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Mise-en-Scène Full Schedule

Writing I - September 5 & 6

Venue

Yukon College, Rm T1023 (trades wing)

Time

8:30am-5:30pm

Course Description

Screenwriting is the craft of storytelling on paper. In this workshop, Sugith encourages writers to take a step or two back in order to make the big leap forward. He combines a variety of strategies to enable participants to discover the basic principles of story and then apply them to their own work. By analyzing short films, developing a basic story template, fleshing it out into beat sheets and then outlines, team-building with the director and producer, embracing group feedback, and serving up a combo platter of Aristotle with a side of Mozart and the Beach Boys, Sugith helps writers understand the importance of structure while learning to overcome their story's flaws so they can reach a modern audience.

Instructor - Sugith Varughese

Sugith's screenwriting credits include series TV from the Muppet series Fraggle Rock now out on DVD, Blue Murder and Blobheads. His documentary credits include co-writing the Imax film Lost Worlds: Life in the Balance narrated by Harrison Ford. He won a Writers Guild of Canada award for his animated scripts for the NFB's Talespinners collection. He received a Gemini nomination for The Secret Life of Goldfish. In addition to his win, he has been a finalist for a Writers Guild of Canada award four Times. His radio play Entry Denied was Canada's entry in the Worldplay festival and was broadcast around the globe.

He recently finished an appointment as the first screenwriter-in-residence for the Toronto Public Library. He is a director graduate of the Canadian Film Centre and his film centre short, Kumar and Mr. Jones was nominated for a Genie and won 3 international awards. His other short films, Mela's Lunch and The Secret Life of Goldfish have won numerous awards and his most recent short, Tongue Tied made him one of only 200 finalists worldwide out of 12,000 entries for the Fox TV series On the Lot.

Writing II - September 7 & 8

Venue

Yukon College, Rm C1440 ("glass class")

Time

8:30am-5:30pm

Course Description

Anything can be a story but not everything is a story. Writing is difficult because the task is to take the personal to the universal. Writers struggle with the mechanics of this because stories are usually founded in distinct feelings or experiences or just incidents. We are moved by specific aspects as viewers but those aspects have to unfold among others in order to have an effect. In this workshop, Jennifer takes writers through writing exercises designed to discover story elements. A screenplay transpires and interrelates. It has a route and a history or cause and effect and yet, some striking material is based on the subtlest and simplest of premises. Individual and group processes helps identify how stories are found. One of the most challenging aspects of being a writer and working with writers is the feedback process. Jennifer will discuss the fine art of giving and taking notes on a script to ensure the intended story emerges.

Instructor - Jennifer Cowan

Jennifer Cowan has been writing professionally for the past two decades. Her television credits include: writer and Executive Story Editor of the upcoming Global animated comedy Producing Parker, Show Me Yours, Traders and Big Sound; multiple scripts for the CBC/FoxKids teen soap, Edgemont, (2004 Leo Award Winner for Best Screenwriting in a Youth or Children's Series & 2004 Gemini Award Nominee) The Saddle Club, The Zack Files, Quads, Liocracy and the Global/Disney tween dramedy, Ready or Not. Her Young Adult novel, earthgirl will be published by Groundwood Books/House of Anansi in 2009.

Before shifting to dramatic and comedy writing, she produced and directed the award winning documentary, Douglas Coupland Close Personal Friend. She has also produced arts, pop culture and entertainment magazine programs and documentaries for CBC, CBC Newsworld, CTV, TVOntario and CityTV.

Jennifer has taught screenwriting at Ryerson University and a variety of professional workshops.

Producing I - September 19 & 20

Venue

Alpine Bakery

Time

Fri: 9:00am-5:00pm
Sat: 8:30am-6:30pm

Course Description

Shorts are back. And they are not just the warm-up to the main feature, but the main attraction themselves! But exhibition and distribution have changed too and they are still changing. The short form is on the program at festivals, on film, on video, on HD, on TV, on the web, on cellphones, and in six months Time, on something new. Short content is still a calling-card to show off talent to secure a longer project, but shorts are also ends in themselves. Sue helps participants explore different avenues for short content. In the mainstream search for financial models, many other forms have appeared like viral distribution, webisodes, brand extensions, advertainment and cause related media. What makes a good short? It depends on your platform.

