Master Class: Creating a Docuseries with Liz Garbus (WHAT HAPPENED MISS SIMONE?) and Dan Cogan (ICARUS)
About this Master Class
Master Classes are in-depth, interactive learning experiences focused on craft and career building and led by renowned industry experts. Topics include fiction and documentary filmmaking, TV writing and production, and navigating and succeeding in the entertainment industry.
Docuseries are an increasingly popular format to craft and develop a story that does not fit within the boundaries of a feature documentary. However, to make a docuseries work, filmmakers must take many creative and financial factors into consideration. In this three-hour Master Class, gain insights from award-winning director Liz Garbus (What Happened Miss Simone?) and producer Dan Cogan (Icarus, Won’t You be My Neighbor?), who share their insights on how to create a compelling and engaging docuseries from both the creative and business perspective.
Resources:
Download the list of resources from Liz Garbus, Dan Cogan and Sundance Co//ab
Topics covered include:
00:00 - Welcome and Introductions from Sundance Co//ab
05:15 - Introductions From Liz and Dan
06:50 - Framing the Docuseries
12:15 - Determining If a Story Will Work as a Limited Series
40:00 - Q&A
49:38 - How Do You Get the Audience to Keep Coming Back?
1:03 - Q&A
1:09 - How a Docuseries Differs From a Documentary Feature
1:27 - Q&A
1:40 - An Analysis of the Current Marketplace
2:02 - Q&A
2:07 - Strategies for Successfully Pitching a Project
2:32 - Returnable Series vs. Limited Series
2:43 - Q&A
2:51 - Closing Remarks
Master ClassTeam
Liz Garbus
Instructor
Two-time Academy Award®-Nominee, two-time Emmy Winner, Peabody Winner, Grammy Nominee, DGA Nominee, and BAFTA-nominated director Liz Garbus is one of America’s most celebrated filmmakers, renowned for her documentary work and also for her breakthrough scripted debut. Her work has been featured in film festivals from Sundance to Telluride to Toronto and the New York Film festival and has appeared in theatres and across streaming platforms as well as premium cable television, and she is known for her propulsive, socially incisive storytelling across genres. From THE FARM: ANGOLA USA to WHAT HAPPENED, MISS SIMONE? to I’LL BE GONE IN THE DARK, Garbus has created some of the most important documentaries of our time.
Garbus’ latest film, ALL IN: THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY, premiered at the New York Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, drive-in screenings, in theaters and digitally on Amazon Prime Video in September 2020. Her series I'LL BE GONE IN THE DARK premiered on HBO in June 2020. Her narrative feature debut, LOST GIRLS, premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2020 and was released on Netflix and in theaters in March 2020. THE FOURTH ESTATE, for Showtime, was nominated for a 2018 Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. Her 2015 feature, Sundance opener, WHAT HAPPENED, MISS SIMONE?, a Netflix original, was nominated for a 2016 Oscar for Best Documentary Feature and took home the Emmy Award for Best Documentary or Nonfiction Special.
Other credits include: THE INNOCENCE FILES (Netflix, 2020), WHO KILLED GARRETT PHILLIPS? (HBO, 2019), THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH AUNT DIANE (HBO, 2011), THE FARM: ANGOLA, USA (AA nominee, 1998), and many others.
Dan Cogan
Instructor
Dan Cogan is one of the most prominent non-fiction producers working today. Both an Academy Award®- and Emmy Award®-winner, Dan founded Story Syndicate with Liz Garbus in 2019. Previously, Dan was the founding Executive Director of Impact Partners. He has produced more than 100 films and series, including ICARUS, which won the 2018 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?, which won the 2019 Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary, THE COVE, which won the 2010 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and THE APOLLO, which won the 2020 Emmy for Outstanding Documentary.