Symposium Agenda
RSVP Required
Story Versus Science - Synchronous Thursday, April 29th 2021 | 2PM-3PM, Zoom Event
Ever wonder how writers find the balance between fact and fiction, and their narrative and science? Join the Screen Writing Routable Discussion Story Vs. Science! Explore how professional screenwriters, producers and scientists work and collaborate within mass media entertainment.
Panelists:
Yvonne Paulin – screenwriter, science junkie, and thriller/horror movie fan – lives and writes in Stamford, Connecticut.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, her love of film developed while watching THE GHOUL, a late night TV show that blended scary movies with zany antics and soundbites. That was the hook that transformed her midwest living room into a fantasy filled expanse. Determined to stay connected to that world, she filled journals with tension filled, scary stories. But with a twist. She wrote women in lead roles.
Graduating with a B.S. from Miami of Ohio, she received a M. S. in Environmental Science from the University of Texas. Work and family temporarily pushed her writing to the back burner. But in the spring of 2015 she received a Screenwriting Certificate from the New York University’s School of Professional Studies. This set her firmly back on the writing path and today she writes full-time.
Her scripts have placed in several screenwriting contests and film festivals. Most notably; THE TRAIL won top 50 in the 2020 ISA Network Fast Track contest, was a Second Rounder at the 2020 Austin Film Fest, and a Semi-Finalist in the 2019 Nicholl Fellowship. 13 MINUTES was the Genre Winner/Action in the 2020 ISA Network Fast Track competition, was selected for the 2018 Bahamas Film Fest Writers Residency Program, and was a finalist at the Athena Film Fest LA TV & Screenwriting Labs. Her pilot, WHERE LIGHT HIDES, was a Second Rounder at the 2020 Austin Film Festival and was the winner of the Screenwriters Network’s Television Outreach Program.
Today, her writing reflects her passion for science, her love of thriller/horror movies, and her belief that women’s voices wield the power to expand the collective consciousness and engage the audience in new experiences.
Michael Graf
Recently named a “TOP 25 SCREENWRITER TO WATCH IN 2021” by the International Screenwriters Association, Emmy Award winning commercial director, turned screenwriter, Michael Graf, was known in Advertising for his “actor first, artful storytelling” style of directing.
Likewise, his character-centric, story-driven style of writing has been making waves around the world with recently optioned screenplays, THE LAST INDIAN WAR and THROWING HAMMERS, winning awards and top honors at festivals in Paris, Park City, Los Angeles, New York, Nassau and Toronto. His first screenplay, WINTER OF FROZEN DREAMS, was produced for Lifetime network and stars Thora Birch and Dean Winters.
His most recent screenplay, VENICE OF AMERICA, was juried into the Venice Film Festival in Italy and is a Screencraft Top 10 Crime/Mystery screenplay and his newest script, PICKET CHARLIE, is a Fresh Voices finalist for best Action/Adventure genre and their Spotlight Award for Best Written Female Lead Role.
Michael’s also a working member of the DGA, is currently the Writer In Residence at the University of Wisconsin’s Institute For Discovery, and lives on a small Wisconsin farm with his artist wife, Linda Massey, two miniature horses and three rambunctious Jack Russell terriers.
Tristan L’Ecuyer is a professor of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (AOS) and director of the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. L’Ecuyer received his PhD at Colorado State University where he worked as a research scientist for 10 years prior to coming to Wisconsin in 2011. His research uses state-of-the-art satellite observations to answer current grand challenges in climate science. L’Ecuyer’s research group is pioneering new methods for measuring rain and snow from space, determining the role clouds and pollution play in shaping the Earth’s climate, helping to realize the full potential of solar energy, and documenting the causes of rapid Arctic climate change. L’Ecuyer also leads a NASA CubeSat mission called PREFIRE that will measure thermal energy flows in polar regions with the goal of improving predicted rates of Arctic warming, sea ice loss, and ice sheet melt. L’Ecuyer teaches courses on global climate, radar and satellite meteorology, and scientific programming to senior undergraduates and graduate students.
