The Workshops  

Hosted by The Institute of Contemporary Art 
ICA / Boston Seaport Studio  


WORKSHOPS



Scout believes it is important to offer educational opportunities to its community of filmmakers and visual storytellers aged 24 and under. Scout's educational program offers a series of in-person and online workshops.



Filmmakers and visual storytellers aged 24 and under must apply to participate in the workshops. 
Attendance is limited. The deadline to apply is October 16, 2022.

The health and safety of our staff, attendees, and guests is our top priority. COVID guidelines may evolve based on the recommendations and guidelines set by the MA Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mask use is optional throughout our host venues, in accordance with City of Boston guidelines. Disposable face coverings are available to visitors as needed. If you have or develop symptoms, please test and stay home.
 
Fanny Packs are In: Your Kick-Ass, Get a Job Production Assistant Workshop  
 Date:  Saturday, October 29, 2022  Time:  10:30AM -...
Date: Saturday, October 29, 2022
Time: 10:30AM - 1:00PM EST
Location: ICA/ Boston Seaport Studios, 100 Pier 4 Blvd, Second Floor

This workshop is presented in partnership with Women In Film and Video New England

Love Film? Want to actually work on one? Strap on your fanny pack, throw on cozy shoes, grab sharpies and let’s go! In this action-packed workshop, you will learn what you need to know to start as a Production Assistant (PA) tomorrow. Pitfalls, how to use a walkie, what the lingo means, how to talk about money, and what the reality is of working in the film industry.

About Alecia Orsini


Alecia Orsini is an award-winning Producer, Director and Multi-Media professional with 15+ years of experience working in the film industry. She is a Production Manager for film and at GBH in Boston as a Board Operator for radio.

Alecia is a prominent voice in the region's film community as President Emeritus of Women in Film and Video of New England. She also devotes time to Save MA Film Jobs / MA Film Works, working behind the scenes for the grassroots organization supporting Film Tax Incentives in the state of Massachusetts. She’s a staunch advocate, utilizing her experience and platform to amplify the voices of the underserved within the film industry such as women of color and members of the LGBTQI+ communities.

In 2012 she was named one of the Cape & Plymouth Business 40 Under 40 for her volunteer work & entrepreneurship, and in 2019 she was named an Imagineer for her service to the film industry by Imagine Magazine.

Alecia recently returned to the director’s chair and completed filming of the short drama “Late Fall”.

Aside from her professional work, Alecia is a lifetime member of the Girl Scouts, can drive a stick shift and is the proud mother of two boys Finn(4) and Sawyer (Newborn).


About Nerissa Williams Scott


Nerissa Williams Scott - Mrs. Williams Scott, CEO/Lead Creative Producer of That Child Got Talent Entertainment, Boston, MA is: an affiliated faculty member at Emerson college in the Business of Creative Enterprise department where she teaches on the undergraduate and graduate level; an adjunct faculty member at Massachusetts College of Art & Design, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate level courses; affiliated faculty at Boston University where she teaches Creative Producing.  

She is currently working on two feature projects and a docu-series.  

She is a graduate of Hampton University, where she received a Bachelor of Art degree in Fine and Performing Arts. She is also a graduate of Emerson College where she received her Master of Fine Art degree in Film Production ’15 (emphasis on producing).

Mrs Williams Scott has worked her way up to the position of Producer, Creative Producer, Director, UPM and Line Producer.  She was awarded the LEF Foundation Fellowship to attend the Flaherty Seminar in upstate New York in 2018 as well as the LEF Development grant for the experimental feature documentary, “Paradise” with director Gabby Sumney. She is the Vice President on the Board of Directors for Women in Film and Video New England. She is also the Chair of the Events and Programming Committee for the Board of Directors of Women in Film and Television International.  

Her most prized position is serving as the Creative Director of Sarah’s Hope Charitable and Educational Foundation in Lufkin, Texas.  

