2012 PRODUCER'S CAMPUS: A Workshop Series on the Craft of Documentary Filmmaking
ACFF Producer’s Campus Session & Panel Descriptions
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 – Filmmaker’s Panel
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. (Panelists: Alexandra Cousteau of Blue Legacy International; Vanessa Serrao, Director of Digital Media and Communications for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Gina Hutchinson, Senior Manager of Editorial Content for Smithsonian Channel. Panel Moderator: Phil Fairclough)
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)
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 Remme)
Inside the Matrix – Producer’s Panel
Have you ever wondered how networks choose programming? Get an inside-the-industry perspective from a panel of Executive Producers and Network Programmers, (including Charles Poe, Vice President of Production for Smithsonian Channel) as they share what catches their eye and drives their decision-making for selecting films.
(Panel Moderator: Tilman Remme)
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)
ACFF Producer’s Campus Session Instructors and Panelists
Khris Baxter
Screenwriter, producer, and script consultant, Khris Baxter’s body of work includes numerous optioned screenplays and one produced film. Khris teaches screenwriting at The Writer’s Center in Bethesda, MD, and at the low-residency MFA at Queens University in Charlotte, NC. He's a member of the Virginia Film Office where he is a judge for the annual Virginia Screenwriting Competition. Khris is also the founder of Key Bridge Creative, a marketing and advertising firm specializing in video-based storytelling. He lives in Georgetown, VA.
Alexandra Cousteau
A National Geographic "Emerging Explorer”, filmmaker and globally recognized advocate on water issues, Alexandra Cousteau continues the work of her renowned grandfather Jacques-Yves Cousteau and her father Philippe Cousteau, Sr. She has mastered the remarkable storytelling tradition handed down to her and has the unique ability to inspire audiences on the often the weighty issues of policy, politics and action. In 2008, Alexandra launched the non-profit Blue Legacy project, producing visual and interactive storytelling inspired by expeditions around the globe to engage people in critical conversations about the health, quality and quantity of our water resources. Alexandra builds upon more than 60 years of global name recognition to engage people who expect to hear credible environmental information from the third generation of this pioneering family of explorers.
Phil Fairclough
Based in Washington D.C., Phil Fairclough heads up NHNZ’s U.S. development and production operations. Previously Phil was senior VP of production at Discovery Channel in the U.S., head of ITV’s Granada Wild, and he ran Wildvision, the acclaimed BBC Natural History Unit’s commercial production arm. Recent high-profile projects he’s been instrumental in developing and producing are Cave of Forgotten Dreams, a 3D feature documentary directed by Werner Herzog, Into the Shark Bite for Discovery Channel, which was the 4th highest rating Shark Week show ever, and Discovery’s animated series Reign of the Dinosaurs. Phil has most recently been EP on Built for the Kill, produced by NHNZ for NGCI.
Gina Hutchinson
Senior Manager of Editorial Content for Smithsonian Channel, Gina Hutchinson leads various digital initiatives, from the development and production of original online videos to social media engagement, and was instrumental in the development of the network's first iPad app. Since the early days of online video Gina has been filming, editing, and pushing pixels, melding her love of nature with the power of storytelling. Prior to her work at Smithsonian Channel, Gina was an Associate Producer and Editor for Conservation International, where she traveled to remote locations in places such as Kenya, Ecuador, and California's Sierra Nevada Mountains to collect video that tells the story of our changing environment.
Charles Poe
Vice President of Production for Smithsonian Channel, Charles Poe guides the editorial process for all original programming and international co-productions. He is a former Executive Producer for the long-running EXPLORER series on the National Geographic Channel, where he also launched Taboo and Reptile Wild with Dr. Brady Barr. His work has appeared on ABC, NBC, Discovery and TLC. Career highlights include drilling into the Hope Diamond, building a life-sized Titanoboa and experiencing Shock and Awe live from Baghdad.
Tilman Remme
An award winning writer, producer and director, Tilman Reme specializes in factual documentaries, drama-docs and factual dramas. Tilman worked for BBC TV for 15 years. He now runs the Production Company Picture Films in London. Among his many credits, Tilman wrote and series-produced the two-part documentary series Ken Follett's Journey into the Dark Ages. Recent credits also include the powerful drama-doc Raiding Russia on corruption in contemporary Russia and the documentary Earth Under Water on future sea level rise (Nat Geo, BBC Worldwide,) Tilman has written, produced and directed numerous BBC Timewatch programmes in the 1990s and early 00's, developing new ways of combining drama and traditional documentary techniques. He was Series Associate Producer and a director of the award-winning The Nazis, A Warning from History, which is considered one of the outstanding international history series of the 1990s.
Vanessa Serrao
Director of Digital Media and Communications for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Vanessa Serrao is an Emmy-nominated, Webby-wining filmmaker specializing in online and new media video, non-fiction film, and science and natural history content. Vanessa specializes indigital media, online video production, online video strategy, and science and natural history content. With the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Vanessa directs the production of all digital media assets including video, website, and social media. Vanessa was the founder, host and producer of NatureBreak.org, the online video series/social network for nature-lovers. As an independent filmmaker, Vanessa has produced documentaries as well as corporate and non-profit promotional films.
Petr Stepanek,
Owner of DAS–FILM, Petr Stepanek is a San Francisco-based Director of Photography specializing in natural history, time-lapse and high-speed cinematography.
