INSIDE THE TRAVIS TECHNIQUE

6-Month Certification Course for Directors

The most concentrated and all-encompassing course on The Travis Technique

 By Application Only

December 10, 2022 – May 13, 2023

(6 second Saturdays of the month)

“INSIDE THE TRAVIS TECHNIQUE” is an 6-Month hands-on intensive course for Certification in The Travis Technique for Directors who wish to master the power and beauty of Mark Travis’ ways of Storytelling, Staging and Working with Actors.

GOALS OF THE COURSE 

  • To embolden directors in the art of fearless
  • To familiarize directors with the attitudes, strategies and skills necessary for eliciting and supporting the creative collaboration with actors, writers and other team members.
  • To unleash each directors’ innate genius for creating powerful, imaginative, character-driven stories and films.
  • To build an inspired community of directors who will further develop The Travis Technique and become worldwide teachers and innovators.

COURSE SCHEDULE

“INSIDE THE TRAVIS TECHNIQUE” is taught by Mark Travis and a select team of certified teaching assistants.

Group sessions are scheduled to last three (3) hours. Sessions include lectures, demonstrations, games, stories and Q/A.

Between each scheduled group session, participants will meet online with Mark Travis to go over their video recordings and homework. These private sessions are scheduled for two (2) hours each.

PREREQUISITES

Completion of the following online courses:

  • Write Your Life Inside Out (with Homework)
  • Socrates on Steroids (with Homework)
  • The Art and Alchemy of Staging (with Homework)
  • The Travis Technique of Directing

Links to the courses will be provided.

Proof of completion of homework will be required.

 

COURSE MATERIALS – Available on Amazon

  • DIRECTING FEATURE FILMS: The Creative Collaboration Between Directors, Writers and Actors by Mark W. Travis
  • THE DIRECTOR’S BAG OF TRICKS: How to Get What You Want From Writers and Actors by Mark W. Travis

 

HOMEWORK

Homework for each session is designed to teach each aspect of The Travis Technique by offering games and exercises in perception, imagination and play. Participants are required to video-record their responses to the homework assignments in order to receive feedback from Mark Travis. The feedback sessions take place in the month between the scheduled group sessions. Completing the homework is an essential part of the training.

 

CURRICULUM

SESSION 1: Storytelling and Writing

  • Autobiographical storytelling is the foundation of The Travis Technique. This first group session centers on the participants’ experience of writing their autobiographical story (part of “Write Your Life Inside Out” prerequisite) and will address not only the challenges and power of excavating the submerged core and patterns of our personal stories but also how they relate to screenwriting and breaking down scripts, scene by scene, moment to moment.

SESSION 2: Script Analysis and Breakdown

  • In addition to continuing the work of autobiographical stories, participants will also be working from a script (fiction) of their choice.
  • Understanding the complexities and multi-layered aspects of any story is an essential skill for all directors. In this session, participants will develop the techniques and insights to uncover the subtext lurking beneath and beyond what is written on the page.
  • It is the subtext (both conscious and unconscious) that is driving the story resulting in the actions that are taken and the words that are spoken.

SESSION 3, 4, 5: The Characters and the Interrogation Process

  • At the heart of every story are characters. Often, they are ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. We read stories, listen to stories, and watch stories because of the trials, tribulations, and the emotional journeys of the characters.
  • The director’s ability to transform actors (at every level) into these fictional human beings is perhaps the most essential skill needed.
  • These three sessions are dedicated to diving deep into The Travis Technique of the Interrogation Process where for the first time (in this program) the participants will be working with actors under the observation and guidance of Mark Travis.
  • Repetition and rehearsal are the only way to gain the confidence and familiarity needed to use the Interrogation Process effectively.

SESSION 6: The Power of Staging

  • The fourth language of cinematic storytelling is Staging. (The other three: Dialogue, Visuals and Sound.) Staging includes all the actions, behaviors, and quirks of the characters. Every scene must be staged, and the staging can either enhance the scene or diminish it.
  • Participants will be working with scenes from their script of choice, as well as their autobiographical story.
  • Because the art and craft of staging is learned primarily through trial and error, participants will stage their scenes with actors under the observation and guidance of Mark Travis.

Note: The Curriculum is a living and evolving design. It may be changed and adapted according to the circumstances or the participants’ needs.

Locations

Honolulu, Hawaii
Los Angeles, California
Prague, Czech Republic
Cologne, Germany
Auckland, New Zealand

Email Us

elsha@tifi.us

mark@tifi.us