Seminars/Workshops
Scroll Down to Read Helpful Hints for Actors and Filmmakers!
As film director Dan Millican began receiving invitations to speak at various groups and film industry events, a need was quickly identified– available for actors was a plethora of training by actors for actors. But rare was the director to actor training. And as Millican worked with talent from around the globe, he wanted to help actors break past the NY/LA bias to show that local actors do indeed know their stuff.
So “Acting: A Director’s POV” was born. Join our Email newsletter list. I will let people know here first of upcoming seminars, workshops and SFilms feature film productions.
LATEST NEWS! Register at the Store. The Screenfighting Workshop has been moved to March 24-25.
Seminars and Workshops
For Actors:
The Audition; Acting: A Director’s POV; Child and Teen Acting: A Director’s POV; Screenfighting & Weapons
For Filmmakers:
Greenlight Yourself; Directing; Producing; Editing; Writing
Meet Screenfighting Series Instructor Doug Williams
This is our series on Screenfighting, taking place in Dallas-Fort Worth on March 24-25. Cost is $49 per class (four classes total, with a discount if you sign up for all four). For registration, go to http://s-films.com/store . Space is very limited. Doug Williams Doug will be teaching on Saturday March 24, both classes. He will be teaching weapons basics in the morning. This involves safety on the set, difference between military and law enforcement regarding weapons use, and handling of hand guns. This is a hands-on workshop, so...
read moreScreenfighting Workshop is Back!
The most feedback we’ve ever gotten with the seminars and workshops has been for the screenfighting one. So we’ve scheduled a full weekend course for the Screenfighting Series. Coming Feb 18-19, time to get your fight on and come on down to the Studios121 for some workshopping. Class size will be limited (we had too many the first time), so it’s first come first serve. Weapons for Actors Police officers do not hide behind the corner pointing their pistols up into the air… that’s not where the bad guys are....
read moreCredits on your Actor Headshot Resume
Director to Actor I like to address the most common questions I get in the seminars and workshops. This past Saturday, we had the Acting: A Director’s POV Child/Teen acting class, and while talking about the headshot and resume, I had a couple of recurring questions. If you find this useful, please feel free to retweet or facebook forward this page. Extra Work Do I post all the extra work I’ve done or should I leave it off? Does this turn off a director? Generally speaking, when I flip over the headshot to look at the resume...
read moreDemo Reel Hints from a Film Director
What Goes Into a Good Actor Demo Reel Today, an actor needs a good demo reel. Many agents won’t even look at representing an actor if they don’t have one. So what are the elements that need to go into a demo reel to make it effective? Brevity. Us directors and the casting directors don’t have a lot of time. I’m not going to sit through a 6 minute demo. I will make it through a one minute demo. And that might even leave me wanting more. Which is what you want. Quality of Acting. I want to see beats or turns. Not just...
read moreNew Demo Shoot
Actor Demo Reel FEB 21 We are tentatively scheduling a new actor demo scene shoot for Tuesday Feb 21. We usually shoot in the afternoon and evening (to allow for those who can’t get out of work or school). Go to the store to register. We need to have a minimum for the shoot to take place. The cost is $350 per person. But brand new– if you do two, we will give a $50 discount (use coupon code “doubledemo”) so that 2 is $650 and not $700. Go to Store. Here’s how it works: You register I contact you for...
read moreThe Actor Headshot
Yesterday we discussed the resume (read it here). If you’re coming to the Acting: A Director’s POV for Child/Teen actors on Jan 21, bring your headshot and resume and we’ll discuss it right there and then. To register, go to the store. The Headshot As the director, the majority of headshots will come to me in the audition room. Yes, throughout the year, people will hand them to me. At church. At industry events. At my house unannounced and uninvited. To my wife when I’m not there. The truth is that...
read moreActor Resumes
For those coming to the Acting: A Director’s POV for Teen and Children actors on Saturday Jan 21, bring your headshot and resume and we’ll talk about them. (Register for the morning or the afternoon session here). The Resume Most of the time, I get handed a headshot as I sit behind the table about to hear your audition. I might have been handed the headshot by the casting associate or given when you walked in the room. I will glance at the headshot (more on the next blog) and then turn it over and read. Here’s a bullet...
read moreWhat’s a Parent of a Actor To Do?
We’re going to be having another seminar on Saturday January 21. This one is Child/Teen Acting: A Director’s POV. To register, you can go to the store. When I’ve taught this seminar before, I’ve gotten some very interesting questions. “The Director wanted to take my child into a different building, pretty far away from me and wouldn’t allow me to come.” Although on the face of it, this seems a simple “hell no.” But there are a lot of conflicting thoughts that run through the head...
read moreChildren & Teen Actors
As a working film director, I’ve had lots of opportunities to work with children and teen actors. And it seems to me that most of the training is actor to actor– so here’s some information to children and teen actors and their parents from a director to actor. I’ll be teaching a class in Fort Worth on January 21 on this subject. You can register at the store. There’s a morning session and an afternoon– you just need to pick one– they’re identical. First of all, the child actor needs to...
read moreHow to Land Name Actors for Your Film
So you want to make a feature film. You might have even heard that the biggest factor, bar none, for the distribution success of your movie is to cast name actors. But how do you do it? The Name Actor’s 4 Factors First, you need to know the four factors that weigh in a name actor’s decision to be in your movie. A director they want to work with A script they want to do A producer or producing team they can trust The money I’ve had people go into this process thinking that they can land anyone for a price and it’s...
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