Max Timm
The Director of Education for the ISA. Max’s focus with the ISA is on education and to build a creative community, bringing ISA writers closer to managers, agents, and producers by way of developing their writing craft and talent one step at a time. His personal coaching and development service, The Story Farm, develops writers and their material much like a studio executive or literary manager would, walking a writer through the drafting and rewriting process. He also created online classes for the ISA titled, The Craft Course in Screenwriting and the 30-Day Screenwriting Challenge. Most recently, he and the head of the ISA Development Slate, Felicity Wren, are working diligently on the production and development side of the business, shopping a slate of projects through their shingle, Creative Screenwriter Prods.
Max is a screenwriter and author as well and recently released his debut book on screenwriting titled, (Not Just) Another Book on The Craft of Screenwriting. His debut young adult fantasy novel titled The WishKeeper, about a teenage fairy with broken wings, won the young adult category of the 2015 Los Angeles Book Festival and released nationwide in the Summer of 2016. He is currently shopping it as an animated series.
♀ in Post-Production - Asynchronous Friday, April 30th 2021 | **UPDATE: to increase accessibility, this panel will be recorded. A link to the recording will be provided any RSVPs
Women in the screen industry are transforming the historically male dominated post-production culture. Join us as experts discuss insights into the art, craft, and technology of post-production within show business.
Christina Stumpf
Christina is an award winning creative editor based in Chicago. She started her career at The Lookinglass Company in Santa Monica and Whitehouse Post in Chicago before going freelance. She specializes in comedy, dialog and visual storytelling, has worked in both commercial and episodic programs and her work has been shortlisted at Cannes and debuted during the Super Bowl.
Her clients include The Onion, The Goo Goo Dolls, Hole, The Esquire Network, Miller Brewing, Anheiser Busch, Jimmy Johns and Ford and she works in both the English and Spanish markets. She’s currently working on her first feature length comedy.
Lynette Duensing
Lynette is Senior Colorist at Instinctual LLC Hollywood, CSI Fellow, HPA/Young Entertainment Professionals Mentor, and Member of the Association of Moving Image Archivists. During her 30 year career, she has worked in Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago and Shanghai, color grading Theatrical Trailers, Commercials, Independent Features, Restoration/Preservation projects, and Music Videos, using Lustre, Resolve, and Baselight color finishing platforms.
Mandy Hampton
Mandy Hampton is a Software Engineer in the entertainment industry. She has pipeline development experience for VFX post production, third party software, theme park development, and gaming workflows. Over the last 16 years, she’s worked on various workflows including review/dailies, task management, asset management, and outsourcing for companies like Autodesk and Walt Disney Imagineering. As a senior female engineer in a male-dominated field, she knows the importance of representation and looks forward to helping inspire and encourage women to become developers in the industry.
Writers Workshop - Synchronous Zoom Session One: Friday, April 30th 2021 | 4:30PM-5:30PM Zoom Session Two: Friday, May 7th 2021 | 4:30PM-5:30PM
Want to bring your science to the big screen? Bring your science related stories (or any story ideas!) for an opportunity to workshop narrative storytelling with Michael Graf, WID’s Science to Script Writer in Residence.
This workshop is designed for writers at multiple stages in their career. Beginners and experts welcome!
How to Register:
Registration is à la carte, register for one or all events. RSVP at: https://tinyurl.com/S2SMiniSymp
Questions? Contact Science to Script Co-Director, Ginger Ann at ginger.ann@wid.wisc.edu
Visit https://sciencetoscript.illuminatingdiscovery.wisc.edu for more information.
What is Science to Script?
Sparking accurate, diverse, and positive portraits of science and scientists within mass media entertainment – Science to Script is a Wisconsin Institute for Discovery initiative that hosts free public events that shed light on the intersections between the screen, stage and page and:
-real research
-diverse science characters within stories
-inclusive STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) approaches
Throughout the year we convene entertainment professionals and scientists for FREE virtual panels and discussions that highlight science storytelling, and science connections within the entertainment industry. Join us for a mini symposium, Thursday, April 29th– Friday, April 30th, and learn from experts within the Film and TV industry regarding science-art fusion within story and entertainment careers.