Instructor - Sue Biely

Sue Biely has been part of the independent media landscape for over 12 years, with a background in funding, development, producing, broadcasting, new media, lecturing and facilitation.

Sue guest teaches regularly at the Vancouver Film School and has consulted for the Danish Film Institute and the Aboriginal People’s Television Network. She has also made presentations on short form content to BC Film, Nova Scotia Film, The Newfoundland and Labrador Film Development Corporation, On Screen Manitoba, New Media Manitoba, Atlantic Filmmakers Coop, Cineworks, CineVic and The National Screen Institute. Further, Sue manages Brand Development for the short film initiative Crazy8s and was the 2008 Producer for the Worldwide Short Film Festival’s 4 day Symposium.

Sue discovered her love of short form content during her 3.5 year stint with CBC’s multi-platform alternative arts series ZeD where as the Acquisitions Editor she lead a team who licensed over 700 domestic and foreign films for national broadcast.

Directing I - September 26 & 27

Venue

Westmark Whitehorse, Conf #3

Time

8:30am-5:30pm

Course Description

The director's challenge is to conceive and execute the treatment that will best represent and tell the story in the screenplay. In order to achieve this, directors have to know what the choices are. They choose a palette from which to work. But no artist uses every colour. What's more, each colour, lens, angle, cut, glance, scene, light, etc., projects meaning onto the story. The choices are selected based on what will bring out the script. In this workshop participants discover the broad range of parameters that constitute the colours in a palette, analyze the choices of others, and then consider relevant options for their own works in progress.

Instructor - Scott Simpson

Scott Simpson began his filmmaking career in the mid 90s, first in production and then as an editor, before turning his attention to writing and directing. He has written, directed, and/or produced nine short films, including the multi-award winning Terminal Lunch and the Gemini nominated December, 1917. In 2002, he completed his first feature, Touch & Go, which he co-wrote, produced, directed, and edited. He has also directed a variety of commercials, music videos, and television series. He is now developing a collection of new feature projects, including an adaptation of the acclaimed Lesley Choyce novel, The Republic of Nothing.

Directing II - September 28 & 29

Venue

Westmark Whitehorse, Conf #3

Time

8:30am-5:30pm

Course Description

A director can elevate her/his film by shaping and controlling the film's "tone": the creative elements in a film (casting, colours, cinematography, location, pace, music, production design, etc.) which all uniquely combine to create a film's impact on the audience. Directors begin exploring tone as early as the reading of the script. After all, the director's job is to translate the pages into something that evokes an audience's emotional reaction. It does involve some "intangibles"-- this is where art comes into play--but at the same time there are numerous planning tools like breakdowns, shot lists, and storyboards to help the process. Sean will discuss real-world techniques he's employed in short film production to help directors craft the tone of their own films, as well as addressing practical production concerns.

Instructor - Sean Carley

Sean Carley is a filmmaker and screenwriter whose writing credits include episodes of the science-fiction series Charlie Jade (Sci-Fi Channel), MTV's comedy series, Undressed, and the teen drama, Degrassi The Next Generation (CTV/The N). Sean went on to direct the short film, Bed Bugs, an official selection of the Rhode Island International Film Festival and Fantastic Fest. He has since directed nearly a dozen shorts which have screened at festivals and on television, including Doppelganger for Rogers Wireless; a series of shorts for NFB entitled Writers Block; and Palace starring Lorne Cardinal, which Sean wrote and edited for Bravo.

Producing II - October 3 - 5

Venue

Yukon College, Rm 2206, Lecture Theatre

Time

Fri: 6:30pm-9:30pm
Sat: 1:00pm-5:30pm
Sun: 8:30am-5:30pm

Course Description

The producer sees the project from inception to long after its completion in the edit suite. Some documentaries have dramatic elements and dramas often speak the truth, but producing drama requires consideration of particular concerns, stemming as always from the script. Story is key and central. While producing fiction, part of the job is to assess risk with respect to the story, locations, and characters while another aspect is hiring and organizing the army to carry out the work. It is a special skillset, founded in relationships and in knowing one's strengths and weaknesses. Producing can be creative and ingenious because finances, legal concerns, and logistics play vital roles in bringing the art and vision to the audience.

