2013 Panels

“I don’t watch TV, but I do tweet…”

FRIDAY, 1:30 PM
SFA Assembly Room

Have you ever heard someone say, “I don’t watch TV.” Then there is a pause, before they finish their sentence, “…but I did just marathon watch House of Cards on Netflix.” Or “I borrowed my friend’s DVDs and watched The Wire for the first time!” Or maybe, how they watch Revenge but only on ABC.com?

How do you watch TV? On an actual TV? On a computer? With a Roku? On Netflix? Do you have a 2nd screen? Maybe a third one? What’s on it? Twitter? Facebook? Viggle? Get Glue?

Whether you watch week-to-week or consume in massive marathon-viewing, television is becoming an “any way you want it” medium that no one fully knows how to monitor or gage just yet.  Hear from the executives, actors, and creators who are in the midst of the changing landscape of how we watch TV.  These panelists have seen how social media has brought their audience back to “live viewing,” resurrected shows that before the digital age might have been forgotten, and have given the viewer the power to decide when and where (and sometimes how) their favorite show will unfold.

Panelists: Darby Stanchfield, Katie Lowes, Arielle Kebbel, Julie Plec, Brad Bell

Moderator: Laura Prudom

Actor’s Roundtable

SUNDAY, 12:30 PM
SFA Ballroom

How do you create a role from a pilot script?  What’s it like to play the same character season after season?  Is it hard to walk onto an already established show as a guest star?  Some of today’s leading episodic actors talk about the ups and downs of their TV careers.

Panelists: Devon Gummersall, Devon Odessa, Lucas Neff, Lindsey McKeon, Nick Weschler,Matt Lauria, Scott Porter, Wilson Bethel, Arielle Kebbel, Joshua Malina

Moderator: Evan Miller

Casting Deconstructed

FRIDAY, 10:30 AM
SFA Assembly Room

Curious how your favorite actor landed a lead in your new favorite show?  Or how a guest star is cast, potentially creating a role that is more memorable than the series regulars?  And how does a casting director know a “real” person will be just the right amount of crazy and heart to make for addictive, unscripted binge-viewing?

Come hear about the casting process from all view points as Emmy award winning casting director Beth Sepko speaks to traditional & real person casting, Kelsey Mayfield-Porter talks unscripted casting for series like The Biggest Loser, while Liz Tigelaar addresses the creator’s role in the casting process, Devon Odessa, an actor turned acting coach, tells of her unique take on the audition process, and actors, Nick Wecshler, Lindsey McKeon and Arielle Kebbel, reveal the ups and downs of the audition process, growing as actors, and breaking out of type-casting.

Panelists: Liz Tigelaar, Lindsey McKeon, Beth Sepko, Devon Odessa, Nick Wechsler, Kelsey Mayfield-Porter

Moderator: Ryan McGee

Channel 101 with Rob Schrab & Dan Harmon

FRIDAY, 12:00 PM
SFA Assembly Room

What is Channel 101?  Is it a channel? (sort of…www.channel101.com)  Is it a festival?  Yeah, it is! And if you thought it was awesome to have a fest once a year….they do it once a month!?   According to their website, “Channel 101 is a chance to sit in the worn-out chair of the fat network exec, drunk on the blood of lowly artists whose right to exist is given in exchange for their ability to nourish…You run the network. You pick the programming.”

Come check out the founders and all around awesome individuals who have either contributed or are 100% responsible for shows like Community, The Sarah Silverman Program, Childrens Hospital, The Mindy Project…and the most infamously awesome never-picked-up pilot EVER! Heat Vision & Jack (which you can see in it’s entirety at this very festival).

Panelists: Rob Schrab, Dan Harmon

Moderator: Meg Masters

Conversation with Michael Jacobs

FRIDAY, 3:00 PM
SFA Ballroom

Michael Jacobs first foray into TV was a home run with creation of the iconic ’80s series CHARLES IN CHARGE, and he didn’t stop there, as he went on to create some of the most recognizable series in ’80s and ’90s nostalgia:  My Two Dads, The Torkelsons, Dinosaurs, and Boy Meets World.  He also produced the four-time Oscar nominated feature film Quiz Show (which was about TV, obviously).  Now Michael is back with the highly anticipated series Girl Meets World, which will reunite Cory and Topanga and take a look on how their daughter handles adolescence.   Come hear from Michael himself as he relives his journey in TV from creating and writing to his wealth of stories of the industry, talent, and TVs history.

