Filmmaker’s Dark Night of the Soul

First, a quick announcement: I have a deeply experienced editor available soon. Email me if you’re interested.

And now for a bit of filmmaking psychology. In life, we can’t predict when a dark night of the soul will descend. But in documentary filmmaking, we can venture a good guess. Malaise often hits in early post-production.

Why? The exciting immediacy of principal photography has passed. Often, funds have been spent on filming. Exhaustion sets in.

And working alone to craft a film–especially if you’re an extrovert–can spiral into procrastination and even depression.

If you’re tired and out of cash, give yourself a break. You’re not alone.

In making my own six films, I always thought logging was the most overwhelming phase. But collaborating with experienced editors, I’ve learned techniques to log footage quickly.

And the best way I found to reboot my momentum was by bringing on new collaborators–whether a fellow story consultant where I taught at UC Berkeley, or my own staff editor.

Hiring talent is a unparalleled morale booster (and I’m an introvert)!

For filmmakers who currently lack a fully-funded budget for post, I’ve devised a schedule to accelerate editing into ten exciting, collaborative weeks. Check it out!