Instructor - Josh Miller

Josh Miller is an award-winning writer/producer and President of Panacea Entertainment, a Canadian independent film and television production company based in Edmonton. Josh's long-form producing credits include the feature films Freezer Burn: The Invasion of Laxdale, Intern Academy, Viva Las Nowhere (a.k.a. Dead Simple), Something More and the MOW Stranger in Town. His dramatic television series producing credits include Anash and the Legacy of the Sun-Rock, Myth Quest, 2030CE and Mentors.

From 1995 to 2003, Josh was a partner and V.P. of Development at Minds Eye Entertainment and from 1990 to 1995, he was Director of Development for the Canadian pay-television network Superchannel. Currently, Josh sits on the Board and is a past-President of the Alberta Motion Picture Industries Association, and he recently became a member of the International Quorum of Film and Television Producers (IQ). In addition to numerous awards for his work as a writer and producer, in 2006, Josh received the Alex Barris Mentorship Award from the Writers Guild of Canada.

Assistant Directing - November 1 & 2

Venue

Westmark Whitehorse: Conf#4

Time

8:30am-5:30pm

Course Description

Film-making with a crew is problem-solving. As professionals bring their talents to the tech and art, logistics quickly pile up. The Assistant Director team plans for the smooth execution of the shoot to capitalize on time. They strategize how to adjust the plan as inevitable changes and surprises affect the schedule. The AD's job is to keep everyone adequately informed of what is going to happen now, in a couple of minutes, soon, later, tomorrow, the next day, and so on so that each department can be prepared to serve the Director's vision. ADs keep time, schedule what can happen simultaneously, who is needed when, and help keep maintain morale. It's all about the flow of information. Danielle will show how this is achieved and familiarize participants with the kinds of questions they have to address when planning their shoots. She shares how the flow of information can make or break the day.

Instructor - Danielle Dumesnil

Danielle began her film career in the locations department gave which her the chance to take a closer look at the inner workings of a film set. This led her to the A.D. department where she has excelled for 10 years.

Being an A.D. has provided endless opportunities such as working with directors Guy Maddin, Gary Yates, Jerry Ciccoritti and Anne Wheeler and actors Sarah Polley, Peter O'Toole, Joan Plowright, Holly Hunter, Robin Williams, Zooey Deschanel, Giovanni Ribisi and Woody Harrelson as well as shooting in locations such as Churchill, Halifax, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Yukon, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Danielle lives in a straw bale home outside Winnipeg in the prairie mountains of Manitoba.

Location Sound Recording - November 7 (evening), 8 & 9

Venue

Gold Rush Inn - General Store

Time

Fri: 6:30pm-9:30pm
Sat & Sun: 8:30am-5:30pm

Course Description

"Have you ever seen someone come out of a theatre whistling a two-shot?"
~ friend of Wolf Seeburg, in Sync Sound for the New Media.

Most people take the sound for granted when they watch a movie. It is only thought about if something seems out of place. But the good stuff seeps in. When examined closely, the soundtrack is complex, with many layers, playing multiple roles, and provides many devices, which most of us only register sub-consciously. Beyond learning just the technical aspects, this workshop plunges into the philosophy of sound for films. Preparation, attention to detail, knowledge about how the editor and director may use sound combine with mic placement, set strategy, and the edit workflow. Participants learn what the Sound Department does, how to be an indispensable boom operator, and the reality that "fixing it in post" is a bad plan that requires deep pockets. Why not fix it now?

Instructor - David Hechenberger

It all began in an apartment with a 4-track, 2 SM58s, and cassette tapes. David's fascination for recording led him to borrow equipment and get advice from professional engineers who would listen to his band recordings. Ask questions and keep trying things out is his learning mantra. He dove into documentary work feet first and is now a sound mixer for commercials, day work, and features. David loves the North and has worked on many projects in the Yukon and the NWT. But his main work is in Vancouver and includes an eclectic mix of independent dramatic productions, documentaries and reality TV. Some of the award winning projects he has worked on include the NFB documentary Hardwood and Nettie Wild’s Genie winner, Fix: Tale of an Addicted City. He is a regular instructor at the Gulf Island Film & Television School.

Script Supervision/Continuity - November 16 & 17

Venue

Westmark Whitehorse: Conf#5

Time

8:30am-5:30pm

Course Description

Scripts change on set. The script supervisor tracks the material which goes to tape. This person ensures that anything that deviates from the script is noted, and approved by the director and/or producer. This person watches for variations in dialogue and action, and tracks continuity of screen direction, props, wardrobe, hair etc., in conjunction with the person representing each of those departments. This person's job is to make sure the transitions match and the continuity is seamless. The script supervisor is also editing the scenes in his/her head to ensure that they will cut, and if not takes the necessary steps to fix it. Marion also tracks running time, scenes completed or pickups owing for the office to reschedule. The job requires concentration and a complicated note taking system. Marion will take participants through the process, from preproduction prep to the on-set process, noting the variety of tasks involved and who might benefit from them.

