Joan Scheckel Filmmaking Labs

WHAT IS IT?

Go deep, go inward, and come out with New Stories for New Times! 

Words change worlds!

WRITE YOUR SCENE offers you 5 guided writing sessions, one each day:

1. All writing, All the time. Camera OFF, inner life ON. This class is designed for the quiet focus that allows you to bring your soul to the page.

2. Class will start with a short meditation to center, ground, and visualize the story aspect we will focus on each day.

3. Meditation is followed by a lengthy guided writing with Joan’s prompts.

4. Each day brings new tools, exercises, and guided writings to drive you to the page. 

5. Class is designed to allow you to flow into your writing day, so if you can carve out extra time after the class formally ends, DO.

6. Find creative connection and support with like-minded artists through the JSFL Alumni Hub! This course allows you to access our open hearted, open minded community through Slack, Happy Hours, Alumni Meetups, Ongoing Classes/Generators.

Whether you are working on a novel, episodic, film, commercial, YouTube or Insta content - WRITE YOUR SCENE will help you get deep into the core of your story, the complexity of your characters, and the structural clarity of your scene. Push forward into new understandings of your craft, your stories and your Self. 

WHEN:

WRITE YOUR SCENE: June 12 - 16, 2023

1. Monday 06/12: 7:00am-9:00am PT 

2. Tuesday 06/13: 7:00am-9:00am PT 

3. Wednesday 06/14: 7:00am-9:00am PT 

4. Thursday 06/15: 7:00am-9:00am PT

5. Friday 06/16: 7:00am-9:00am PT (Followed by 9:00am-11:00am PT - Q&A)
   
   

WHERE:

Online via Zoom!

TUITION:

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

The Tuition per participant is:

• Live - Online: $1825

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!

APPLY:

1. If you are new to JSFL, click the "Apply" button at the top of the page.
2. If you are a JSFL Alum, there is no need to apply! Simply click the "Register" button at the top of the page.

Class size is limited.

You will be placed on a waitlist should the Lab be at capacity. 

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.

BRINGING A PROJECT:

There is no need to bring a project, the techniques learned can be applied to all fields in any entertainment platform. Up your game, whether you are pitching, writing, acting, cinematographer, directing, designing or producing.

Although specific material is not necessary for The Lab Series, students sometimes like to bring in specific projects to refer to as Joan goes through the exercises.

JSFL ALUMNI HUB:

By attending a Lab, you receive access to our exclusive, curated community of incredibly talented JSFL alumni.

Find creative connection and support with like-minded artists via the Lab via Slack, Happy Hours, Ongoing Classes/ Generators, Alumni Meetups (both on zoom and in person!)

Dynamic, personalized, interactive experiences with your colleagues allow you to practice the tools you are learning, and apply them to your own work!

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 lecture and active exercises designed to investigate the meaning, structure and emotional core of your project.
6. You are welcome to observe or participate according to your comfort level, whether you are in person, or online.

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 are interested in Story!

WHAT IS THE TECHNIQUE?

The Technique™ is the first, and only, entirely new approach to dramatic craft to be developed since The Method. A paradigm shifting approach to writing, directing and acting, The Technique throws out conflict as the source of story - and instead puts Meaning at the core.

The Technique is now the most influential craft utilized in Hollywood, impacting scores of groundbreaking films and tv shows, including Whale Rider, Little Miss Sunshine, Beginners and Transparent. Joan created the tools of The Technique through her own search for meaning in story, and evolved them by working closely on 84 features with first time or early career writer/directors. 83 of those features have been released. 74 came to Joan without finished scripts, stars, producers or financing. Altogether the projects have earned over 800 award nominations and 400 wins, including major category nods at the Oscars and Emmys.

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, 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. 

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.