How A Story Consultant Saved Me, Part 1

I want to share with you a recent column from “The Edit Room”, which I write for SF360’s online documentary magazine.  This is part one, and I’ll post the next two parts in the next two days, about why hiring a story consultant is a great move for your documentary film. 

When I was editing Women in Love, my fifth documentary, I found myself eighteen months into the editing process staring at the computer screen, wondering if I needed another shot of caffeine.  I felt tired, having culled 240 hours of footage that I was in love with down to about 20 hours of sequences.  Although I had won awards for my documentary films in the past, this film about the chaotic love lives of seven thirty-something lesbians was testing the limits of my ability to a craft a cohesive narrative arc.  On top of that, it was a personal documentary.  As I recut scene after scene, the little voice inside dictated, “You’re dragging your butt!”  I knew the right thing to do was to turn the project over to a seasoned documentary editor.  Ego-wise, I was ready to do that.  The problem was that at the time, I didn’t have the $45,000 a good editor would require.  What to do?

That was five years ago.  The idea of hiring a story consultant, someone to come in and “doctor” your ailing film, was just gaining popularity in the documentary world.  (Hollywood producers have been using “story editors” for years on narrative films.)  I decided to ask the documentary editor I most respected and admired in the world, Deborah Hoffmann, to help me out.  She was too busy. I asked again two months later and she said yes.  We talked once a week, and she gave me feedback for my next cut. I quickly plowed through my assembly, rough cut, fine cut and locked picture.  Within seven weeks, I was done.  Women in Love got picked up for distribution, screened at more than fifty film festivals worldwide and is available on Netflix today.  How much did the story consulting process cost me?  About $4000.

If hiring a story consultant isn’t in your budget, I recommend my new online course, “Editing the Character-Driven Documentary” which will give you great structural insight into how to craft your documentary film for a fraction of the cost.  I’ve included all my best story consulting secrets in this 6-part e-course.
Go to https://newdocediting.com/land/editingdocumentaryecourse/.