9/18, 10am

We’ll talk about the real-world strategies for taking your production on the road—across cities, countries, and continents. From efficiently packing camera and lighting gear for air travel, to navigating customs, regulations, and working with local crews. You’ll learn how to keep your setup agile without sacrificing image quality. Whether you're traveling solo or leading a tight team, this session is about making beautiful work anywhere in the world.

Speaker Eric Girgash; Sponsored by Dodd Camera

9/18, 1pm

Navigate the complex world of film financing with confidence as you learn the essential legal structures needed to attract investors and protect your project. This course covers entities and investor agreements, with the goal of providing a high-level understanding of structuring deals while explaining key business and legal terms like waterfalls and touching on tax incentives.

Speaker David Lopez-Kurtz and Josh Steinman; Sponsored by Croke Fairchild

9/18, 3:30pm

Step behind the screams and into the blood-spattered world of horror filmmaking. In this hands-on masterclass, professional makeup artist Cheyenne Smith (Hellraiser, My Best Friend’s Exorcism) pulls back the curtain on her career transforming actors into monsters, victims, and everything in between.

Learn the fundamentals of horror makeup for indie film sets—from building bruises and scars to creating gory practical effects on a budget. Whether you’re a filmmaker, actor, or just a horror lover dying to know how it’s all done, this 75-minute session will give you the tools (and fake blood) to bring your nightmares to life.

9/19, 10am

We’ll dive into the subtle art of lighting people and faces—where every shadow, highlight, and environment can shape how a person's face appears on camera. After lighting countless people for documentaries and commercials, I’ve become obsessed with the nuances of lighting techniques that make a person look their best on camera. As productions demand leaner crews and more efficient setups, we’ll focus on techniques that balance beauty and speed. Whether you're shooting interviews, branded content, or high end commercials. This session is about making your subjects shine with intention and clarity—without needing a truckload of gear.

Speaker Eric Girgash, Sponsored by Dodd Camera

9/19, 1pm

Demystify the maze of intellectual property rights that can make or break your independent film project. This course covers copyright basics, work-for-hire agreements, chain of title documentation, fair use, and distribution rights. You'll gain the knowledge to protect your creative work, navigate clearances confidently, and understand exactly what rights you're selling (or keeping) when making distribution deals.

Speakers David Lopez-Kurtz and Cameron Robinson

9/19, 2:30pm

Join us for this dynamic masterclass where industry-savvy filmmakers Silas Tibbs, Emma Underwood, and Markus Cook team up with ShotDeck’s Cassandra Nicholson to walk you through the essentials of crafting a compelling pitch deck—from building a cinematic lookbook to organizing your materials for maximum impact with investors, producers, and collaborators.

You’ll explore how to harness ShotDeck’s powerful image research tools, understand what visuals, tone, and structure actually move the needle, and see real-world examples from decks that led to greenlights.

Whether you're prepping your first short or getting ready to pitch your next feature, this session will give you the tools to elevate your visual presentation and tell your story with clarity, confidence, and style.

Sponsored by ShotDeck

9/19, 3:30pm

Get a glimpse of the future of film through the eyes of Cincinnati’s youngest storytellers. This special spotlight features the high school students of CindeNEXT, our two-day filmmaking camp designed to teach the art of short-form cinema from the ground up.

Hear directly from the students about what they learned, how they collaborated, and what surprised them most about the creative process. Come see their stories and celebrate their voices—and the bright future of indie film.