Netflix Premiere + Character Transformation

First up: big congrats to my clients Josh and Rebecca Tickell for the Netflix premiere of Kiss the Ground! This dynamic duo embody our values here at New Doc Editing: inspiring, creative engagement with difficult problems.

It’s an environmental documentary “that will have you on the edge of your seat,” says actor Nikki Reed. “The beauty is in the solution-based approach.”

We also  recently developed a script for a very different kind of environmental documentary—one that featured a self-absorbed tiger cub who was about to undergo a big character change.

Part non-fiction and part scripted-animation, this hybrid children’s short allowed us to craft character transformation with the freedom a screenwriter wields, in four discrete steps.

In the beginning, the director had cast the tiger cub as sad and navel-gazing. We added a midpoint: a scene in which the cub shows the first sign of character transformation by turning her attention to an animal from an invasive species.

Then, through incremental behavioral changes in the second half of the film, the cub finally transforms into a caring friend who understands how eco-systems work.

We transformed an environmental lecture into an entertaining script!

What were those four steps again? First, name the transformation (for example, self-absorbed to caring).

Second, establish the initial trait (through dialogue and actions) in the First Act.

Third, identify and position the midpoint (first sign of behavioral change) in Act Two. In the second half of the film, show the character growing more and more into their new character trait (through incremental behavior change).

In the final act, call out the new trait with her declaration of change.

For examples of “declarations of change” from popular documentaries, watch this 2.5-minute video about the Protagonist’s Statement of Transformation.

And to learn more about structuring a narrative arc, download for free my seminar filmed live at the San Francisco Film Society: Editing the Character Driven Documentary (formerly $297).