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, Rachel Raimist defines the role of a TV director and how to get hired as one and covers 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.
Resources:
Download the list of resources from Rachel Raimist and Sundance Collab
Topics covered include:
00:00 - Welcome and Introduction from Sundance Collab
03:24 - Introduction from Rachel Raimist
05:50 - Presentation: Rachel’s Path to Directing
09:40 - How to Navigate Meetings
21:54 - The Role of the TV Director
24:22 - Q&A
33:40 - Directing TV vs Directing Indie Films
36:00 - Steps to Prep for Episodic Television
1:02:30 - Q&A
1:17:30 - Location Scout, Tech Scout and Blocking a Scene - Case Study: Wu-Tang: An American Saga
1:24.26 - Q&A
1:39:20 - Break
1:39:38 - Location Scouting - Case Study: The Republic of Sarah
1:57:31 - Floor Plans and Blocking - The Sex Lives of College Girls
2:13:40 - Q&A
02:32:05 - Blocking Stunts/Action and Scriptation - Case Study: 4400
02:43:34 - Collaboration- Case Study: The Big Leap
02:51:09 - Further Study and Readings
02:51:52 - Q&A
02:58:40 - Final Announcements
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.
