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Workflow
and Weaving the Story:
"Ten More Good Years"
Includes a Shortlist of Tips for Documentary Editing
by Jennifer Falk
Ever since I knew I wanted to become an editor, my dream was
to work on a documentary project. The idea of searching through
hours and hours and hours of footage looking for the best moments
that could be linked together to tell a touching and thought-provoking
story seemed not only a monumental challenge, but also a rewarding
one.
After seven years as a freelance editor, the opportunity presented
itself when I met Mike Jacoby, an independent documentary director/producer.
Mike showed me a teaser he had edited for his project. It was
called, �Ten More Good Years,� and it was about the struggle that
many LGBT seniors face, growing old and gay in America today.
He had been working on the project for over four years, traveling
the country interviewing subjects and experts on the topic. He
had over a hundred mini-DV tapes that were loaded onto a Final
Cut Pro editing system, with all of the tapes logged and transcribed.
Looking for an editor with experience, I was recruited for the
project.
Photo: Director Mike Jacoby. Documentary, "Ten More Good Years."
I couldn�t wait to get my hands on the footage. We met in October
of 2006. Mike needed to have a finished piece by March 2007. Because
of my work schedule, I could only devote weeknights and weekends
to the project. So I took his drive, brought it home, and got
started.
My first approach was to watch down the tapes and start pulling
the sound bytes that I thought would be useful � looking for similar
or dissimilar stories, struggles, emotions that could be used.
After about a month, I put a dent in the subject matter, but knew
that there was no way, at this pace (even working on it full time),
we could ever get to the finish line in time. So I expressed my
concerns to Mike about meeting his deadline � and we came up with
another plan. Since he knew the material, (and had made the transcriptions),
�why don�t we sit down and start putting the story together.�
This idea was really effective. With each of us being able to
use our talents to the fullest: Mike with his knowledge and passion
for the subject matter; and myself, efficiency on Final Cut Pro
and my storytelling skills.
The film looks at the subject matter as it pertains to the lives
of three males and one transgender person. We started the movie
introducing each one of these �characters� and some background
on their lives � their partners, occupations, being gay in a far
less tolerant society than today. These sections were supported
or connected together with sound bytes from various experts. Another
important section that was to be the peak or middle of the film
was the 2005 White House Conference on Aging. (A conference making
recommendations to the president and Congress to help guide national
aging policies). This was important, because what did or didn�t
happen at the conference would affect the lives of every aging
American.
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