RECENT SPEAKING/TEACHING ENGAGEMENTS:
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY AT LONG BEACH (2019) - Lecture to design students
"Designing For Cinema: Beyond the Page, Set, Screen, and In-Between."
The script is a blueprint for cinematic design, not just story. It encompasses tone, movement, and emotion. But it doesn’t stop there. Design elements include color, sound, and music. The pacing of scenes, the cadence of the dialogue, and the rhythm of the cuts are all part of the grand design. This lecture covers how a filmmaker incorporates all of these elements under the pressures of time, budget, and personalities.
CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW FILM GUILD - Franklin/Nashville, Tennessee (March 11-13, 2019) - Lecturer and moderator
"Screenplay Book Adaptations: Best Practices and Workflows
" Learn how to option books, find the ‘core’ story within the story, and balance the tension between ‘what really happened’ against using ‘dramatic license’ to tell a more dramatic story while remaining faithful to the spirit of people and events. Discover which structure and scene-by-scene templates or workflows can work for you.
Screenwriting for Christians: It’s More Dangerous Than You Think
Christian films (aka faith films) get a bad rap, mostly justified. Learn how to avoid preachiness and predictability by turning ‘Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs’ upside down and sideways. There are greater scrutiny and challenges in making stories of faith organic and authentic, rather than dogmatic. This is the course to learn how that’s done.
PREVIOUS SPEAKING/TEACHING ENGAGEMENTS:
Christian Worldview Film Guild - Texas, Tennessee (2014,‘1,5 ‘16, ’17, ‘18) - Lecturer and keynote speaker on the following topics:
- How To Write Powerful & Effective Scenes
- How To Write Great Dialogue
- How To Sell Your Story & Feature Screenplay
- Elements For A Successful Script
- Cracking the ‘HIGH CONCEPT’ code using a ‘STRANGE ATTRACTOR’
- Ten “Must Haves” Elements For A Successful Script
- Writing the Visually and Emotionally Compelling Screenplay
- Pixar’s 22 Rules of Story - Revealed and Exposed
- Funding Your Movie Starts with a Solid Finance Plan
- Writing Authentic Dialogue that Propels Your Story Forward
Lamplighter Guild - New York (2017) - Lectures on Screenwriting and Short Films
Expolit Conference - Florida (2017) - Lecture on Screenwriting and Production Panels
Bob Jones University - South Carolina (2016, ‘17) - Lectures on Screenwriting and the Business of Cinema
Gideon Film Festival - Tennessee (2013, 2014) - Keynote Speaker and Production Company Panelist
Advent Film Workshops - Virginia, Colorado (2010, ‘11, ‘12, ‘13, ‘14, ‘15, ‘16) - Series of 2-Day Workshops
Screenwriter’s Expo - Los Angeles (2010) - Lecture on Screenwriting for the Family Market
Homeschool Conferences - Virginia, New Mexico (2010, ‘11) - Lectures Careers in Filmmaking
Patrick Henry College - Virginia (2009, ‘10) - Lectures on The Art and Business of Cinema