Filmmaking Lab Studios

Course Access for One Month!

WHAT IS IT?

Ready to deep dive into The Technique?

Action is where it all begins!!!

Why is it so necessary to understand Action? Because it is fundamental to your work as an embodied artform. Learn how to use Action to make work that connects with global audiences!

In these Labs you will:

1. Discover how to put meaning at the center of your story  
2. Learn how to build the structure and rhythm of your work to bring it unforgettably to life. 
3. Deepen your understanding of two of the fundamental building blocks of a story: Action and Nugget.
4. Deep Dive into Beats and how they provide a framework for Action.

Action dives deep into the topic of Action as Joan responds to rigorous questions from Advanced Alumni. Not only do you get the complete Action Lab given to Advanced Alumni in 2020, but you also get additional footage from the HYBRID Action Lab given in 2022. The Hybrid Lab included an entire Lesson devoted to Beats, which is now included here. It's like having two Labs in one course! 

Through thoughtful lectures and engaging exercises, you will learn how to truly understand these key structural principles and bring them to visceral life in your work! 

These skills are central to Joan's work on films and television shows such as Transparent, Beginners, Arbitrage, Snow White and the Huntsman, Little Miss Sunshine and Whale Rider. Now you can experience the techniques to instantly connect you to the feeling, emotional depth, and rhythm of your work. This full on craft intensive workshop is designed to ground your skills and bring your creativity to the next level. 

WHEN:

Action contains over 21 hours of Action based curriculum!

You will have link access for ONE MONTH.  So no need to rush!  The Lab allows you to slow down,  try the exercises on your own, connect with the Live JSFL Alumni Network to practice and absorb the material on your own time!  

WHERE:

Online via Thinkific! Find out more about Self-Guided labs HERE!

TUITION:

The course is designed for professionals who wish to bring their skills to the next level.

The Tuition per participant is $1625

We love teams and groups that want to take the Lab together! Should you choose to study with your team, please note the tuition price is per participant, not per group. 

• You may pay by credit card.
• Payment Plans are available
• Feel free to Email Us with questions!

PAYMENT AND REGISTRATION:

To remit tuition, click button at the top or bottom of the page.

REFUND/CANCELLATION/MAKE-UP POLICY:

1. There are no cancellations or refunds after booking.

2. Students are responsible for payment in full whether or not they chose to attend all class sessions.

3. Media links are available for one month. 

4. Extender passes are available should you wish to access media links longer than one month.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF LABS ONLINE? 

1. Focused, deep dive on the core tool that brings Meaning to your Story:  Action. 
2. Lecture and physical based curriculum support integration and insight.
3. Online Labs allow the opportunity to study on your own schedule, and at your own pace.
4. Enjoy the Media Links for one full month! Previously only available live, or online for 3 days!
5. Connect with your JSFL Alumni Community Network through Slack, Happy Hours, Generators, Mega Generators and Weekly Ongoing Classes! Practice the tools you are learning, and workshop your material with talented, open hearted, and like-minded creatives!

ACCESS THE JSFL ALUMNI HUB:

1. Join our exclusive, curated community of incredibly talented JSFL alumni.

2. Find creative connection and support with like-minded artists via Slack, Happy Hours, Generators, Mega Generators, and Weekly Ongoing Classes!

3. Have dynamic, personalized, interactive experiences with your colleagues.

DRESS TO MOVE:

1. Sweats, yoga clothes (no jeans), and sneakers - as if you were going to the gym.

2. No belts, earrings, or jewelry please. We want you to protect your bodies during floor work!

3. Please note the lab is physical, you are free to observe at your comfort level. Please be respectful of your body and do not participate in the physical work if you have any physical injuries, illness, are on any medications, or are pregnant.
   

CLASS LEVEL:

1. These are advanced classes for professional artists interested in exploring new practices, pushing their boundaries, and going deep.

2. The Labs are physical.

3. The work is feeling-based.

4. Please note you may find the work to be uncomfortable. 

5. There will be a mix of lectures and active exercises designed to investigate the meaning, and structure and emotional core of your project.

6. You are welcome to observe or participate according to your comfort level. You will get just as much out of observing as participating.

WHO GOES? 

Whether you are Directing, Writing, Acting, or Producing, The Technique™ is essential in taking your career to the next level! The Lab Series is designed for Film, Episodic, Commercial, and all content creators. It may be attended individually… or by the entire team. 

1. Directors

2. Writers 

3. Actors 

4. Producers 

5. Executives

6. Production 

7. Designers 

8. Cinematographers

9. Editors

10. Brand Directors

11. Any creatives interested in Story!

ABOUT JOAN:

Writer/Director/Producer/Teacher Joan Scheckel is the internationally-renowned creator of The Technique™, the most influential new approach to writing, directing and filmmaking craft in Hollywood today. Joan is known as the “Director’s Guru” and as a master teacher in the tradition of Stanislavski, Strasberg and Joseph Campbell. Joan’s groundbreaking work challenges our cultural addiction to conflict and calls for a new storytelling paradigm that embraces feeling and meaning. Her innovations inform every level of the mise-en-scène, from writing, acting, and directing to visual style.

Joan trains and then teams with directors to develop, workshop, write, direct and produce material from the ground up. Including such iconic hits as... Niki Caro’s Oscar Nominee Whale Rider, Dayton/Faris’s Oscar Winner Little Miss Sunshine, Mike Mills’s Oscar Winner Beginners (Executive Producer), Joey Soloway’s Emmy Winner Transparent (Consulting Producer), Joey Soloway’s Golden Globe Nominee I Love Dick (Producer), Sarah Shapiro’s Peabody Award Winner UnREAL, Rupert Sanders’s Oscar Nominee Snow White and the Huntsman, Nick Jarecki’s Golden Globe Nominee Arbitrage, Sacha Gervasi’s Spirit Award Winner Anvil Story of Anvil, Karyn Kusama’s The Invitation, Mark Romanek’s One Hour Photo, Miranda July’s The Future, (New Yorker Magazine Best of the Decade List), Liz Feldman’s Emmy Award Winner, Dead To Me, Anna Winger and Alexa Karolinski’s Unorthodox and many, many more.

Joan was also co-writer on The Vintner’s Luck, directed by Niki Caro (Mulan), starring Jeremie Renier and Vera Farmiga.

Overall, Joan has worked on 84 feature films and television shows. 74 came to her with unfinished drafts, no financing or cast, and with first time or early-career writer/directors at the helm. 83 have been released, earning over 800 nominations and 406 wins including major category nods at the Oscars, Spirits, Golden Globes, Sundance, Cannes, Bafta, Emmys, PGA, DGA etc. 

This year alone, graduates of The Technique™ have garnered over 112 award nominations from Sundance to Oscars and Emmys.

Joan has been profiled and featured for her work and her influence on a generation of directors in many articles and publications such as: NYTimes, LA Times, Marie Claire, Deadline, Indiewire, Vox, IF Magazine, California Sunday, The New York Observer and more.

Now Joan is poised to create a slate of books, films, labs (live and online), podcasts, and apps.