The Biggest Mistake I’ve Made
The biggest mistake most filmmakers make — and I’ve seen this with hundreds of my story consulting clients — is that they become excited by a topic, interview several people and shoot passionately in search of a story, only to end up with hundreds of hours and still no viable story structure.
I’ve made this mistake myself–and not only on my first film!
On my fifth feature documentary, “Women in Love”, I had amassed 243 hours of footage. After two years of shooting, I was eager to begin editing. But even though I’ve won awards for my editing in the past, I couldn’t for the life of me fashion a dramatic story!
After six months in the edit room, I had whittled 243 hours down to four hours. But there was still no story.
Then I got lucky. I saw that world-renowned Hollywood screenwriting guru Robert McKee was coming to San Francisco with his acclaimed three-day workshop.
I had saved $4000 for post-production, and I spent 700 of that precious sum on McKee’s seminar. It was wonderful. I learned about the “inciting incident” that launches the protagonist’s quest. I learned how to structure a scene so that it ramped up dramatically from one emotional polarity to the opposite polarity. I learned the three criteria for a powerful film climax.
I returned to the edit room with a head full of ideas. But applying a dramatic structure to a film about real life was daunting. If I couldn’t concoct scenes like a screenwriter could, how can I meet the dramatic mandates of a three-act narrative structure?
Next, I took two inspired actions. The first made my film a festival-circuit success. The second change the course of my career.
First, I used my remaining $3300 and hired a story consultant, who helped me find my storyline (there were actually three) and polish a compelling character-driven documentary that screened at more than 50 film festivals. (Today you can watch “Women in Love” on Netflix).
Second, I spent two years studying hundreds of award-winning documentaries, interviewing the world’s best documentary film editors, and developing a system for applying screenwriting principles to films about real life.
I articulated that system in a cover article for a film magazine, then developed it into a weekend course, and then began a successful career helping hundreds of documentary filmmakers shape their mountain of footage into compelling feature length documentary films. In the last five months alone, our films have premiered at Sundance, SXSW and Hot Docs.
I truly believe my system for creating tightly-structured, dramatic documentaries is the best in the world. I don’t say this to brag, but to “let my light shine”, so to speak, so I can attract filmmakers who need my help.
If you’ve made the mistake of filming before you knew what your story was, you’re not alone.
The good news is that in most cases your footage can be salvaged and shaped into a compelling film.
I invite you to join my upcoming New Doc Inner Circle, a six-month coaching program for five special documentary filmmakers who are seeking guidance in structuring their films. The Inner Circle begins June 1st. Go to: https://newdocediting.com/land/innercircle/
You’ll find dozens of testimonials on my website, and I’ll share just one here, from a member of my current Inner Circle.
“Karen’s expert notes on my project were just what I needed. She helped me see that I could shoot a character-driven documentary, which is truly were the power is in storytelling. I look forward to every meeting with Karen and the Inner Circle!”
— Inner Circle member Jill Orschel, “Sister Wife”, Sundance Film Festival
Feel free to e-mail me if you want to talk more about how your project will benefit from my story consulting services and the Inner Circle.
