Notes on organizing your film

Identifying Your Documentary’s Signature Style

Karen Everett    Sep 20, 2011    
Developing a style that sets your film apart is key to capturing audience attention in nonfiction.
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  • What’s So Bleeping Funny?!

    Karen Everett
    Aug 15, 2011

    Placing well-timed humor in a documentary film can be a great way to open minds.

  • Notes on Leveraging the Big Bash Climax

    Karen Everett
    Jul 27, 2011

    The planned "reversal" gives documentary filmmakers a means to build drama from otherwise anti-climactic moments.

  • We Want Answers

    Karen Everett
    Jun 14, 2011

    Asking the right questions is an art; a consultant speaks on how to conduct documentary interviews that will help structure your film.

  • New Approaches Embolden Doc Genre

    Karen Everett
    May 17, 2011

    Nonfiction filmmakers are re-engaging audiences with an entrepreneurial spirit and a focus on creative narrative strategy.

  • Nonfiction's Future Lies in Optimism

    Karen Everett
    Mar 15, 2011

    A new crop of filmmakers are building audiences by showing nonfiction doesn’t have to be depressing to reveal hard truths.

  • How to Fix Your Documentary's Structural Problems, Part Two

    Karen Everett
    Feb 1, 2011

    An expert offers advice on solving the issues rough-cut screenings raise.

  • How to Fix Your Documentary's Structural Problems, Part One

    Karen Everett
    Jan 4, 2011

    Rough-cut screenings can help you identify problems areas of your film—if you know how to listen.

  • Thinking Like a Screenwriter for your Documentary

    Karen Everett
    May 31, 2010

    Moving past genre distinctions may help some filmmakers find the best dramatic arc and the most powerful truths.

  • The Empathetic Storyteller

    Karen Everett
    Apr 6, 2010

    Beware of Save the Day My Way Syndrome. Now, learn from your mistakes.

  • Best Length for Documentary Films

    Karen Everett
    Feb 9, 2010

    How long should your documentary be? If your audience begins to glaze over or feel restless, you've lost the opportunity to leave them wanting more.

  • Best Practices For Naming Sequences

    Karen Everett
    Dec 30, 2009

    For handy access to your most valuable footage, here s a method of organizing sequences.

  • Sequence Names

    Karen Everett
    Dec 1, 2009

    The Edit Room: Karen Everett shares tips on how to track multiple versions of Final Cut Pro projects and sequences.

  • Organizing your bins effectively

    Karen Everett
    Sep 22, 2009

    The Edit Room: Learning how to organize saves you time and money in the editing process; a walk-through just how to do it.

  • How a Story Consultant Saved Me

    Karen Everett
    Aug 4, 2009

    The Edit Room: I knew the right thing to do was to turn the project over to an editor. The problem was that I didn't have the $45,000 a good editor would require.

  • Story Structures that Funders Love

    Karen Everett
    Jun 29, 2009

    The Edit Room: I decided to set my New Doc Editing research team on a mission to find out what structural models are getting funded these days.

  • Crafting an Elegant Essay Documentary

    Karen Everett
    May 4, 2009

    The Edit Room: How do you keep your audience engaged rather than putting them to sleep?

  • How to Rate Your Doc's Story Potential

    Karen Everett
    Mar 24, 2009

    A mini-tutorial on story structure: in a character-driven documentary there are a few simple questions you have to answer in order to vet your story potential.

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  • Nov 3, 2011
    Thursday

    Shoot Online: "Bodega Goes Bicoastal, Opens San Francisco Office Under Exec Producer/Partner Clint Goldman"

    "Bodega, a New York-based content creation/production company, has extended its reach Westward with the opening of a San Francisco shop headed by executive producer/partner Clint Goldman." More at shootonline.com.

  • Nov 1, 2011
    Tuesday

    Napa Register: "Napa Goes Big Right out of Film Fest"

    "After whetting local appetites through a successful soft launch last year, 91 films are now listed in the 2011 Napa Valley Film Festival program guide. Those films—many of them short—will be played on 12 screens throughout the Napa Valley, including screenings in Calistoga, Yountville, St. Helena and the city of Napa." More at napavalleyregister.com.

