Workshops
Sunday, Oct. 7th 2018
Time: 9:30am - 4:00pm
Schedule: All Workshops are listed below, please scroll down to see details, times and locations.
Location: AMC Theater Times Square
234 W42nd St. New York NY 10036
View our full festival schedule.
Learn from industry insiders and professionals during our Workshop series. All workshop information is announced below. All Workshops will be on Sunday, October 7th at the AMC Theater in Times Square. Please take note of the time your desired Workshop will be taking place and it's designated theater. Some information is still being announced, check back later for updates!
For Documentary Filmmakers:
Strategies For Success In Film Festivals & Contests
Time: 9:30 am to 11:00 am
Place: AMC Times Square, Theater 20
Host: Ithaca College
Presenter: Ben Crane
Film festivals can be great résumé-builders. Our workshop provides background on festivals, identifies some of the most prestigious competitions, and offers advice for developing a contest strategy. While the emphasis will be on documentary film and video, much of the content also applies to fiction film. Participants will be invited to carry out a strategy-building exercise involving their own films.
Ben Crane is a long-time faculty member of the Park School of Communications at Ithaca College, where he teaches courses in documentary and critical thinking. A mathematics graduate of the University of Michigan, he holds a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied Communication Arts and Journalism. As a producer, Dr. Crane has won many prizes, including the national Emmy Award for documentary, and is also a Peabody Award nominee. His work has been screened on the PBS network, and in venues such as Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. He’s especially proud of the success achieved by his students.
Dreams We Can Use
Time: 9:30 am to 11:00 am
Place: AMC Times Square, Theater 24
Host: Cornish College Of The Arts
Presenter: Lyall Bush
"I dreamed about the dimes," said David Lynch, "so I knew the scene had to be in the film." This is Lynch, in the new biography, Room to Dream, remembering a scene that he shot and eventually cut out of his first film, Eraserhead; it involved rows and rows of dimes that one of his characters finds as she is digging in the earth with her bare hands. In filmmaking, which often focuses on how parts of stories fit together, or must fit together, this Lynchian element of the un-fit and the misfit among parts is worth thinking about. How richly cinematic these buried parts of ourselves are, our dream life is -- maybe especially if what happens doesn't seem to make sense? In this workshop we will spend time writing new scenes from our unconscious material -- from dreams, automatic writing, glimmers. And, yes, you will come away with new texts and many new ideas. If you write your dreams down, bring one or more of these texts to the workshop with you.
Lyall Bush is a writer, teacher, producer, former executive director of Northwest Film Forum and Richard Hugo House and current Chair of Film at Cornish College of the Arts. He has published personal essays, feature essays, and stories for a variety of publications, including The Iowa Review, Film Comment, MovieMaker, The Seattle Times, The Stranger, and Cinema Studies Journal. His writing has been featured on NPR and as part of Bumbershoot, Seattle's music and arts festival. In 2006 he was selected by The Stranger as "One to Watch" in its annual "genius" awards.
The Shape of Your Stories
Time: 11:10 am to 12:40 pm
Place: AMC Times Square, Theater 20
Host: Drexel University
Presenter: Matthew J. Kaufhold
The choice for writers and directors used to be simple: Film or Television?
The formats were divided by technology, production models, and audience expectations. Those barriers have broken down and today, filmmakers can instead focus on the shape of their stories.
When a writer or director proposes a new idea or treatment, the questions begin: Is this a short film? Feature length? Fiction or non-fiction? Can it be episodic, and if so, is it long-form, a limited series, or a web series?
We know you have stories you want to tell. This lecture will explore how you tell them by examining the different shapes and formats today’s filmmakers are working in.
Matt Kaufhold has over 20 years experience in the film industry working as a director, producer, screenwriter, script consultant, and director of photography. He currently has two feature screenplays in development and has grant funding to produce a short film, THE SOUND OF WAVES, for which he also wrote the screenplay. Matt wrote the award-nominated short films, BLOCK and CUSTOMER SERVICE, which had a festival runs in 2016 and 2013, respectively, and which were produced by Three Professors Media, a production company co-founded by Matt. His background also includes commercial/industrial work for clients ranging from Frito-Lay to the Haverford Township Historical Society.
