The Producer’s Campus
at The American Conservation Film Festival

A workshop series on the craft of documentary filmmaking
Presented in conjunction with the
10th annual American Conservation Film Festival
Saturday, November 3, 2012 in Shepherdstown, WV

Click here to register for Producer’s Campus

Click here for a downloadable Producer’s Campus flyer

Workshop Sessions

Imagery . . . Worth more than a thousand words
A master class in the use of imagery for documentary storytelling, this session explores the use of a range of visual formats: interviews, re-enactments, actuality, VFX, stills and “out of the box” formats like Super 8. (Session Instructor: Tilman Reme)

Don’t Let the Facts Get in the Way of a Good Story
True stories, well told. That's the goal. Whether it's an article, a book, or a documentary. This workshop will examine how the masters do it, by using techniques from fiction, creative non-fiction, and feature film screenwriting. Make your true stories memorable and come to life. (Session Instructor: Khris Baxter)

Cutting through the Bulls#!t
Tips, strategies and real-life experience for cutting through the chaos and reaching the heart of what is important in filmmaking. (Session Instructor: Phil Fairclough)

Distribution 2.0
Getting eyeballs on your film is easier than ever been before, but how do you raise your film above the static?  A panel of filmmakers and broadcasters share their real world strategies for using the web to promote, distribute and enhance their content.
(Panel Moderator: Phil Fairclough)

The Art of Bending Time
We’ve all seen amazing time-lapse or super slow-motion shots and wondered, “How did they do that?”  Join Director of Photography Petr Stepanek for a master class on the fine points of shooting off-speed . . . the art of bending time.  From time-lapse shots that dolly and pan, to super slow-motion, you’ll learn the tricks on how to shoot in everything but real time.
(Session Instructor: Petr Stepanek)

Inside the Matrix
Have you ever wondered how networks choose programming? Get an inside-the-industry perspective from a panel of Executive Producers and Network Programmers as they share what catches their eye and drives their decision-making for selecting films. 
(Panel Moderator: Tillman Reme).

Featured Presenters & Panelists

Khris Baxter is a screenwriter, producer, and script consultant. He teaches screenwriting at The Writer’s Center in Bethesda, MD, and at the low-residency MFA at Queens University in Charlotte, NC.  Khris is also the founder of Key Bridge Creative, a marketing and advertising firm specializing in video-based storytelling.

Alexandra Cousteau, is a National Geographic Emerging Explorer, filmmaker and globally recognized advocate on water issues.  She continues the work of her renowned grandfather Jacques-Yves Cousteau and her father Philippe Cousteau, Sr.  Alexandra has mastered the remarkable storytelling tradition handed down to her and has the unique ability to inspire audiences on the often weighty issues of policy, politics and action.

Phil Fairclough, is Executive Vice President for Development and Production USA at Natural History New Zealand.  He served as Executive Producer of Encounters At The End Of The World, the Oscar-nominated documentary by Werner Herzog and Producer on the 3D theatrical documentary Cave Of Forgotten Dreams.  Phil is the Creator and Executive Producer of the hit Discovery series Time Warp which turned ultra slow-motion imagining into compelling TV.

Tilman Remme, is an award winning writer, producer and director specializing in documentaries, drama-docs and factual dramas.  Tilman worked for BBC TV for 15 years and he now runs the London-based Production Company Picture Films.

Petr Stepanek, is a San Francisco-based Director of Photography specializing in natural history, time-lapse and high-speed cinematography. 

Location and Registration Information

Located just 70 miles from Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD, Shepherdstown, WV is home to the American Conservation Film Festival.  The 2012 festival takes place November 1-4.  For the past ten years, ACFF has been promoting the best of conservation filmmaking from around the world.

The Producer’s Campus at The American Conservation Film Festival will be held in conjunction with the film festival, leveraging the convergence of great films, talented filmmakers and film industry leaders to offer a filmmaking workshop experience found nowhere else.

Producer’s Campus will be held at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s National Conservation Training Center (NCTC), located just outside of Shepherdstown.  This state-of-the-art training facility provides the perfect setting for our filmmaking workshop experience.  Check out NCTC at nctc.fws.gov.    

The registration fee for Producer’s Campus is $150, with a reduced fee of $75 for students.  This fee includes morning refreshments, lunch, an evening networking social and a full-festival pass for the film festival (a $40 value).

Click here to register for Producer’s Campus

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