Instructor - Marion Milner

Marion Milner began her career as a Script Supervisor on the Canadian series, North of 60. She then went on Disney's Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Nickleodean's Caitlin's Way, the PAX series Body & Soul, 3 memorable seasons of Corner Gas and most recently the NBC horror series Fear Itself. Although she prefers episodic work she has done continuity on numerous movies, both made for television and independent feature over the years. She has instructed the 5 day Script Supervisor course at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, created and instructed a similar course for the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology as well as workshops at the Women In the Director's Chair program at the Banff Centre. She has had the honor of working with some of the finest directors and actors in both Canada and the US and has done continuity on over 150 scripts so far in her career.

HD Camera & Lighting AND HD Digital Imaging Technician & Camera Assistant - November 22 - 25

Venue

Nov. 22: Westmark Whitehorse
Nov. 23-25: Old Firehall

Time

Sat/Sun/Mon 9am-5pm
Tues 8am-5:30pm

Course Description

This 4-day workshop is designed for cinematographers, camera department crew, directors and producers who come from either a film or video background and are moving into the realm of HD. The workshop combines theory with practical 'hands-on' exercises in HD camera operation. Topics include: prime lens optics, lighting, the real differences between film & video, and the on-set maintenance of digital files. Crew roles in HD production will be examined including the emerging positions of on-set DIT (Digital Imaging Technician) and DAM (Digital Asset Manager). Specific modules will address particular areas of interest for the producer and director; the DP, the camera operator; the camera assistant; and the digital imaging technician. There will be 1 day of demonstrations and instruction, 2 days of a variety of practical set-ups, using different camera support and lighting equipment, with participants in various roles, and 1 day of shooting scenes. Participants in this workshop qualify to work on the Mise-en-Scène shorts productions in Jan/Feb in the camera department.

Instructors - Richard Story & Sean Carley (see Sean's bio above)

Richard Story is an independent filmmaker based in Toronto. Over the past twenty-five years Richard has shot & directed over seventy shorts and two feature-length movies, Some Letters to a Young Poet and Echo Lake. His work has been screened at film festivals throughout the world and has been sold to TMN -The Movie Network, Superchannel, Vision TV and APTN. Richard's latest film, Palace stars Lorne Cardinal (from Corner Gas) and has been sold to Bravo. Richard has lectured on film in the US, Denmark, Germany, New Zealand, Australia and across Canada, and has taught digital film-making courses at Ontario College of Art & Design and George Brown College as well as designed a web course on film-making for the University of Waterloo. He has served as artistic director for the Imaginenative Film & Media Arts Festival and as Head of the Film & TV Dept. at the Trebas Institute. Richard specializes in achieving cinematic results using a small crew and shooting in natural light utilizing prime lenses and low f-stops. He is an award-wining photographer and a founding member of Indigenous Culture & Media Innovations. Richard is of Coast Salish and Kanaka-Hawaiian descent.

Directing for the Edit: For Editors and Directors of Drama - December 12 - 15

Venue

Westmark Whitehorse

Time

9am-5pm

Course Description

Editing is part of the post-production process but it doesn't actually happen at the end. Editing is the sculpting of images and sounds to manifest the evolving vision of the story. For the edit to be successful, there has got to be raw material with which to sculpt! Directors work during shoots to capture the shots that will tell the story, but recorded takes often do not turn out exactly as envisioned and so the nuances of the story changes. Directors need to prepare to be able to change with it and to work with the editor to find ways to lengthen, shorten, and reinvent moments in the drama. In this workshop, Christopher Angel shares his professional career as a director and editor with examples of work that works, does not work, and was reworked to work better! In addition, participants work with editors to find multiple ways to represent the hidden resonate notes of dramatic material through the magic of sequence.

