Aaron Schmidt has worked in animation, visual effects and illustration for more than fifteen years. His love of all things monster is inspired by such diverse sources as Ray Harryhausen, Ukiyo-e prints and pulp science fiction and fantasy covers from before he was born.

Kevin is currently positioned as Co-Founder (Managing Director & Editor-in-Chief) at RICE Media (Thailand), an alternative regional media start-up that aims to create critical thinking – first in Singapore, now in Thailand and forth in the future. He is an American-born Thai, raised in Bangkok, Thailand and lived in Nevada & California.

Ian was born in Zimbabwe and lived both there and in South Africa for several years before moving to the UK.

After training as an actor at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, he worked professionally for some time appearing on stage, TV, radio and in numerous voice-overs.

Nick Reed has had the opportunity to wear many hats in the arts field. As a Writer, he has written many hours of TV for BBC, ITV and Sky including 26 eps of London Bridge, an entire series of Belfry Witches as well as episodes of Byker Grove, Doctors and Eastenders. Also written for the stage including Lifecoach starring Phil Jupitus, which was nominated for a WOSA for Best new Comedy and is  currently playing in Poland and Slovakia, also Never Mind The Botox nominated for an Offie for Best New Play. Wrote the feature film adaptation of Lifecoach which is in development for production in 2019, with Nick attached as director, and and 3 children’s features for Fabelizer. Currently writing feature film The Visit for BluwCreative. Also written for computer games and events including 2 Harry Potter book launches. and corporate material for various celebrities including Johnny Vegas, Daniel Radcliffe and Ross Kemp.

As a director, he has directed various off West End theatre shows including Misalliance by Shaw at The Tabard, Immaculate by Oliver Lansley and Never Mind The Botox at The White Bear as well as Lifecoach in Trafalgar Studios, West End, starring Phil Jupitus. Directed several short films including Hic with Tom Hollander and Peace and Quiet with Annabelle Apsion, which screened across the world at major festivals and sold to Canal+, HBO and others. Most recent short film Just Saying with Ewen

Macintosh has won numerous awards. Directed virals with comedian Jan Ravens scoring over a million views and the award winning Ken Loach’s Star Wars again over a millions views. Directed live events including the

Harry Potter book launches – most viewed webcast ever – and audio recordings as well as trailers for West End shows. Directed Inside The Spanish School, an hour long special for Sky as well as corporate content for clients including Ogilvy, Google and Kantar Media. Most recently directed a commercial for Nintendo.

 

Nick Reed has taught screen acting for 5 years at Drama Studio London and to American University students through Theatre Academy London, as well as running own group workshops on casting and improv. Roles at DSL include pastoral tutor on the degree, module leader, director on filming block and producer on the filming block.

 

 

 

 

Workshop 1 – Script to Film I

Total Time 75 minutes

The film workshops will focus on practical skills and rules that can be followed or broken to help make your project the best it can be.  In our first workshop, we’ll cover the fundamentals of screenwriting – subtext, act structures, inciting incidents, turning points, the visit to death, protagonists, antagonists, allies, mentors, what do these terms really mean and why do people refer to them repeatedly, if they are useful why are they useful? We’ll go on to explore the fundamentals of screen acting –  the differences between stage and screen acting for the performer, what works on screen that doesn’t work on stage for the audience and how the director can get a great performance from an actor instead of sending them off to their trailer in a strop!

 

Workshop 2 – Script to Film II

Total Time 75 minutes

In this second film workshop, we’ll look at the business of putting the scripts and actors on camera, the practical shooting process and how to shoot for the cut and for the budget. Three teams will be tasked with shooting on a gimbal, handheld and on sticks and we’ll see the effect the different methods have on the blocking and the impact of a scene.  We’ll explore how to place your lights, the feel of different lenses and how to use storyboarding or software to see your film is a winner before you ever start to roll.