in person
with John Markland
January 5th – Feb 23rd
SAG/AFTRA just implemented a new Agreement for Verticals. Every single Studio bought a Vertical company in 2025. It is a 10 billion dollar medium. The end of this year, I am being inundated with Studio Vertical projects that are going into production early 2026. There is a tidal wave coming and you will begin to see it hitting auditions with vertical format and a new demand for those with vertical experience. It’s not a fight - it’s an opportunity. Catch this wave now.
The first part of this class will be acclimating to the medium in a technical sense, building a strong sense of framing, focus, blocking etc. We will also explore how to use the tone and dynamics of this medium to your advantage. How full body framing heightens the importance of physical gesturing and expression. How tighter blocking intensifies the focus of micro movements and subtle mark hitting.
The second part of this class will work as a weekly production with you filming in and outside of class with the same pace of tight vertical filming. During this stage, we will challenge some of the givens and constraints of verticals as they have been so far accepted. We will also hone what individual qualities you have and how best to accentuate them for this specific medium.
This class is a no-nonsense, straight talk, practical how to when acting for verticals. What you need to prepare both as the booked actor but also as the person and hopefully, the artist trying to find a deeper expression of self. We will set up scenarios of different sets and how you might be directed on any given day. We will take you through the fast-pace of a production from getting scripts down on a daily basis and the low-take to camera move ratio.