Cummings is an award-winning Producer, Writer and Director who will present a masterclass on the key stages of production on his short film ‘Thunder Road’ at the Kerry Film Festival, Saturday October 22nd.
The case study film will also be screened at the session, which will include a discussion and Q&A.
The masterclass is one among a line-up of festival screenings and events, and is supported by Screen Training Ireland. Louise Kiely of Louise Kiely Casting is also set to host a workshop, which will demonstrate how to make a lasting impression in auditions.
'Thunder Road’ earned Cummings the Grand Jury Prize at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. He wrote, directed, edited, sound mixed, and starred in the short film, which is one long shot of a police officer eulogising his mother at her funeral.
The project also earned him awards at SXSW Film Festival, Atlanta Film Festival and more, with other award-winning work including his role as Producer on ‘Confusion Through the Sand’, which sees a nineteen year old stranded in a hostile desert and trained to react.
The masterclass is aimed at actors, writers, producers, directors and cinematographers. Experienced and emerging film makers alike would benefit from the expertise of these facilitators.
Cummings’ case study of ‘Thunder Road’ will offer insights into the following:
- Developing the story
- Writing and editing the script
- Deciding on a style
- The reasoning behind shooting the entire film in one single shot and what effect that has for the audience
- Exploring the use of other art forms in film to tell the story, in this case music and short story
- How the short story artform influenced the script
- Performing a twenty minute monologue as an actor
- His experience in preparation, rehearsing and filming the short film
- Detailing the steps involved in music royalties and negotiating with Bruce Springsteen to use his lyrics
- How to apply for Sundance and breakdown the costs involved in taking a short film to a high profile festival
- Winning at Sundance and international success
- The recognition of this short film on an international level and the lessons he has learned along the way
The fee to attend the masterclass is €25 (+ €2.19 booking fee)
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