As CEO of That Child Got Talent Entertainment, Nerissa has created a company that serves as a bridge for women who are recent college grads to gain employment while serving the greater community through teaching youth as well as elders.  Her favorite quote, “The ongoing forward momentum of TCGT has provided the avenue that lays poise for the women we provide the opportunity to wow the world with brilliance!”

How to Become a Development Executive
in Hollywood  
 Date:  Sunday, October 30, 2022  Time:  11:00AM -...
Date: Sunday, October 30, 2022
Time: 11:00AM - 12:00PM EST
Location: ICA/ Boston Seaport Studios, 100 Pier 4 Blvd, Second Floor

Participants will learn about the skills and knowledge needed to be in the creative C-Suite in Hollywood and traditional and non-traditional approaches to getting there. The workshop will be interactive as participants will practice pitching themselves as future executives and/or a project for development.

About Fanshen Cox

Award-winning playwright, actor, producer & educator, Fanshen Cox has dedicated her life and career to contributing to social change through storytelling and other actions.

As the SVP of Development and Impact at Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's Pearl Street Films, Fanshen co-authored the Inclusion Rider, announced by Frances McDormand at the 2018 Oscar Awards, and now adopted for use by production companies and studios in Hollywood, and the fashion and music industries.

She also co-created and co-hosts the Webby-nominated podcast Sista Brunch-highlighting Black women and non-binary people thriving in media and entertainment. Fanshen continues this work now as President of TruJuLo Productions-dedicated to uplifting stories that speak the truth in pursuit of justice in service of love.

Fanshen served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Cape Verde, West Africa, and has been honored with the Peace Corps’ Franklin H. Williams Award, Peace Corps Fellows and Hollywood Foreign Press Association scholarships, an Exemplar of Humanity Centered Media award by Media Done Responsibly and Distinguished Alumni Awards from CSULA and Teachers College, Columbia University. She holds a BA in Spanish and Education, an MA in TESOL, and an MFA in TV, Film and Theatre.



Visual Storytelling  
 Date:  Sunday, October 30, 2022  Time:  11:00AM -...
Date: Sunday, October 30, 2022
Time: 11:00AM - 12:00PM EST
Location: ICA/ Boston Seaport Studios, 100 Pier 4 Blvd, Second Floor

This workshop will explore the fundamental concepts of visual storytelling and film grammar.

About Gautam Chopra

Gautam Chopra is a Boston filmmaker. He received his MFA in Film Directing from Columbia University’s Graduate Film Program.

His work as a director includes CAULIFLOWER & POTATOES, a finalist of the AbelCine Documentary Award; ALUMNI, which premiered at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; LICORICE, an official selection of the 2019 Palm Springs International ShortFest and the 2018 New York Indian Film Festival; and CANDLEPIN, an official selection of the 2021 Nantucket Film Festival and the 2022 Independent Film Festival Boston.

Gautam has also edited several films including the two-part documentary WHO TAKES AWAY THE SINS, about the Boston Clergy Abuse Crisis; the narrative film LAMBING SEASON, selected by IndieWire as one of the 10 Best Films of 2014; and SMOKE GRENADE, winner of the Best Narrative Short Prize at the 2018 Mystic Film Festival. He currently teaches filmmaking and film studies at Emerson College and Boston College.


Storytelling In Immersive Worlds, Turning Viewers Into Visitors  
 Date:  Sunday, October 30, 2022  Time:  1:30PM - 3:00PM...
Date: Sunday, October 30, 2022
Time: 1:30PM - 3:00PM EST
Location: ICA/ Boston Seaport Studios, 100 Pier 4 Blvd, Second Floor

In this panel discussion, which invites a lively Q&A throughout, Moderator Jen Faucon will speak with Oni Buchanan (ImmerSphere), Matthew Neutra (BrightSign, Bose), and Whitney C. Johnson (National Geographic) on the topic of Telling stories with tools that have no manual. A conversation about new Storytelling tools and how to get started.

