"The really important difference with Initialize and other consultants is that they are deeply involved in your project and offer many new insights. This gives a huge amount of confidence and helps the author to open widely, creating more craft and depth in your project."
Peter Woditsch, Documentary Filmmaker (Secret Museums - ARTE), Brussels.

Who is it for?

The course is for documentary filmmakers, development executives and producers who who are working on a feature documentary and who want personalised coaching as they develop their project as a treatment or in the edit.

How does it work?

The course consists of 8 x 2 hour seminars held over an 8-week period.

Each week a feature documentary is analysed to provide participants with narrative strategies which they can apply to their own projects.

The seminars will look at the following areas:

• Common narrative strategies used in feature docs
• Establishing the setting - introducing the story
• Establishing main "character"
• Relationship between character, character goals and obstacles
• Using expectation and surprise to keep audience interest (1)
• Using expectation and surprise to keep audience interest (2)
• Developing themes and ensuring thematic unity
• Sequencing

During the course several documentary films will be referred to including Capturing the Friedmans, Paradise Lost, Etre et Avoir, Fahrenheit 9/1, Kurt and Courtney.

The course is limited to 6 participants.

Price

The course fee is £ 195. The fee includes all materials and light refreshments.

Course leader

The course will be led by Initialize Director, Ian Davies. Ian is a development consultant on feature film projects and feature-length documentary projects. He also teaches screenwriting at several leading academic institutions, including Oxford University, and advises several film funds on development and production fund awards.

When?

Click here for dates of the next course.

Applications

For a registration form click here

For more information on training and project development programmes click on the links below:

Screenwriters
Producers
Documentary Filmmakers and Documentary Producers

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