Keys to A Thrilling Third Act Climax

Many of the rough cuts I see suffer from a slow ending, and I’ve pinpointed criteria for picking up the pace.

This 27-minute video reveals the keys to editing a thrilling third act climax. It’s part 3 of a 6-module seminar, “Editing the Character-Driven Documentary”.

Originally sold for $197, this San Francisco Film Society seminar was filmed in 2010.  It contains case studies from award-winning documentaries that are still relevant to storytelling today. Seminar modules are delivered as digital files that you can download for free here.

This class received a number of glowing testimonials. Find three below:

“This class taught me how to structure a character-driven documentary, which is something that film classes at USC never taught me. It exceeded all my expectations.”
— David Rocha, Director

“This class was excellent and exactly what I was looking for. It was clear and concise with great filmic examples. I think any documentarian would benefit if they are looking to tell a more compelling story.”
— Ed Herzog, Director

“Karen’s class was a very informative and amazing course. My expectations were not only met, but exceeded. I would recommend this class solely on the basis of what you will come away with at the end, and that is a new way of thinking about documentaries in terms of structuring them.”
— Steven Armstrong, Director