Documentary Film Editing Consultancies
Rough Cut Sessions
In-Depth and Personalized Consultancy
Editing is the stage where all the work, passion, and power of a film crystallizes. Its outcome determines the distribution and the reach it will have with audiences. In our own films we have always relied on external editing consultancies that have allowed us to take the film further.
This consultancy seeks to review the cut in relation to the nature of the material, the director’s motivation, and the team’s priorities, in order to find the dramaturgy that allows building the most powerful film possible.
At Casatarántula we have accompanied multiple projects in development, production, editing, and distribution. Among them, we advised on the editing and designed the festival strategy of Nosotras, which had its world premiere at HotDocs, Canada.
Who It Is Aimed At
This consultancy is designed for directors and teams who have a cut at any stage —raw material, sequences, rough cut, fine cut— and are looking for a specialized external perspective to clarify the dramaturgy, resolve editing questions, and define the next steps.
It is also ideal for those who have filmed a great deal of material and are unsure whether they need to shoot more or what is worth filming. Having an external reading at that point is often decisive for regaining distance, seeing the project more clearly, and defining the next steps with certainty.
Would you like to discuss your project? Write us at labs@casatarantula.co
Methodology
Viewing and reading — before the session we watch the available material and, where relevant, read the key texts of the project.
Assessment of the current state — we analyze the edit, the questions, the inconsistencies, and the points where clarity is lacking.
Feedback — in a session of approximately two hours, we share precise observations on the cut, along with conceptual reflections and concrete editing references.
Recommendations — based on the dialogue, we propose specific exercises, methods, and tools as next steps to strengthen the dramaturgy, refine the point of view, define the characters’ arcs, and find the voice of the film.
Flexible and Without Long-Term Commitment
This consultancy does not imply a commitment to continuity. You can take one or several sessions, and move forward with us according to what the project needs at each moment.
In addition to supporting the edit, we can also advise the project in its broader dimension: festival strategy, financing, distribution, and promotion. For other consultancies, you can view the working model in Development Consultancies.
Consultants
Clare Weiskopf and Nicolás van Hemelryck, co-founders of Casatarantula and filmmakers with an extensive international career, personally accompany these consultancies.
Clare Weiskopf
Clare is a filmmaker and journalist. Her latest film ALIS (co-director and producer) won 30 international awards, including the Crystal Bear and the Teddy Award at the Berlinale. Her debut feature Amazona premiered at IDFA and was nominated for Best Ibero-American Film at the Goya Awards. As a journalist she has covered topics ranging from the armed conflict in Colombia to the global spread of cumbia music, and has twice won the Colombian National Journalism Award. She is a founding partner of Casatarantula and of the distribution and promotion agency DOCCO. She has been a tutor at CreaDoc-MiradasDoc (Spain) and an advisor for film funds such as the FDC and Ibermedia.
Nicolás van Hemelryck
Nicolás is a filmmaker, photographer, and architect (Magna Cum Laude). His latest film ALIS (co-director and producer) won 30 international awards, including the Crystal Bear and the Teddy Award at the Berlinale. His debut Amazona premiered at IDFA and was nominated for Best Ibero-American Film at the Goya Awards. As director of photography he was nominated for Best Cinematography at the Fénix Awards. He is co-founder of the Distribution and Promotion Agency DOCCO, PI-Association of Independent Film Producers of Colombia, and Casatarántula. He has been an advisor and professor at the EICTV (Cuba) and at the Producers’ Forum of FICCI, and a jury member for competitions such as HotDocs Cross Currents, IDFA Forum, IDARTES, and the FDC.
The joint work of Nicolás and Clare through Casatarantula has been supported by Sundance, Catapult, Ibermedia, IDFA Bertha Fund, Chicken & Egg, Tribeca, Señal Colombia, Harvard University, SCAM, SACEM, the Colombian Film Fund-Proimagenes, and the Romanian Film Center. Their films have been awarded at the Berlinale, Sheffield, Chicago, Turin, Guadalajara, Biarritz, DocsBarcelona, Lima, and Cartagena, and have won 4 awards from the Colombian Academy of Film (Macondo).
INVESTMENT
Prices per session
Individual session
$1.400.000 COP
$360 USD
2-session package
$2.650.000
$675
3-session package
$3.700.000
$950
This proposal applies to cuts of a maximum of 150 minutes. For longer durations, we can reach an agreement. Sessions can be in-person or virtual.
Do you have a cut and want to talk? Write to us at labs@casatarantula.co
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