Panelists: Michael Jacobs

Moderator: Robyn Ross

Creating the Sound of a Show

FRIDAY, 12:00 PM
SFA Ballroom

Remember the way your heart swelled every time The West Wing theme song began during the opening credits?  Or how the music montages during The Vampire Diaries seem to capture the heart of the episode?  Sometimes it’s even that final song over the credits of True Blood and Game of Thrones. The soundtrack of a TV series is part of the personality of the show, and when used right can help tell the story by adding a new layer without distracting the viewer.  How does a music supervisor decide when to use score verses a popular song?  What goes into creating (and recreating) the score week after week?  And how does a musician make their album stick out amongst the plethora of new music being released each week?

Listen to one of television’s best composers, a leading music supervisor, a show creator, and a solo musician discuss their parts in creating a television soundtrack.

Panelists: Lindsay Wolfington (Music Supervisor), W.G.Snuffy Walden (Composer), Teddy Geiger (Musician), Jonathan Prince (Show Creator)

Moderator: Josh Chisom

Directing in a Writer’s World

SATURDAY, 12:00 PM
SFA Assembly Room

A look at directors of episodic television.

They say that TV is a writer’s medium…as opposed to film that is a director’s medium.  If that’s true, then what does that mean for the director of a TV series?  Have you ever noticed how most episodes are directed by different people from week to week?  How can a director maintain the feel and vision of a series when they are coming in for 1 out of potentially 22 episodes of a season?  Come hear from veteran and new directors of episodic television on how they manage, what they see their role as, the rewards, and the struggles of directing television.

Panelists: Tom Verica, Dave Semel, Jonathan Prince, Rob Schrab

Moderator: Emily Moss Wilson

Face Off: Movies vs. TV presented by Austin Film Festival

SATURDAY, 10:30 AM
SFA Assembly Room

This panel will cover the demands and benefits of writing for film, long-form TV, and episodic television that spans over the course of an entire series.  It will broach the differences between the two mediums, and how to navigate transitioning from one to the other.  Feature screenwriters and successful showrunners will discuss the art, craft and business of their diverse careers, with a special focus on how they have been affected by the changing landscape of television.

Panelists: Rob Thomas, Kyle Killen, Jonathan Prince, Chris Keyser, Richard Hatem

Moderator: Hardy Janson

Friday Night Lights: the Cast Diaries

SATURDAY, 10:00 AM
State Theater

Friday Night Lights was a series about heart.  Friends.  Family.  Football.  The best marriage on TV history.  All of the love and truth of complex relationships and real-life funneled through Dillon, TX.  The small screen never felt so big.

Led by Executive Producer & Writer, David Hudgins, come watch scenes from various seasons then listen to stories from cast members as they relive bringing their characters to life both on and off the field.

Panelists:  David Hudgins, Scott Porter, Matt Lauria, Gaius Charlies, Louanne Stephens, Brad Leland, and more TBA

Husbands

SATURDAY, 12:00 PM
SFA Ballroom
CW Digital Block Panel Presentation
Attending: Jane Espenson (Co-Creator), Cast: Brad Bell (Co-Creator), Sean Hemeon
Moderator: Alyse Whitney

Mythology: Creating (and Obeying) Your Own Rules

FRIDAY, 10:30 AM
SFA Ballroom

When people think about “mythology” in a TV series, they often think “supernatural” — but it’s not just the sci-fi genre that needs a rule book.  Whether a series is set in an alternate time period, a certain socioeconomic level, or a new world of immortal beings, both genre and non-genre writers/producers/creators face a plethora of pros and cons related to creating their worlds.  Listen as they discuss anecdotes related to mythologies that have both helped and hurt a series.

Panelists: Richard Hatem, Remi Aubuchon, Jane Espenson, Winnie Holzman, Dmitry Lipkin

Moderator: Todd VanDerWerff

Parenthood: the Panel

SATURDAY, 2:00 PM
SFA Ballroom

Recently renewed for its fifth season, Parenthood has stolen the hearts of viewers and industry alike.  Some said it was doomed with a large cast and focus on family, but it has proven its fans are just as rabid (if not, more heartfelt) than “larger” mega-shows.   Come hear writers, producers, and actors show-and-tell you where the show’s heart comes from.  Bring Kleenex.

