Filmmaker Masterclass: Directing for the Screen with Megan Griffiths [In-Person Only]
Sat Nov 16:
Suggested registration is $100, sliding scale available.
Duration: 5h
Instructor: Megan Griffiths
About
The incredible Megan Griffiths, a director whose independent features have premiered at Sundance, Toronto, SXSW, and Tribeca, will deep dive into her process for preparing for a production, bringing the story to life on screen, and connecting your film to audiences. Megan has over two decades of experience working in film and television, from small indie sets to giant studio productions. Over the course of this masterclass Megan will share samples of her work across her prolific career, breakdown her directorial process, and share impactful stories and lessons that she has learned over the past 20 years of directing. She will also be inviting some special guests to add different perspectives to these topics.
10am – 11am – Intro & Basics: We will show trailers of Megan’s work, talk about directing and what it entails, and breakdown the core concepts every director needs to prepare for.
11am – 12pm – Casting & Preparation: Megan will break down the casting process and talk about finding a look, building references for the DP/PD, and working with producers and AD’s.
12pm – 12:30pm – LUNCH
12:30pm – 2pm – Anatomy of a Scene & Working with Actors: Megan will discuss set protocol and process, do a script-to-screen analysis and answer any questions about how she gets the best performances out of her actors.
2pm – 3pm – Editing, Distribution, and Positioning Yourself: Megan will talk about collaborating with an editor, the feedback process, the state of the industry, and building a career.
Megan Griffiths
Director
Year of the Fox
Megan Griffiths is a writer/director working in film and television. She has directed shows for HBO, EPIX, TNT, Hulu, USA, Fox, Netflix, and served as the producing director for season two of Amazon’s “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” Griffiths recently completed two features: YEAR OF THE FOX, starring Sarah Jeffery, Jane Adams, and Jake Weber, and Duplass Brothers Productions’ I’LL SHOW YOU MINE, starring Poorna Jagannathan and Casey Thomas Brown. Prior to this, she wrote and directed SADIE, which premiered at the 2018 South by Southwest Film Festival and stars Melanie Lynskey, Sophia Mitri Schloss, and Tony Hale. She also adapted and directed the thriller THE NIGHT STALKER, starring Lou Diamond Phillips as serial killer Richard Ramirez, which premiered on Lifetime Television. Her film LUCKY THEM starring Toni Collette, Thomas Haden Church and Johnny Depp premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was distributed by IFC Films. Griffiths’s film EDEN was a breakout at SXSW 2012, winning the Emergent Narrative Director Award, the Audience Award for Narrative Feature as well as a Special Jury Prize for lead actress Jamie Chung. Griffiths’ feature THE OFF HOURS, distributed by Film Movement, premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.
Additionally, Griffiths has produced several features including the Sundance absurdist buddy comedy THE CATECHISM CATACLYSM, as well as YOUR SISTER’S SISTER, directed by the late Lynn Shelton, Griffiths’s close friend and frequent collaborator. Griffiths and Shelton also co-wrote a feature for This American Life, and together with producer Gregg Fienberg sold an original pitch to HBO.
Griffiths is a member of the director’s branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. In her adopted hometown of Seattle, Griffiths was the recipient of the 2012 Stranger Genius Award for Film, was named the 2013 City Arts Film Artist of the Year, and received the 2015 Seattle Mayor’s Award for Film. She serves on the board of Northwest Film Forum and is an advocate for sustainable production.
