I have so much subject matter I want to cover with people, but this particular series of workshops became about helping several filmmakers, each of whom had a great idea for a film. I've seen so many people have great ideas for films, go off and shoot LITERALLY hundreds of hours of footage, then come to me with out a thought of what their film is about, asking me to make them a great film that will say what they want to say.
SO - this workshop has been a way to work with filmmakers to enable them to work through their ideas, their approaches, to find the frame work for creating a documentary film that WILL WORK! It is more than breaking down the synopsis, finding the transformation, discovering the structure. It is finding that magical moment that exist in the best documentaries that make them great - that moment when you realize "Unknown White Male" is about more than a guy with amnesia, that "Times of Harvey Milk" is about more than Harvey Milk and the struggle for gay rights. It's that moment we have come to call in class, "The Kitty Hawk Moment" when the film takes flight. That is what this workshop is about - knowing what you need to know BEFORE you start shooting to have what you need to create that moment within your documentary - because that is what it is all about. Don't you think?
I'd love to hear your posts about what you think that moment has been in your favorite films - please let me know!
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