Nigel Bellis and Aaron Beelner.

I only met the talented actor Aaron Beelner once, but it was certainly memorable. He arrived on set that day with the energy and enthusiasm that makes actors like him a joy to work with, even for the grimmest of roles. His scene began with a pool game, where he played a character approached by two female admirers. The trio laughed and downed cocktails together in a smoky bar, the playful energy hinting at something more. When they finally left together, it seemed like a night of unbridled passion was about to unfold.

But, in a twist that took the story in a far darker direction, things didn’t go as planned for his character. Once outside, he was robbed, kidnapped, thrown into the trunk of their car, and driven to a desolate riverbank. There, his attackers stoned him to death, leaving him abandoned on the river’s edge. A truly chilling scene—and as shocking as it sounds, the story was inspired by a real-life murder case.

When you're producing true crime dramatizations, no director's course fully prepares you for scenes like this. In such moments, you find yourself partly relying on your DP, production heads, and their past experiences for guidance, especially when crafting intense physical altercations. You learn to navigate uncharted waters, deciding what to show and what to leave to the viewer’s imagination. In fact, there's an unwritten rule in true crime: the actual moment of death is rarely shown. Instead, the lead-up to that pivotal moment and the haunting aftermath tell the story without crossing a line, allowing viewers to fill in the blanks.

This aspect of dramatization—along with the many challenges directors face in telling murder stories—is something I explore in my new True Crime Skills online training course. Seasoned showrunners and directors join me to share their insights on the complexities of portraying true crime accurately yet respectfully. Together, we also dive into recent trends, like stylized slow-motion recreations and abstract visualizations. These cinematic techniques certainly look striking, but in my view, they sometimes break the connection between the actor and the viewer. Over the years, audiences have come to rely on that connection, even if the actors don’t closely resemble the real people they portray. Losing it, I believe, weakens the emotional impact.

Where are dramatizations headed? Will we continue with these stylized choices, or will new techniques arise, inspiring others to follow suit? There’s no doubt that emerging technology will play a significant role. For instance, AI could help generate unique scenes and dynamic camera angles otherwise impossible with a tight budget. And drones—now widely accessible—have revolutionized production by capturing stunning aerial shots or replacing Steadicam operators, allowing directors to achieve complex shots with relative ease.

Throughout True Crime Skills, top industry professionals weigh in on how the genre is evolving. Many, like myself, entered this world with little prior knowledge of true crime, which is partly why I dedicated a year to building this course. It’s designed to cover every aspect of the craft, from finding stories to pitching them, filing FOIAs, contacting families and law enforcement, field production, interview techniques, dramatization preparation, recreations, archive hunting, scripting, and more—over 30 topics in all. 

Anyone being hired for the first time as a Researcher, AP, Producer, or Writer, will now have a clear understanding of the roles and tasks that lie ahead.

The course is tailored for media students, true crime enthusiasts, and professionals looking to make the leap from other areas of TV. It's also a useful onboarding tool for true crime production companies. If you’re interested in learning more, I invite you to check it out at TrueCrimeSkills.com.

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