I've edited over 120 hours of non-fiction television and documentaries. With strong storytelling and writing skills, as well as being a fast, flexible, and creative editor, I have been able to specialize in wearing multiple post-production hats simultaneously. I have been both editor and post-producer, as well as writer, on over 70 broadcast hours. For every project, I maximize the reality, the humor, the emotion or the drama, no matter what the genre.
From the perspective of show-runners, as a preditor my shows are always the problem-free ones. I especially relish helping a team correct course on fraught edit -- give me your problem child and I'll fix it.
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How can I help you?
Jennifer Beman
Editor, Preditor, Post-producer, Writer
SELECTED CREDITS
Call Me Dancer
Feature Doc
Documentary Editor
An intimate portrait of a young man growing up in Mumbai, and trying to make it in the world of dance against his family's wishes.
Shampaine Pictures
Secrets of the Zoo:
Tampa
Series
Preditor on 5 episodes
Animal husbandry series. I was preditor for three seasons.
National Geographic Wild
Kingdom of the
White Wolf
Up close and personal with a family of arctic wolves in the Canadian far north, filmed over the course of one brief summer. I edited and story-produced, and co-wrote narration on two episodes.
National Geographic Wild
Mini-Series
Editor/writer on 3 episodes
Alaska Animal Rescue
Three animal rehabilitation facilities in Alaska rescue wild animals and try to get them to a place where they can return to the wild. I was preditor on all three seasons.
National Geographic Wild
Series
Preditor on 5 episodes
Pristine Seas
These conservation documentaries each highlight one of the ocean's most pristine places in a race to preserve it unspoiled. Each stand-alone doc is 20 to 50 minutes and highlights the undersea life and the lives of the people that depend on it. As well as editing and post-producing, I also wrote the narration.
National Geographic Pristine Seas
Documentaries
Preditor/writer on 5 shows
Faultlines
An award-winning series from Al Jazeera, each half hour show goes beyond the headlines to examine the role of the US in the world. As editor and co-writer, I worked with producers to enhance story-telling techniques beyond a news reporting style.
Al Jazeera America
Series
Preditor/writer on 8 episodes
Shark Week
Specials
Preditor/writer on 3 shows
Each of these shark shows were astand-alone piece with their own challenges. Shark Clan was a problematic show shelved in the previous season that I re-cut and re-wrote. For "Ninja Sharks" I took 3 weak stories that were also abandoned from the previous season and re-packaged them into one show. The other was a freshly shot show with the usual sorts of problems. For all of them I edited, post-produced, and wrote narration.
Discovery Channel
Prohibition
The story of prohibition in America. Classic documentary-style with expert interviews, beautifully shot recreations, and archival material. I edited, post-produced, and wrote narration.
Smithsonian Channel
Two-Part Special
Preditor/writer on 2 episodes
Stories from the
Vaults
Series
Preditor/writer on 4 episodes
A fun two-season series with host Tom Cavenaugh, behind the scenes at the Smithsonian museums. I had a great time writing the narration in Tom's jokey style. I also produced, edited, and wrote the second season "best of" special, including conceptualizing and writing Tom's interstitial bits.
Smithsonian Channel
Nova: Becoming Human
How did we become what we are? This three-part Nova special explored the latest developments in our understanding of human evolution. I edited and wrote the narration, and also produced and directed one segment.
PBS
Series
Preditor/writer on 1 episode
of a three-part special
Crocodile King
Blue-chip natural history documentary about the life of a really big crocodile in Australia. It was a show in trouble when the dollar dropped to the Australian dollar and they couldn't afford to shoot everything they intended in tanks. They brought me in as a preditor/writer to salvage what material they had. It turned out pretty well, to everyone's surprise
National Geographic Channel
Documentary
Preditor and writer
North America: Top 10
Another salvage job. Discovery's big North America natural history series came up one show short after various problems. The idea was to fill out the package with a "best of" episode, with limited original footage from the main series, and mostly what I could dig up from Discovery archive. Another challenge was to match the series style with pop song montages, but only what I could find in the Discovery music library. The show did really well and all were pleased!
Discovery Channel
Series
Preditor and writer
American Heroes
Another salvage job. This show had been through a couple editors and was way over post-production allotted time and budget. I was brought in to fix it, and within three weeks it was going to online and everyone was happy with it.
National Geographic Channel
Series
Salvage editor and writer
Treasure Quest
Series
Preditor and writer on 2 episodes
A salvage vessel tries to bring up riches from ancient ship wrecks using the latest in remote submersible technology. These had a lot of footage to go through with many 10's of cameras all over the ship, and practically everyone mic'd. Post-producer, editor, and writer
Discovery Channel
Design for the
Other 90%
Series
Editor and writer on 2 episodes
A magazine format series shows how visionaries from around the world use design to solve problems and create a better future.
Smithsonian Channel
Nurses of Mercy
Series
Editor and writer on 2 episodes
A verite-style series that follows nurses in a busy Baltimore hospital
Discovery Channel
Additional Credits
PBS
A Peter Jennings Special Report, two Bill Moyers Special Reports, and a Frontline
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL
In addition to above, over twenty shows as editor, including 2 episodes of Treasure Seekers, one Explorer, one Inside:, three Croc Chronicles and a handful of natural history.
FOOD NETWORK
Invention Hunters. Preditor for this six-episode inventor-competition/reality series, including writing for and managing a second editor. Some other thing about snacks on the beach that I edited and wrote a couple episodes.
THE DISCOVERY CHANNEL/INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY/TLC
In addition to above, nineteen hours as editor including The Vanishing Women, four episodes of Evil Kin, three episodes of Iron & Fire, five hours of the Great Books series, including two as preditor, two hours of The Monastery, and preditor on Ghost town Gold and Modern Marvels.
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VARIOUS and SUNDRY
Sizzles for National Geographic, Half Yard Productions, and JWM Productions including Junkyard Empire (green lit) and American Pickers (green lit) as well as several other great ideas inexplicably not picked up. Also Maryland Public Television, Earthrights International, Hispanic Heritage Awards, Inter American Foundation, 48 Hour Film Project (writer, director, editor).
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MICHAEL MOORE
Oh, and a lifetime ago, I edited Michael Moore's first documentary, "Roger and Me," for which me and my co-editor, Wendey Stanzler, won the ACE Eddie for best editing.