Panelists: David Hudgins, Sarah Watson, Matt Lauria, Sarah Ramos, Mae Whitman, and Miles Heizer

Moderator: Meg Masters

Pitch…Pilot…Pick-Up

SATURDAY, 1:30 PM
SFA Assembly Room

On average, a single studio or network hears 400 pitches, from that they buy 55 scripts, then order 10 to shoot as pilots, and end with 4 picked up to series.  It’s cut throat.  Some series have incredible pitches and not-so-great pilots, or amazing pilot episodes that just don’t quite transition to a full series.  Come hear creators and studio executives discuss the beginning stages of a TV series from the pitch, to filming the pilot, to finally waiting on pins and needles to hear if a pilot was given a shot to make it into your living rooms..   

Panelists: Liz Tigelaar, Kyle Killen, Julie Plec, Chris Keyser, Bryan Seabury, Corey Marsh, Charlie Ebersol 

Moderator: Ben Blacker

Shifting Roles & Changing Perceptions

FRIDAY, 3:00 PM
SFA Assembly Room

Once people decide who you are and what you can do, it is difficult to change their minds.   The television industry is no different.  These panelists have not only avoided being type-cast and pigeon-holed, they have created (and wildly succeeded) at changing directions from writer to actor (and back), actor to director to EP, and scripted to reality.  All of our panelists juggle various titles and move from in front of to behind the camera and back again.

Panelists: Tom Verica (actor on American Dreams, now EP/director on Scandal), Scott Auckerman (podcast/radio host to writer/producer/actor of Comedy Bang! Bang! for IFC), Dan Bucatinsky (novelist, creator, executive producer of both unscripted and scripted series, and actor), and Brad Bell (writer and actor)

Moderator: Andrew Miller

Showrunners & Creators

SATURDAY, 3:00 PM
SFA Assembly Room

What is a showrunner? Same thing as the creator? Not exactly. What happens when the showrunner and the creator are the same person, versus two separate people. How does the balance of power work? Ultimately, a creator is the ruler of the universe of his or her show. The showrunner acts more like the CEO of the production, overseeing the complete scale of the operation. How does it help or hurt the series and the creative process to have have one person fulfill both roles or divide them?

Panelists: Michael Rauch, Andrew Lenchewski, Dmitry Lipkin, Dan Bucatinsky, Tim Doyle, Kevin Biegel, Mike Royce

Moderator: Andrew Miller

Structure of a Sitcom…and the Rise of the Anti-Sitcom

FRIDAY, 1:30 PM
SFA Ballroom

Just because it’s funny doesn’t mean there aren’t rules.  Half-hour sitcoms have changed dramatically in the last five…ten…fifteen years, but have the rules?  The goal is to make you laugh, but most sitcoms have a lot of heart and a strong message.  Some are centered around family values (Home Improvement, The Cosby Show), others have social and political messages (All in the Family), some seek to make you feel uncomfortable and awkward (Arrested Development), but all have a sense of structure.  Or do they?  Hear veterans of both sitcoms and the rise of new-comedy formats —  from writers to producers to directors discuss what goes into creating some of your favorite sitcoms.

Panelists: Tim Doyle, Dan Harmon, Rob Schrab, Paul Scheer

Moderator: Emily Moss Wilson

Stupid Hype

SATURDAY, 12:00 PM
SFA Ballroom
CW Digital Block Panel Presentation
Attending: Wilson Bethel (actor/creator)

Veronica Mars: a TV show…no wait, a Movie!

SATURDAY, 3:30 PM
SFA Ballroom

Hello Marshmallows.  Three seasons.  Constantly on the bubble.  Veronica Mars was a cancelled-WAY-too-soon series that ended in 2007, but not before working its way in to the hearts of viewers both on UPN and CW.  Then the fans demanded its return, and creator Rob Thomas delivered!

Join Rob as he discusses what led to the extraordinary Kickstarter campaign and what it felt like to watch the fans come out in droves to support the show they loved so much.  Rob, along with cast member Chris Lowell (the beloved Piz), will talk about the series, how it’s being turned into a movie, and what it’s like to revisit Neptune six years later.

Panelists: Rob Thomas, Chris Lowell

Moderator: Ben Blacker