About this Master Class
Please note, this event has been rescheduled from Tuesday 2/22 to Saturday 2/12 at 9 a.m. PT.
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.
Television and streaming episodic shows have taken a great leap in recent years, becoming platforms for serious directors to experiment and break traditional barriers of format and genre. Simultaneously, the medium has welcomed diverse voices and talent who have taken risks as they find their unique voices and visual styles. Join award-winning filmmaker and producer Rachel Raimist (The Sex Lives of College Girls, Wu-Tang: An American Saga, The Big Leap), who has directed shows for HBO MAX, Hulu, DISNEY+, CW, and more, as she unveils her process of directing TV from start to finish. In this three-hour online event, we will define the role of a TV director and how to get hired as one and cover the steps it takes to be successful as an episodic director, from effective meetings with your crew to the prep process to working with actors.
Topics covered include:
- How to break in as a TV director and useful strategies to get hired
- Prep process and materials including floor plans, breaking down a script, and scouting for locations
- Blocking a scene - working with the DP, collaborating with actors, and choreographing the camera
- How directing TV is different from directing films
- How working for streaming shows is different from traditional broadcasters
- Working with showrunners, taking notes from executives, and navigating power dynamics
Past classes have included Academy Award-winning director Roger Ross Williams on Documentary Storytelling, Finding Dory’s Victoria Strouse on Comedy Writing, Emmy-nominated director Lesli Linka Glatter on Blocking a Scene, The Walking Dead’s Glen Mazzara on TV Writing and more.
Sundance Collab Master Classes are open and free of charge to all members as live events. Sessions will be recorded and available in our video library within 24 hours to all members for 48 hours after posting. After that, on-demand access to the recording is available only to Creator+ and Course Pass members. Sign up today to get a free 30-day trial Creator+ Membership.
If you have a disability and require accommodation in order to fully participate in this event, please complete this form, contact us at (435) 776-7790 or email us at accessibility@sundance.org to discuss your specific needs. Every effort will be made to accommodate advance requests; requests made within 5 days of the event may not be guaranteed.
Resources:
Download the list of resources from Rachel Raimist and Sundance Collab
Master ClassTeam
Rachel Raimist
Instructor
Dr. Rachel Raimist is a formerly tenured college professor turned trailblazing television director. She is passionate about telling stories of smart women, messy families and teen life. Her directing credits span genres including drama, comedy, action, musicals, science fiction and fantasy. She has recently helmed episodes of ELSBETH (CBS), BEL-AIR (Peacock), THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES (Roku), SEX LIFE (Netflix) and WU-TANG: AN AMERICAN SAGA (Hulu), among others. She is one of the few Boricua directors working in Hollywood.
At the Directors Guild of America (DGA), Raimist made history as the first woman appointed Co-Chair of the Special Projects Committee by President Lesli Linka Glatter. She currently serves the Director Category Rep for the Disability Committee. She has previously served as Alternate Co-Chair of the Women’s Steering Committee, Co-Chair of the Disability Committee and Alt. Co-Chair of the Latino Committee. A passionate advocate for equity and representation, Raimist co-founded the DGA’s annual Women’s Day and leads initiatives spotlighting groundbreaking, diverse directors. She continues to champion inclusive storytelling both on screen and behind the camera.
Rachel earned a MFA and BA in directing from UCLA Film School and a PHD in 2010 in the Department of Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies where the Rachel Raimist Feminist Media Center was named in her honor. Rachel currently teaches directing through her passion project The People’s Film School and as a mentor for the alumni film of the Youth Cinema Project of the Latino Film Institute. She designed and launched the in-person directors workshop for the Tyler Perry Studios Dream Collective and also teaches and mentors for Sundance, African Creative Television, Unlock Her Potential and the Stowe Story Labs. She has taught filmmaking, feminism and storytelling at more than 30 colleges and universities and has filmed and taught in more than 20 countries. She serves on the Advisory Board of Kōawa Studios at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand and is Visiting Assistant Professor at Occidental College where she teaches screenwriting and production.