Peter Werner is an accomplished director with an extensive background in both television and film. He most recently added Justified (FX), Grimm, A Gifted Man, and Unforgettable to his list of television credits which also include multiple episodes of Medium (NBC), Army Wives (Lifetime), Law & Order: CI (NBC), Ghost Whisperer (CBS), Boomtown (NBC), A Different World (NBC), and The Wonder Years (ABC.) He was the primary director for the first two seasons of Moonlighting (ABC). One of his episodes was voted one of the top 50 in television history by TV. Guide.
Mr. Werner has also directed numerous television pilots including Suburban Sleuths (Lifetime), Ghost Cop (FBC) and Nash Bridges (CBS) and more than twenty Movies of the Week including Lifetime’s Almost Golden: The Jessica Savitch Story, which earned him an Emmy® nomination. He also received Emmy nominations for L.B.J.: The Early Years, Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy, and Moonlighting as well as multiple Director’s Guild nominations. He won an Ace Award for The Image ( HBO) with a cast that included Albert Finney, John Mahoney and Brad Pitt.
Werner has several feature film and short film credits to his name including No Man’s Land ( Charlie Sheen), Don’t Cry and It’s Only Thunder, plus an Academy Award for In The Region of Ice which he adapted from a short story by Joyce Carol Oates. He has also written numerous scripts and directed a number of documentaries including Frances Flaherty: Hidden and Seeking and Findhorn.
Finally, the father of three, Mr. Werner is a graduate of Dartmouth College, received a Masters in Teaching from Antioch, and an M.F.A. from the American Film Institute. He has lectured widely but loves teaching week long workshops in Maine as well as practicing Buddhism for twenty five years.
Film Director Master Class
Successful films require the guidance of a strong director who has done all of the homework and has a full understanding of the story he/she wants to tell. This course is for working film and television directors and filmmakers who want to explore a film director's creative process in shaping a performance and choosing scene coverage in a dramatic film. During the week there are screenings of important films and a review and critique of participants' reels. Discussions and exercises addressing such topics as the director's process, crew management, and directing styles are held daily. The class analyzes a feature-length script and selects a scene, then assists and participates with the directing faculty in the production of the scene. Auditions with professional actors as well as rehearsals and blocking are overseen by the instructor. Students analyze the importance and usage of shot coverage, point-of-view, camera placement and movement, and performance techniques in assembling the pieces into a seamless, dramatic scene.