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Discover live streaming events where directors, producers, and cinematographers discuss the creative and technical processes behind their films.

Screenwriting Success: Start Your Year with a Plan

January 7, 2026
Lee Jessup, a seasoned career coach and a Business of Screenwriting professor with the David Lynch Graduate School of Cinematic Art, will walk you through meaningful, actionable steps that you can take for your screenwriting career in the year ahead. 

Book Pipeline

Book Pipeline connects writers to publishers, agents, and the film industry through competitions and workshops, providing hands-on support to bridge the gap between emerging authors and the industry since 2014.

Script Pipeline

Script Pipeline connects writers with producers, agents, and managers, facilitating over $8 million in sales through competitions and ongoing industry support, helping launch major films and secure high-profile representation since 1999.

Film Pipeline

Film Pipeline connects filmmakers and writers with agencies and executives, focusing on diverse storytelling and playing an active role in developing and promoting projects, reviewing thousands of submissions annually since its launch in 2018.

Making Your First Short Film

Recorded

July 20, 2022

Duration

2 Hours

Cost

$35

Topic

Craft

Goes with saying: making a short film is the steppingstone for a burgeoning filmmaker. It's a must if you want to one day helm a feature, and for those who aren't sure where their path leads, a short film can teach them so much about all facets of development, production, and post.

But where to start? What’s a good first short film project? What might leave you overwhelmed with too much to do? How do you assemble a team when you don't have the connections? How do you cast actors? How do you get it through post? How do you get people to watch it and justify the expense???

*... breathe ..*

Multi-hyphenate director/producer/screenwriter/Chapman professor Kay Tuxford (The MisEducation of Bindu) will walk you through step-by-step how to choose a good first short script to write, produce it, and get it in front of an audience.

By the end of this presentation, you'll have a toolbox filled with information on the dos and don’ts of short filmmaking and the right frame of mind to finish a short on budget and with a plan in place.

This presentation will include:

  • Developing the idea and what things to look for when selecting the concept.
  • Assembling your team—what crew do you need + tips to get them on board.
  • Casting actors—where to find talent and how to get them excited about your project.
  • Things you need to know to prep for production!
  • A post-production checklist
  • Film festival tips and tricks, as well as distribution options

*Slides and templates will be available for attendees after the session.

Host

Kay Tuxford
Kay Tuxford is the writer of the recent indie dramedy The MisEducation of Bindu, executive produced by the Duplass Brothers.  A graduate of Chapman University's Screenwriting MFA program and a Knott Scholar, Kay's writing placements and wins include Austin Film Festival, the Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowships, and Script Pipeline. Straddling the analytical and the creative, Tuxford graduated in […]

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Screenwriting Success: Start Your Year with a Plan

January 7, 2026
Lee Jessup, a seasoned career coach and a Business of Screenwriting professor with the David Lynch Graduate School of Cinematic Art, will walk you through meaningful, actionable steps that you can take for your screenwriting career in the year ahead. 

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Symposium, presented by Pipeline Artists, is a year-round virtual conference empowering creatives with honest, no-nonsense guidance across the arts. Through seminars, industry panels, and Town Hall discussions on screenwriting, filmmaking, publishing, and career-building, Symposium offers grounded advice from working professionals to help you forge your own unique path.

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