Grab Your Documentary Audience in the First Five Minutes

The first five minutes of your documentary is crucial. Programmers and audiences are making make-or-break judgments about your film within that very limited timeframe, and you need to make the most of it. What does it take to grab your audience from the very beginning and keep them riveted? Are you effectively establishing the who what and where of what your documentary is about?

This workshop will look at several documentaries that engage the audience from the get-go and break down why it works successfully through analysis and discussion. We will talk about what you can do to make sure you get and keep your audience until the very end.

Participants are encouraged, though not required, to share their own completed films or works in progress so that we can look at the first five minutes together and offer constructive, seasoned and professional feedback during class time. This can be done by sharing a link to your work in the registration process here, or via email to the instructor at andrea@docsinprogress.org