Jen Faucon

Jen Faucon led a variety of organizations through the digital revolution at agencies McCann, BBDO, and iProspect, including powerhouse brands Visa, Microsoft, General Motors and Nestle. Her global reach included 10 years in Asia Pacific and the Middle East. She also drove innovation at tech start-ups as Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Customer Experience Officer, integrating the power of AI, cryptocurrency, VR / AR into digital experiences. Jen is presently Program Director at the US Council for International Business (USCIB) developing global social innovation projects and partnerships. Jen is a regular speaker and moderator on immersive technologies and creative innovation for AMA Boston.

Oni Buchanan

Oni Buchanan is a poet, concert pianist, and the founder and director of the Ariel Artists music management company, in addition to the founder and CEO of ImmerSphere. Having spent a lifetime pursuing interdisciplinary creation and forging collaborative networks of visionaries across disparate disciplines, Oni is uniquely positioned to run a software company that weaves together artistry, technology, interactivity, and multiple realities, and to fashion an infrastructure to uplift creators.

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Matthew Neutra

Matthew Neutra has been at the bleeding edge of immersive media, experience design, and digital signage. Serving as the Audio Experience Innovation Lead during his 20-year career at Bose Corporation, Matt created unique prototype experiences, bridging the gap between consumer electronics, entertainment, and technology. Matt has a B.S. in Geology, an M.S. in Geo-information Science/Remote sensing, and worked on the precursor to Google Earth in the late 1990s.

Whitney C. Johnson

Whitney C. Johnson is the director of visuals and immersive experiences at National Geographic. She leads the visual and immersive staffs, overseeing photography, video, Instagram, and podcast teams. She joined National Geographic in 2015 as the magazine’s deputy director of photography.

From 2007 to 2015, Johnson was on the staff of The New Yorker, first as a picture editor and later as the director of photography. Prior to joining the magazine, Johnson worked at the Open Society Foundations, where she was a founding member of the Documentary Photography Project and managed an international grant competition and exhibition for documentary photographers.

Her work has earned numerous awards from the American Society of Magazine Editors, the Society of Publication Designers and the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (the Webbys). In 2011, Johnson — together with The New Yorker staff photographer Platon and Human Rights Watch — received a Peabody. In 2018, Pictures of the Year International honored the National Geographic photo staff with the Angus McDougall Overall Excellence in Editing Award and recognized Johnson with an Award of Excellence in the Magazine Visual Editor of the Year category. In 2019, National Geographic was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography.

Johnson received her Bachelor of Arts from Barnard College and continued with graduate work in American studies at Columbia University.

Say More With Less!: Dynamics of Dialogue In A Script  
 Date:  Sunday, October 30, 2022  Time:  3:00PM - 4:00PM...
Date: Sunday, October 30, 2022
Time: 3:00PM - 4:00PM EST
Location: ICA/ Boston Seaport Studios, 100 Pier 4 Blvd, Second Floor

As writers, we know every word counts, and this is especially true in writing dialogue. We will hone in on skills needed to write dialogue that engages the reader, pushes the story forward, and uses as few words as possible. We will review the “dos and don'ts” of writing dialogue and incorporate a practical generative exercise that will challenge the way you write dialogue.

About Mary Conroy

Mary Conroy teaches Screenwriting at Boston College.  She was awarded a graduate fellowship and earned an MFA in Playwriting from Boston University. In 2017, her play Every Piece of Me was produced at the Boston Playwrights Theatre. For three years she served as the Dramatists Guild of America’s regional representative for Boston Metro. She has had numerous productions of her short plays in the New England area as well as New York and California.  Mary reads and judges for a variety of festivals and screenwriting competitions. She continues to write in all three genres of visual storytelling: film, television, and theatre.

Scout Film Festival

Scout Film Festival (Scout)—is a 501c3 non-profit organization that produces an annual international event celebrating emerging filmmakers - aged 24 and under - through film.
Website via Visura

Scout Film Festival is integrated to:
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Visura's network for visual storytellers and journalists
A photography & film archive by Visura
Photography grants, open calls, and contests
A newsfeed for visual storytellers