How to Edit a Documentary Film

Summary

Mark Johansson, a documentary director and editor, discusses the process of creating a 'text edit' for documentaries. A text edit involves transcribing interview dialogues into text and using quotes to shape the story, offering simplicity, clarity, and flexibility in the editing process. This technique allows for easy identification of story gaps, facilitates new perspectives, and can be done anywhere, enhancing creative thinking. Johansson explains how he uses tools like Rev for transcription and organizes quotes by themes and speakers. The method has transformed his workflow, making it faster and more agile, leading to stronger, more focused documentaries.

Takeaways

• 😀 Text editing is a method where you transcribe your interview footage into text to create a loose structure of your documentary.
• 😀 It helps you focus on the story before adding elements like music and visuals, giving you clarity and simplicity in the editing process.
• 😀 Text editing allows you to identify the emotional highs, lows, and story arcs of your film before diving into complex edits.
• 😀 By transcribing and organizing interviews, you gain a better understanding of your footage and its potential for storytelling.
• 😀 The technique helps you identify unnecessary scenes and fluff, ensuring your documentary stays concise and engaging.
• 😀 Text editing can lead to new perspectives and ideas, helping you refine your story by revisiting interviews and discovering overlooked themes.
• 😀 The process is flexible and can be done anywhere, even on your phone, allowing for creative breakthroughs in different environments.
• 😀 Using digital tools like Rev for transcription can save time and offer features such as speaker identification and time coding.
• 😀 Organizing transcriptions by themes and speakers helps you quickly find relevant quotes and build a structured narrative.
• 😀 Text editing provides an agile approach to editing, allowing you to quickly shuffle and adjust story elements without worrying about visuals or effects.
• 😀 The iterative process of text editing helps uncover missing elements in your story, giving you a roadmap for additional interviews or restructured scenes.

Q & A

What is the main concept of text editing in documentary filmmaking?

Text editing is a process where all interview dialogue is transcribed into text, and quotes are used to create a loose edit of the documentary. It's similar to a detailed storyboard but focused on the story structure using only the interviews and dialogue.

Why should filmmakers consider using text editing for their documentaries?

Text editing simplifies the storytelling process by focusing on the narrative structure before worrying about visuals or music. It helps identify themes, ideas, and holes in the story, making it easier to decide if additional interviews or changes are needed.

How does text editing help filmmakers develop new perspectives on their story?

Text editing forces filmmakers to revisit interviews in a calm, detailed way, leading to the discovery of new themes and ideas that might not have been noticed during the filming process. This can help reshape the narrative and strengthen the story.

What are the advantages of text editing over traditional editing methods?

Text editing allows for a simpler and more agile approach, as it focuses solely on the story's dialogue and structure. This method makes it easier to spot unnecessary footage, identify story gaps, and refine the narrative without being distracted by visuals or music.

What tools can be used to create a text edit, and why are they useful?

Tools like transcription software (e.g., Rev) and organizational platforms (e.g., digital bins, color coding) are useful because they help transcribe interviews, organize the dialogue by themes or speakers, and make it easier to find specific quotes for the text edit. These tools streamline the process and increase efficiency.

How do transcription software like Rev enhance the text editing process?

Rev provides features such as speaker identification, time-coded transcriptions, and easy exporting of quotes. These features make it easier to organize and highlight quotes from interviews, which is especially helpful when assembling a text edit.

How does using a text edit help in creating a strong story arc?

A text edit helps shape the story by organizing interview quotes according to predefined beats (e.g., the 'Save the Cat' beat sheet). This allows filmmakers to ensure that the documentary has emotional highs and lows, character vulnerability, and a coherent narrative arc.

What is the 'Save the Cat' beat sheet, and how does it apply to documentaries?

The 'Save the Cat' beat sheet is a screenwriting structure used to guide story development. It outlines specific narrative beats that help shape a compelling story. While originally designed for fiction, it can be applied to documentaries to ensure a well-structured narrative.

How does the text editing process help identify missing elements in a documentary?

By organizing interview quotes into the structure of the documentary, filmmakers can quickly spot areas with too much or too little content. This helps identify narrative gaps, whether it's the lack of specific quotes or entire beats that need more exploration, prompting further interviews or reshaping the narrative.

What are the key benefits of being able to work on text edits anywhere?

Being able to work on text edits from anywhere allows for greater flexibility and creativity. Filmmakers can engage with the material during moments of downtime, leading to unexpected insights and ideas. This flexibility also enables quick refinements to the story structure without being tied to an editing setup.