Problem with the Inciting Incident

I’m pleased to release an excerpt from my seminar “Editing the Character Driven Documentary” that shows how to craft a riveting film open.

This tutorial, taught live at the San Francisco Film Society, will help you structure your film’s first act in a way that hooks viewers with an inciting incident.

What’s an inciting incident? It’s a catalyzing event that sets your main character off on a quest. For example, a medical diagnosis often leads to a quest to heal.

Hollywood has a rule that the inciting incident is so important to your protagonist’s quest that it must unfold visually on screen.

That’s fine for screenwriters.

The problem that we documentary filmmakers face is that by the time we have an idea for a film, the inciting incident has already happened. And no one was around to film it.

How do we get this important catalyst event on screen visually?

This seminar excerpt reveals several creative options. You can download it here, or watch it on You Tube.