Master Classes are in-depth, interactive learning experiences focused on craft and career building and led by renowned industry experts. Topics include fiction and documentary filmmaking, TV writing and production, and navigating and succeeding in the entertainment industry.



Making a documentary film is a journey that rarely ends how the filmmaker expected it to. So how do you successfully navigate that journey? Join Academy Award-winning director Roger Ross Williams (The Apollo, Life, Animated, God Loves Uganda) in this three-hour Master Class as he reveals the creative process of discovering and shaping true stories into compelling documentary films.



Resources:

Download the list of resources from Roger Ross Williams



Topics covered include:

    00:00 - Introductions from Sundance Collab and Roger

    04:15 - The Research Phase

    12:00 - Fundraising and Shaping Your Story

    27:00 - Q&A

    35:00 - Production: Finding a Point of View

    55:40 - Q&A

    1:00 - Determining Your Visual Style

    1:17 - Finding Universal Themes

    1:20 - Q&A

    1:37 - Shaping the Narrative in Post-Production

    1:54 - The Value of Working with an Editor

    2:12 - The Editing Process with Editor John Fisher

    2:24 - Establishing Your Character and Scenes in Post

    2:45 - Q&A

    2:50 - Closing Remarks

Instructor
Roger Ross Williams is an Oscar, Emmy, NAACP Image award, Webby and Peabody award-winning director, producer and writer –and the first African American director to win an Academy Award ®, with his film Music By Prudence. Williams directed Life, Animated, which won him the Sundance directing award, and was nominated for an Academy Award ® and won three Emmys. Williams is the recipient of the Career Achievement Award from the International Documentary Association, The Woodstock Film Festival Maverick Award, The NYU Alumni Achievement Award and an honorary doctorate from Lafayette College. His production company One Story Up produced the acclaimed food series High On The Hog, an adaptation of Ta Nehisi Coates’ Between The World and Me, the Ben Crump documentary Civil, the award winning film Master of Light and Williams first scripted feature Cassandro from Amazon Prime Video will World premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. more...

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