Instructor - Christopher Angel

Named one of ten "Directors to Watch" by Variety/DVD Premieres Magazine, Christopher has just completed his most recent feature film, This Is Not A Test. This movie, which has won five awards at major film festivals, is a satire about homeland security in which a man's fear of a possible terrorist attack drives him to extreme behavior. It stars Hill Harper, Robinne Lee and Tom Arnold and has just been picked up for worldwide release by Image Entertainment for the first quarter of 2009. Previously, Christopher directed the last two installments of the profitable Wishmaster series of movies, which are distributed by Lionsgate Entertainment. His other credits as a director include the Lionsgate distributed thriller, Beyond Redemption, starring Andrew McCarthy and Michael Ironside which premiered on HBO, and the horror movie, The Fear: Halloween Night.

Christopher started directing features as a result of his work at the University of Southern California's MFA Film Directing Program. Christopher went on to win an Academy Award? for best student film for Mr. October, a romantic comedy about a guy who believes he's cursed by the month of October.

As an accomplished editor, he has many credits. He worked closely with Garry Shandling, editing over eight hours of original documentary and comedic material that appear on the recent Not Just the Best of the Larry Sanders DVD. Garry mentored Christopher during the writing and production of This Is Not A Test. Christopher was also nominated for an Emmy™ for best editing for his work on Expedition Bismark, directed by James Cameron. Christopher has edited many other Discovery Channel documentaries, as well as a number of independent films.

Directing Actors/Acting for Camera: For Directors and Actors - January 3 - 6, 2009

Venue

High Country Inn

Time

9am-5pm

Course Description

In this workshop, aspiring film directors and actors collaborate and develop skills to deliver memorable performances on film. Directors sometimes find themselves without a compelling language to reach actors. The technical environment of a set, with its many professionals can make it difficult to activate the character within, particularly when that delivery is expected in small parts, out of order. In addition actors are expected to hit marks for focus, frame, effects and light and maintain their own continuity. Directors have to contend with aspects of the film frame, camera movements, and light, in addition to the performances. As an experienced director and working actor, Mark Jean & Sugith Varughese bring the professional worlds of filmic performance to light by helping each side of the camera understand the other's challenges and needs.

Instructor - Mark Jean

Mark Jean wrote, produced and directed several award-winning shorts for Disney, and for the Disney Channel he directed two serialized features: Teen Angel Returns starring Jason Priestly, Robin Lively and Jenny Garth, and The Secret of Lost Creek starring Shannen Doherty. Also for the Disney Channel and Buena Vista, he directed the documentary Pinnochio: The Making of a Masterpiece hosted by Robbie Benson.

Jean won the acclaimed George Foster Peabody Award for writing and directing 35 one-minute interstitials for the FOX Children's Network.

Jean directed the pilot episodes of Body & Soul and Police Academy and a variety of episodic television including That's Life, Live Through This, Weird Science, Dead at 21, 7th Heaven, The Addams Family, and Parker Lewis Can't Lose, among others.

Jean co-write and directed Homecoming, a Showtime Premiere Movie for the Showtime Network, featuring Anne Bancroft. Jean received a Writer's Guild Nomination for Best Longform Adaptation, and won the Gold Award at the Houston International Film Festival.

For Fox Family and TVA International he directed the MOW, Special Delivery, featuring Andy Dick, and the MOW's Road to Christmas and A Valentine Carol for Lifetime. Recently Jean has co-written Beast of Bataan for executive producer Jonathan Sanger and director Fred Schepisi. He has co-written his first novel, Puddlejumpers and he just finished production on Finn on the Fly, a family comedy, which he co-wrote and directed.

Instructor - Sugith Varughese

As an actor, Sugith Varughese has appeared in over 75 films and TV programs, numerous radio plays and on stage. Feature films include Mission to Mars and the upcoming Orphan. He plays a recurring role on CBC's hit sitcom Little Mosque on the Prairie and was a regular on two TV series, CBC's An American in Canada and Omni TV's Metropia. As a member of the cast of American in Canada, he received a Gemini nomination. Other appearances include: Degrassi: The Next Generation, Doc, Blue Murder, A Colder Kind of Death, Tagged: The Jonathan Wamback Story, Relic Hunter, Earth: Final Conflict, PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal, F/X: The Series, Nancy Drew, RoboCop and Night Heat, among others. Sugith has been nominated for television acting awards twice. Stage appearances include Tideline (Factory Theatre); Bhopal (Cahoots Theatre); and Indian Ink (CanStage/National Arts Centre). He also writes and directs drama.

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