Some misguided directors think the message of “see how awful it is” will spur audiences into actionable awareness. But viewers can get paralyzed by bad news. Thankfully, when co-producers Shannon and Patricio Cohn asked me for a story consultation, they already had a name for this problem: “suffering fatigue”. Below the Belt (2022) is a well-directed, verite-style documentary. It follows four women seeking treatment for endometriosis, a painful chronic condition. In Act Three of their f...
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Some misguided directors think the message of “see how awful it is” will spur audiences into actionable awareness. But viewers can get paralyzed by bad news. Thankfully, when co-producers Shannon and Patricio Cohn asked me for a story consultation, they already had a name for this problem: “suffering fatigue”. Below the Belt (2022) is a well-directed, verite-style documentary. It follows four women seeking treatment for endometriosis, a painful chronic condition. In Act Three of their f...
Ep #1 - From Hero To Tyrant: Editing Character Transformation
The Art of Documentary Storytelling
34 minutes
3 years ago
Ep #1 - From Hero To Tyrant: Editing Character Transformation
In this story consultation, we restructure the rough cut of the innovative documentary "10 Questions for Henry Ford". Founder of the Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford makes a complex protagonist. I guided the director to edit Ford’s character transformation: from a popular American hero, to an anti-Semitic tyrant, to a ghost who finds redemption. Be sure to check out this episode’s emotional conclusion! Working with director Andy Kirshner was a dream. A professor at the University of Michigan,...
The Art of Documentary Storytelling
Some misguided directors think the message of “see how awful it is” will spur audiences into actionable awareness. But viewers can get paralyzed by bad news. Thankfully, when co-producers Shannon and Patricio Cohn asked me for a story consultation, they already had a name for this problem: “suffering fatigue”. Below the Belt (2022) is a well-directed, verite-style documentary. It follows four women seeking treatment for endometriosis, a painful chronic condition. In Act Three of their f...