Program Director for Drexel University’s Screenwriting & Playwriting Program, Matt holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English and American Literature and Languages from Harvard College and a Master’s Degree in Radio, Television, and Motion Pictures from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He teaches classes in advanced screenwriting concepts for the Screenwriting & Playwriting Program, narrative video production for the Film & Video Program, and serves as a story development advisor for the Film & Video, Animation & Visual Effects, and Game Art & Production Programs.
Dr. Freelance or: How I Learned to Stop Sleeping and Love The Write-Offs
Time: 11:10 am to 12:40 pm
Place: AMC Times Square, Theater 24
Host: Point Park University
Presenter: Jonathan Trueblood
Freelance work is often the first way that an aspiring artist breaks into the industry. But how do you find work? How do you market yourself and present your work to those that will hire you? How much should you charge? When should you say no to a job? This workshop will discuss how to build your freelance career, including the advantages and disadvantages working for yourself and how to position yourself to be an asset for any studio or client.
Film As Visual Music
Time: 12:50 pm to 2:20 pm
Place: AMC Times Square, Theater 20
Host: Chapman University
Presenter: Michael Kowalski
Many filmmakers and critics have compared film to a form of visual music, with one commentator going as far as declaring that, “Film is the music of images in movement”. In this presentation we will explore how through the art of editing, the orchestration of shots, movies achieve this distinctive “musical” quality. In the process we will reveal how some filmmakers have applied this musical approach to enable their movies to achieve their greatest emotional and dramatic impact.
Michael Kowalski is a Professor and Associate Dean at the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University in Southern California where he has been teaching since 2000. He has a B.A. in Semiotics from the University of Pennsylvania and a M.A. in Visual Anthropology from the University of Southern California. His areas of specialization are documentary filmmaking and post-production audio. He continues to teach classes at the graduate level in editing and movie sound. He also works as a sound designer on documentaries and has done the complete sound design on such award-winning documentary films as “Lost in La Mancha,” “A Certain Kind of Death,” “Tell Them Who You Are,” “The Scene of the Crime,” and “The Bad Kids.”
Stunts, Fights, and Weapon Safety
Time: 12:50 pm to 2:20 pm
Place: AMC Times Square, Theater 24
Host: New York Film Academy
Presenter: Robert A. Aronowitz
Do actors really fight each other? Are those weapons sharp? How do we keep actors safe? If you want to know more about the ins and outs of utilizing stunts, fighting, and weapons into your films come check out this workshop. We’ll explore violence as a storytelling device and explain how some of your favorite television/film stars have pulled off amazing choreographic moments. No fight/stunt experience required.
Robert Aronowitz is a New York City based Certified Teacher of Stage Combat, Actor, Director, and Fight/Stunt Coordinator. He is an instructor at the New York Film Academy as well as a stunt coordinator/instructor for Hollywood Stunts NYC. He is a graduate of the University of Central Florida and has been studying Stage and Screen Combat since 2006. His studies have taken him all over the world and he is a proud member of both the Society of American Fight Directors and the British Academy of Stage and Screen Combat. Robert is the Co-Founder of “Neutral Chaos, LLC” (www.neutralchaoscombat.com) a Brooklyn based company that offers choreographic solutions, private combat instruction, masterclass training opportunities, and weapon rentals in the greater New York City area. Robert is also the founder of the stage combat and stunt workshop "The Tourist Trap" held annually in February at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Fl. (www.touristtrapscw.com)
Turning Your Filmmaking Passion Into A Post Production Profession
Time: 2:15 pm to 3:45 pm
Place: AMC Times Square, Theater 25
Host: Blackmagic Design
Presenter: Jason Druss
While the post production process happens at the end of a shoot, it should never be an afterthought – rather, a film’s editing, color grading, sound design and visual effects (VFX) should be heavily intertwined with its storytelling. Whether it’s using grading to heighten emotion, editing to add emphasis, sound mixing to magnify mood or VFX to create realness, post production is paramount to the filmmaking process.
