Documentary Storytelling and Scriptwriting 101 Essentials – Daniel Raim

Documentary Storytelling and Scriptwriting 101 Essentials Information

Crafting Your Documentary Story

Are you staring at a blank white page and/or hours of raw footage with NO CLUE what to do next?

Do you have an amazing story but struggling with how to structure all the elements into a compelling film?

Are you overwhelmed with all the elements of your story and having trouble keeping your audience engaged on a deep level?

Whether you’re just starting out on your documentary journey or in the final stages, making a deeply emotional connection with your audience is THE critical element in the making of your film. It’s EVERYTHING.

About This Course

The goal of this course is to help you find clarity with your story and provide a clear framework for how to weave it together in a compelling and emotional way that will move audiences.

You get a step by step workflow to help you organize all your footage, interviews and ideas into a structured, cohesive and compelling film.

You get an easy-to-follow roadmap for tackling every aspect of conceiving, scripting, shooting, and assembling your documentary.

Perhaps most important, this course will show you how to find the heart of the story that is waiting to be told – a story that will emerge as you develop your film.

To help clarify the concepts taught in the course, you’ll have exclusive access to a case study of the making of HAROLD AND LILLIAN (Zeitgeist Films), including a step by step tutorial from the instructor on how he built the documentary script from scratch, plus access to view and download the complete full-length script.

Here’s what you’ll learn

• How to organize all the scattered pieces of your story into a cohesive and engaging narrative
• Powerful storytelling techniques to keep your audience glued to the screen
• How to break down your film into a series of 8-12 sequences to create a compelling story arc
• How to properly format your script and the best scriptwriting software
• How to weave together your story beats (soundbites), scenes and sequences to create a compelling narrative
• How to use dramatic conflict to create emotion within the audience
• The core concepts of storytelling and how to use cinematic techniques to create greater impact
• All the steps laid out to complete your film!

About Author

Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Daniel Raim attended the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. Raim is known for his documentaries about overlooked artists of Hollywood’s Golden Age, including “The Man on Lincoln’s Nose,” nominated for the 2001 Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short Subject. Raim’s 2015 doc “Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story” premiered as an Official Selection of the Cannes Film Festival, was nominated for The Golden Eye (L’Œil d’or, le prix du documentaire – Cannes) and got distribution on Netflix.

In addition to his theatrical films, Daniel has written, produced, and directed 28 original documentaries for the Criterion Collection about cinema masters, including John Cassavetes, Buster Keaton, Andrei Tarkovsky, and Kelly Reichardt. In 2019, Raim directed and produced ​the TCM feature documentary “Image Makers: The Adventures of America’s Pioneer Cinematographers.” In Spring of 2022, Daniel’s brand new Jeff Goldblum-narrated documentary feature, “Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen,” had its theatrical release through Zeitgeist Films in association with Kino Lorber and is now streaming on Paramount+. Follow Daniel’s work at DanielRaim.com

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