  • Nov 1, 2011
    Tuesday

    Daily News: "Animator John Lasseter to Recieve Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame"

    "John Lasseter, the chief creative officer of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, will receive the 2,453rd star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today," reports Daily News Wire Services. More at dailynews.com.

  • Oct 27, 2011
    Thursday

    Balboa Theatre Saved: SFNTF Partners With Gary Meyer to Keep Theatre Open

    Press release: The San Francisco Neighborhood Theater Foundation announced today that it is partnering with Gary Meyer to keep the City’s historic Balboa Theatre (1926) open and to develop a sustainable long-term plan for the theater. The Theater Foundation also announced it has reached an agreement to lease the theater through 2024—securing the future of one of San Francisco’s oldest operating cinemas. More at sfntf.org.

  • Oct 24, 2011
    Monday

    San Francisco Jewish Film Festival Announces New Executive Director

    Press release: The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival announced its new Executive Director: Lexi Leban, who begins working with the festival November 7, 2011. A longtime member of the Bay Area film community, Lexi has worked in all aspects of film, from production to distribution. She’s also worked with numerous film festivals, including the Mill Valley Film Festival, the San Francisco International Film Festival, and the Global Social Change Film Festival in Bali. Lexi is currently Academic Director of the Digital Filmmaking & Video Production Program at the Art Institute of California, where she built the department from its inception. Her most recent feature documentary, Girl Trouble, which follows young girls in San Francisco’s juvenile justice system, aired on PBS’s acclaimed series Independent Lens in January of 2006, and won Best Bay Area Documentary at the San Francisco International Film Festival. More at sfjff.org.


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Good Government<br />Producer Hilary Armstrong and director Sascha Rice were at San Francisco Film Society |... Artist in Residence<br />Uruguayan director Federico Veiroj, who arrived in San Francisco for a two week residen... Bienvenuti<br />Bingham Ray, executive director of SF Film Society, Fabrizio Marcelli, consul general o... Lolz<br />Guest programmer Jay Wertzler presented 'Anthropomorphlolz,' a collection of weird-cent... Opening Night Glitch<br />Director Eric Leiser used a canny hybrid live action/animation approach in ‘Glitch in t... A Guitar, a Drum and a Bat<br />One of the highlights of Cinema By the Bay was the live performance of a new score for ... Revealing the Price of Sex<br />Editor Stephanie Challberg, director Mimi Chakarova and cinematographer Adam Keker were... Sci-Fi Stuff<br />Director Sam Burbank, with SFFS programmer Audrey Chang, screened his debut narrative f... Filmmakers Feted<br />SFFS and San Francisco Film Commission hosted the Cinema By the Bay Filmmaker Services ... Let It Rain<br />Joshua Moore’s feature film directorial debut, 'I Think It’s Raining,' featuring a mesm... Vive La France<br />Denis Bisson, French cultural attaché, Rachel Rosen, San Francisco Film Society directo... Right On<br />Ling Woo Liu, director of the Korematsu Institute; Emil De Guzman of the San Francisco ... Pro-Labor, Pro-Pluto<br />Director Travis Wilkerson, right, with Sean Uyehara of San Francisco Film Society, was ... Under Suspicion<br />Reporters from the Center for Investigative Reporting presented video, audio and animat... Counting Crows<br />Kim Aubry of ZAP Zoetrope Aubry Productions and codirectors Kris Samuelson and John Hap... Legacy of Rin Tin Tin<br />Korey, a three-year-old German Shepard and his handler, Dez Murray, coordinator of dog ... The Awesome Eye<br />Local filmmaker Soumyaa Kapil Behrens (left) screened a compilation of films about ways... Docfest Turns Ten<br />Docfest celebrates its tenth year as one of the city's top independent film festivals a... Teachers Answer Back<br />Codirector/editor Brian McGinn (left) and producers Ninive Calegari and Dave Eggers off... Berlin is Back<br />Sophoan Sorn, festival director, and Sabine Erlenwein, festival president, presided at ...
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