It can be daunting though – how do you know where to start? What are the different jobs possibilities and how should you start preparing for them now? How do you decide which areas of filmmaking best fit your passion and how do you turn that into a profession?
During this workshop, hear from Jason Druss, a professional colorist and Blackmagic Design product specialist, about how he developed his filmmaking passion and made it into his career. Go behind the scenes on some of his work, such as recent projects for Hersheypark, and hear about how he made them come to life through post production. Also, hear about and see some of the filmmaking technology he uses as part of his craft, including DaVinci Resolve 15 for professional editing, grading, audio post and VFX.
Based in New York City, Jason Druss helps post facilities, studios and networks stay up to date with the latest features and workflows available in Davinci Resolve, as well as other innovative Blackmagic Design products. Jason is a regular colorist for NFL Films and has also graded segments for “The Daily Show With Trevor Noah,” Campbell’s Soup, Hersheypark, Lincoln Financial Group and the Philadelphia Flyers.
MUSIC X MOTION PICTURES
Time: 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm
Place: AMC Times Square, Theater 20
Host: Minneapolis College of Art and Design
Presenter: Craig Rice
This discussion is about the fundamental relationship between music and motionn pictures. It will touch on its origins and evolution, and how these two elements inform all usages in today’s media. Points of discussion are: Different categories of music, for example commercials, feature films, television. Different usages in those categories The selection of music; songs, scores and underscores, and the exploration of how it this marriage is transformative when the right music and images are placed together. The legal aspects of pre-recorded music, music publishing, free music, etc.
Craig Laurence Rice is a long established educator, diverse entertainment executive, entrepreneur and an award-winning producer and director internationally recognized for his distinguished career in the film, video and television industries.
He was also Executive Producer / Director for the feature length documentary Half Past Autumn: The Life and Works of Gordon Parks for HBO, which was nominated for three Emmy awards, and an NAACP Image Award. The documentary was also selected to the Museum of Television and Radio in the year 2000, and won the Tree of Life Award from The Friends of the Motion Picture Academy. Additional various credits on several feature-length films including Graffiti Bridge, Purple Rain, Brother From Another Planet and Joe Somebody.
Notable television credits include Producer of We Teach Our Children for CBS, Executive Producer on the nationally syndicated series Million Dollar Idea, Producer for the 90-minute PBS variety show A The Prairie Home Companion 30th , Producer for New Dramas for Television for The Eugene O’ Neill Theater Center for 4 seasons. Laurel Avenue a limited series for HBO, Once Upon A Tree series for Animal Planet. Rice currently is developing a dramatic television series entitled The Black Panthers for HBO.
As a commercial award-winning director, Rice has helmed commercials for clients such as Amoco, Nike, Target, Kraft, United Way, McDonald’s, and the Partnership for Drug Free America. And most recently producer of two Silver Clio award winning spots for Hamburger Helper.
He has also directed dozens of music videos with artists including Prince, Mavis Staples, Mazarati, Patti LaBelle, and Sounds of Blackness. In addition, he has an outstanding career in the music industry as a manager working with a number of international recording artists including Bobby Brown, Prince, Pink Floyd, Taj Mahal, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston and World Voices. He is a professor at McNally Smith College of Music and Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Rice holds a Production Degree from the University of Southern California Cinema Department, also the Minneapolis College of Art & Design and a Liberal Arts degree from Minneapolis Community and Technical College,
Post Production Best Practices
Time: 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm
Place: AMC Times Square, Theater 24
Host: Full Sail University
Presenter: Nate Moxley
Editing your project can be a daunting task. In this workshop, we’ll discuss how having a proper workflow can help alleviate some of the challenges that may present themselves during the final phase of a project. Topics will include file structure and organization, basic editing techniques, how to appropriately use various types of transitions, and tips for effectively collaborating with others during the post production process.
Nate Moxley is Course Director in Full Sail University’s Film Bachelor of Science Program with a focus in Avid Media Composer, Adobe Creative Cloud Applications, Davinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro, and Film / Video Production.