free webinar that reveals a new approach to editing. Lower your post-production costs by more than 60%. When: Tuesday, January 31st at 10am PT Register now using this link: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwkceuupj0tH9xhAcYlIg5v8CTPLX4ST23a *Everyone who registers will receive a recording of the webinar.
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Webinar: Saving Money Editing Your Film
January 19, 2023
You’ll want to budget nine months to edit a 90-minute feature, says the Alliance for Documentary Editors. That’s $140,000 using Editor’s Guild wages, putting the cost of a traditional edit out of reach for many filmmakers. Join me and film funding expert Carole Dean on January 31st as we address this predicament. Saving Money Editing Your Film promises to be our best webinar yet! Learn a revolutionary approach that lowers the cost of editing by 76%. How do you expedite logging? Find the right editor? And quickly get to the heart of what needs to be said? When: Tuesday, January…
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The Importance of Editing While Filming
June 28, 2022
Last week I spoke with Carole Dean’s Intentional Filmmaking class about story structure. One student’s question was especially common and perplexing, so I’ll answer it here. The title of her film-in-progress is lovely: “Last Night A Hair Cut Saved My Life.” “When filming a long- form observational documentary,” asked director Roxanne Dalton, “where you follow one major character for a period of roughly a year, is it a good idea to begin cutting rough sequences together as the year progresses? Or is it better to simply log the footage and generate transcripts as you go, and let these inform the shooting process?”…
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Webinar Recording of “Editing for Conferences”
January 28, 2022
Several filmmakers voiced their appreciation for our recent webinar on how to screen your documentary at a conference (and get paid for it!) Watch the recording here of Editing for Conferences: Your Fundraising Secret Weapon. My co-host Keith Ochwat (Show&Tell) explains how to make deals with conferences that want to show your film. Then around 28:30, see my presentation on how to edit a feature doc into a 15-20 minute conference cut. I walk you through 2 approaches, using 2 examples from contemporary documentaries. Enjoy!
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Documentary Funding Workshop is April 15
April 13, 2021
What do Google, Grub Hub, 23&Me, and the American Psychiatric Foundation have in common? They wrote checks to support documentary filmmakers, on topics ranging from female chefs to disability rights. At Editing for Fundraising, you’ll learn how to edit and repurpose your film footage into the most effective lengths for fundraising. These editing techniques also apply to editing a feature film into a TV hour. RSVP for this special online event here!
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How To Kill Your Darlings
March 25, 2021
Quick announcement: Join our free interactive workshop “Editing for Fundraising”. Learn more here. I’ve often said that documentary directors are brave, taking on virtuous projects with few resources. But braver still are editors. They not only have to “write” the film in the edit. They have to courageously kill the darlings (of the director). To sharpen the cutter’s sword, here are three criteria. They draw of what master editor Susan Korda calls “the critical ability to surrender” those beloved scenes, characters, and soundbites. First, kill off repetition. In a documentary featuring six protagonists (too many for the viewers to follow),…
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