ABOUT LAURENCE BENNETT

Laurence Bennett’s feature production design credits include In the Valley of Elah, Freedom Writers, Traitor, The Company you Keep, and Academy Award Best Picture Crash (2006 ADG nomination).

For 2012 Academy Award Best Picture The Artist he received Oscar, BAFTA, ADG, and BFCA nominations, and was awarded the César by the Académie Des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma.

Recent features: The Water Man, directed by David Oyelowo, and Dog, directed by Channing Tatum and Reid Carolin.

For HBO he designed the David Simon miniseries Show Me a Hero and The Wizard of Lies, directed by Barry Levinson.

Television pilots and series include Grey’s Anatomy, Billions, The Deuce, Once and Again, EZ Streets, Thief, Mr. Sterling, Sneaky Pete, and The Resident.

The limited series The Offer, about the making of The Godfather, is available on Paramount+.

Educated at Occidental College, Los Angeles, and Waseda University, Tokyo, Bennett lived and worked in Ireland for ten years, returning to LA to work in film. In Dublin he painted, had a design practice, worked in fringe theatre, and was a lecturer at the National College of Art.

Since 2015 he has taught at Escuela Internacionál de Cine y Televisión, in San Antonio de Los Baños, Cuba.

Bennett and his wife live in Oregon.


full credits on http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0071879/

Laurence Bennett experience speaks for itself and guarantees the high standards our participants have come to expect from FEST FILM LAB.


WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION

CHOICES
Visualising the narrative

‘We’re building something here…
We’re building it from scratch.
All the pieces matter.’
Detective Lester Freamon, THE WIRE
Every project is unique. But each involves a seemingly endless series of choices. Perhaps the most critical—and sometimes the most difficult—decision, is exactly how to approach its design. Seldom found easily or quickly, the key—the way into the design of a film—is essential. That essential key can inform and shape every subsequent choice throughout the art direction process.

The workshop will explore approaches to identifying and working with the essential ideas, emotions, concepts, and imagery that will drive the design.

Topics for discussion will include:
Finding visual arcs within the story
Identifying thematic elements
Emotional tones
Research
Each individual’s distinct path in the business
And very importantly, collaboration.

Filmmaking is at its core an intimate and collaborative experience. We’ll look at working with others in the team—how open exchange with others enriches one’s work. With the director and DP, the Production Designer shares visual authorship of the work. Beyond that, though—in addition to directing and supervising set dec, props, construction, and paint, the PD and their art director(s) confer and make decisions with many other departments: wardrobe, SPFX, VFX, stunts, sound, etc., from prep through production.

Working with the script for a short film, participants will begin this discovery process, researching and assembling (outside online course time) a brief presentation of how the visual arc of the film will reflect, support, and enrich the narrative. A group review/discussion will wrap up the session.




PROFILE OF PARTICIPANT

The workshop designed for Production Designers, Art Directors, Costume Designers, Set Designers, Directors, Art Directors, DP's, Film Students, or anyone interested in entering the Film Business on the area of Production Design

LOCATION OF THE WORKSHOP

The workshop will take place online, FEST FILM LAB has always been a project of high level knowledge sharing and networking. In the next few months we will be hosting the workshops online, however we will maintain not only the standard of quality you have come to expect with the best experts available, but also the networking and interactivity of the workshops:

-The workshop group will have a limited number of participants, we will not host more than 25 participants.

- We will maintain the tailor made aspects, with the possibility of troubleshooting projects you have been involved or challenges you are facing. We will introduce new tools to enhance the interactivity between participants.

- We have rearranged the workshops' sessions, which will take place in 4 days instead of the typical 2 days, so that the workshop is less overwhelming, as the typical two full days online would impact the capacities of the participants to absorb the content.



16 hours
Duration: 4 days
Dates: 14-15 and 21-22 January 2023
4PM - 8PM GMT (London)
5PM - 9PM CET (Brussels)
11AM - 2PM EST (New York)
8AM - 12PM PST (Los Angeles)
7PM - 11PM Gulf Standard Time (Dubai)
11PM - 3AM CST (Beijing)
8:30PM - 12:30AM IST (New Delhi)
Location: Online
Price: 499EUR (299EUR with 40% Discount until the 11th of January)
Maximum number of participants: 25
By registering to the workshop you agree with FFL terms and Conditions