Is there a way to free yourself from the tyranny of endless choice that afflicts all documentary directors? Is there a way to increase the emotional drama of your films and also shoot much less material? And is there a way to make your proposal stand out from the thousands of others that flood the desks of funders? Yes there is.
“It was wonderful how my experience with Geoffrey changed not only the direction of my project, but also the way I work”. Maite Vitoria Daneris
Audiences today are craving authenticity because we live in an increasingly virtual world. They want to immerse themselves in the fascinating documentaries you can bring to them, and share in the magic you have lovingly drawn out from your real-life characters. But bringing that magic together into a compelling story is another challenge altogether, and this is where I can help you.
Over the last 10 years I have worked with hundreds of filmmakers to find the beating heart of their film story, and to draw the most clarity, emotion, and drama from it. As an experienced director I implicitly understand the thorny problems we all face, but thankfully we are not on our own in these battles.
Storytellers from time immemorial and across all cultures have used a series of universal story archetypes to help them gain clarity, build universal and emotionally driven narratives, and connect to the widest possible audience.
I can work with you at any stage right up to rough cut, but the sooner we discover together in one highly enjoyable session the story archetype that underpins your ideas and material, whatever the genre or style of your film, the sooner you will get real clarity about the way forward and save yourself a lot of time and money.
“When you’re up to your neck in a project and can’t see the wood for the trees, having someone like Geoffrey to turn to is immensely reassuring. He has made some great films, and thankfully, can help you make one too! I can’t recommend his services highly enough!” Nick Barkla
Story archetypes give you a basic roadmap and the key emotional tentpoles for your film. This means 4 powerful things;
– they enable you to look for and embrace narratives that are driven by emotion and psychology, rather than information or issues. These narratives will find the widest possible audiences as emotion is the universal language that we all share.
– they free you up from the tyranny of endless shooting choices because you will know the key emotional and narrative building blocks of your story before you pick up a camera. This basic road map shows you not only what to focus on, but crucially, what not to.
– shooting way fewer rushes will not only save you time and money, but they will all connect back to the archetypal narrative we have built from your characters and your vision as a director. If previous films left you feeling that you were trying to do a huge jigsaw puzzle without the picture on the box, you will now always have a very clear idea of where you are going!
“I loved my time with Geoffrey and came out of it with an infinitely clearer idea of the film I have to make”. Fernando Souza
– because you now understand from the inside out how your film is structured, you will really be able to pitch it with conviction and clarity. This transformation starts with a completely new synopsis that we write together, and which reflects the emotional narrative born from your chosen archetype, not a subject description full of information. This single change will give you a much better chance to attract funders as you are giving them what they really want; a universal and engaging film story about who is doing what and why.
“I wish I had Geoffrey early on in my story development phase! It would have saved me a lot of time and money in R&D on my feature documentary!“ Sunita Jariwala
Does all this sound too good to be true? Check out my Testimonials page and connect for a free introductory session to talk things through.