Five-Act Documentary Blueprint

The pocket-sized roadmap that turns “we have too much footage” into “we have a film.”

Too many times I've hit “record” and end up with hours of footage but no clear line connecting it all. Interviews pull in ten directions, facts fight for attention, and the first edit feels like stitching a quilt in the dark. The Five-Act Documentary Blueprint turns that chaos into a straight path: five simple stages, each with plain-English prompts that show what belongs where and what can safely be trimmed.

I originally sketched this framework to rescue my own projects—one sheet of boxes that forced every scene to prove its worth. The change was instant: meetings got shorter, rough cuts got cleaner, and deadlines stopped feeling like cliffs. If it could shift my workflow that much, I figured it might do the same for anyone else wrestling too many clips and too much insider knowledge.

Now it’s a polished PDF you can print, tape above your edit station, and fill in with a pen or sticky notes. Drop your scenes into the right act, see the gaps at a glance, and let the structure guide you from first hook to final payoff—so your mission story lands the impact it deserves.

Why this saves you weeks

• Cuts the “we know too much” problem in half. The boxes force you to decide what must stay and what can go.
• Works in pre-production and post. Map your scenes before you shoot, or lay finished clips onto the grid to find the spine.
• Team alignment in minutes. Stick the page on the wall—if a scene doesn’t serve a box, it’s an easy cut.

Perfect for

• Brand/impact teams drowning in interviews, B-roll, and stats.
• Solo doc makers who need a partner that says, “Focus here.”
• Marketing leads who have a cause worth shouting about but zero time for another 40-page workbook.

How to use it

1. Print (the last page) or load the PDF on a tablet.
2. Fill one sentence per prompt (don’t overthink it).
3. Color-code your footage or script pages to the matching act.
4. Echo your opening beat in Act 5 (the sheet shows you how) so your ending feels earned.

Instant download. Lifetime updates included.
Grab the blueprint, banish analysis paralysis, and ship the story your mission deserves.

— Robin Danehav