Workshop: Setting the tone, making a point – Editing opening sequences

Event Information

Filmmaking Workshop 

The first few minutes or even seconds set the tone for any film. They can literally throw you out of your chair because the opener is mindblowing, and classic scriptwriting often is based on the idea that the first minutes should contain the idea of your movie in a nutshell. Also, openers can be a very strong statement about your content, your formal decisions, and your attitude – towards the topic of your film, towards societal questions, and also towards filmmaking issues – meta openers.

I would like to discuss several examples that I will bring and that I like because they make strong points, question established narratives, or raise doubts about filmmaking and reality. We will try to find out why they work, and how they work. And I would like the participants, if they want, to bring examples that they like – especially examples that are not so well known in the global northwestern film canon.

The participants are also invited to bring a project that they are currently editing, if they would like to have feedback on their opening. If anybody would like to use this opportunity, please contact me beforehand to discuss this part of the workshop in detail!

Workshop facilitated by Katharina Voß, TINT Filmkollektiv

Kat Voss works as freelance filmmaker, editor, teacher and sometimes assistant editor, and is a member of Berlin based TINT Filmkollektiv, a feminist filmmaking collective