The Director's Process 2021

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Under the guidance of feature film director Megan Riakos (Dark Whispers - Volume 1, Crushed, Deadhouse Dark: No Pain No Gain), participants will learn how to prepare to direct a narrative film through the lens of independent filmmaking. Using her films as case studies, she will demonstrate practical approaches to: 

• What is a director? - Expectations and skillset 

• Developing your vision - Research, references and finding your style, mood & tone

• Communicating & collaborating with your crew - mood & storyboards, shot lists, script breakdowns, creating a community with your crew

• Casting & directing actors - auditions, rehearsals, filming and ADR

• Preparing for shoot & onset protocols - call sheets, schedules, intimacy & stunts, blocking, the dance of a film set

• Embracing post-production - deepening the story and practical considerations

Discounted tickets available for members of WIFT Australia, Screen Vixens, Film Fatales and Screen Guilds as well as student/concession prices (concession is self-declared ie underemployed etc). We also have a limited number of places at no cost for those who are experiencing financial hardship.

These workshops are presented by Hemlock & Cedar Films with funding support from City of Sydney. Bookings are available here.

Megan Riakos - Biography

Megan Riakos is a dynamic filmmaker bringing a distinctive female lens to the world of genre filmmaking. As the writer/director/producer of the thriller Crushed, she was behind the film's innovative Australian release becoming one of the most successful cinema-on-demand screening runs in the country and acquisitions by Qantas and Channel 10. She is the creator and producer of Australia's first female horror anthology Dark Whispers - Volume 1 which premiered locally at Cinefest OZ and internationally at Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival and is now available on SBS On Demand, iTunes, Google Play and other major platforms. 

She is also the writer/director of an episode of the Shudder Original series Deadhouse Dark. She compliments her filmmaking with her role as co-founder of the Not-For-Profit organisation Women in Film & Television (WIFT) Australia and merges these two fields of creativity and advocacy via her company Hemlock & Cedar Films, which focuses on amplifying female voices. Megan is also a mentor and teacher, having taught filmmaking and screen business at UNSW, AFTRS, QUT, NIDA and ACA.