Speak to the Exec behind Miracles from Heaven, Risen, and Mom’s Night Out.

Discover the roots of the great movie industry as we know it today on this interactive tour of Old Hollywood.

What made Hollywood what it is today, the center of film and TV, the great mecca of entertainment?  We break down the history of Hollywood, our roots as filmmakers, from the Golden Age to the Digital Age.

Learn the theological and aesthetic meaning of God is beautiful and grasp how this applies to our creative work in making and producing.

In this class we will use Star Wars: A New Hope as a framework to analyze and understand four of the most popular structure methods in Hollywood.

At Act One, we’re all about telling a good story.  Spoken Word Poetry is a great way to express a story in 3 minutes.

Tour the offices of Lin Pictures, the company that brought you The Lego Movie, Lego Batman, the Sherlock Holmes movies with Robert Downey, Jr., Terminator Salvation, and Gangster Squad, as well as TV Shows Lethal Weapon and Frequency.

What is the relevance of Christians in Hollywood?  Kim Dorr talks about the impact of faith on work in Hollywood, and her ministry, Beacon.

Leadership is a vital skill all producers and executives must have. But leadership is more than just being the person “in charge.” Leadership is about influence and how you can impact the people on your team.

An entertainment attorney explains the value of the Option Agreement for the producer, and shows us how to draft and exercise a basic contract.

From sci-fi to rom-coms, learn about the essential qualities of classic films in various genres and how to use those qualities to strengthen the scripts you’re writing and developing.

Take a mini-tour of the campus with Production Executive Christina Lee Storm (also the former President of Act One), and join them for their Bible Study Lunch at DreamWorks.

Making Your Independent Film: A Case Study of Fear, Inc. (Vince Masciale and Luke Barnett)

Hear about the nitty gritty of this duo’s filmmaking hacks as they take you from developing a marketable idea right into financing, casting, pre-production, production, post production, marketing, debuting at a major festival, getting picked up by a distributor, and even snagging a recognizable star!  They’ll also go into things like how to use one project to green-light the next one, getting an agent and manager, and the importance of embracing the digital space.

Join the Directing Students to hear renowned Director David Zucker speak about the craft of directing for comedy.

 Hear one Los Angeles pastor on his mission to equip God’s people in the entertainment world to be a bridge between the church and Hollywood.

There is a small core of powerful independent production companies that know how to achieve their ultimate creative goals, locate their target audiences, and turn a profit on every picture they produce.  They all apply these Seven Major Principles and Practices.

How do you produce an Oscar-winning movie?  We hear from Ed Saxon (Silence of the Lambs, Away We Go) on the woes of Hollywood studio producing.

A crash-course survey of production legal from finance through distribution.

Why should the growing separation between “ethical” and “legal” matter to us as Christians and filmmakers?

Define what leadership and navigating in entertainment may look like.  Leadership and navigation in entertainment is not always about strategy, dominance or power play, I have been very successful with a servant leadership management style which challenges my ego to no end.

Producing and Writing students will sit in on a full day of breaking down a film with renowned story guru, Bobette Buster.

RJ Hume (Pretty Little Liars) talks about his experience as a production coordinator on a network TV show –  it is the glue that holds the production together – from the production office to communication to scheduling.

Independent Producer Justin Bell (Elsa & Fred, A Leading Man) gives you the overview of Production Workflow – what the heck is a production coordinator vs production manager and who is in charge of what?

A TV Producer (Speechless, New Girl, Fresh Off the Boat) talks about the post process.

Learn from a VFX Coordinator (Vampire Diaries) about what goes into effects for your movie or TV show.

Lori McCreary, an Entertainment Executive for film and TV, as well as the President of the Producers Guild of America, speaks about how her faith has impacted her work, in how her spirituality informs her work ethic, to how to go about her day to day as a high-demand executive.

How does faith impact media, and how does media impact culture?

Every new producer should understand the importance of what happens after you finish your film, and to keep those goals in mind from the very beginning of development, pre-production, and production.

An executive at Landmark Theatres offers insights into how exhibitors make decisions.  What movies play where?  How many screens?  Which trailers to use?  We’ll also examine how exhibitors relate to studios and distributors.

A sales agent explains how independently-financed feature films reach the domestic and foreign marketplaces, and the manifold ways a movie can be sold, and the role of the sales agent in that process.

What is a Transmedia Producer? As screenwriters and producers around the globe know, multi-platform technology is changing the world at light speed. Today’s consumers want to explore the stories and storyworlds presented to them when they want and on whichever device they want.

How do we then live in a place and culture such as Hollywood? Can we still live godly, family-oriented lives but keep our careers a priority?

The movie-going audience will always be comprised of conservatives and liberals alike, the churched and unchurched, and every combination thereof. Ash Greyson talks about how to market to a faith audience.

Explore the behind-the-scenes workings of a post-production house.

We’re at the end of our summer, now go apply for those jobs? Learn about the dos and do-nots for your industry resume.

How do you stay connected and grounded as you pursue your career in Hollywood? Shun Lee speaks about The Greenhouse, and why industry ministries and networks like this are important for us as a Christian community of filmmakers.