An in-depth study of some seminal Highlander episodes examining the craft of produuction
Highlander WorldWide workshops differ from traditional conventions.
They are designed to allow Highlander fans to meet with people involved in the production of Highlander for a round-table discussion that takes us beyond the surface of the episodes and into the craft of how these episodes were actually put together.
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The first of our workshops was held in Los Angeles, California, and focused on "The Craft of Production".
With our guests Adrian Paul, Peter Wingfield, Elizabeth Gracen, David Abramowitz, Roger Bellon, Don Paonessa, James Horan and F Braun McAsh we revisited Highlander: The Series and examined how story went from idea, to script, to acting directing, post-production and sound.
We had always wanted to meet with fellow Highlander fans for a round table discussion that took us beyond the surface of the episodes and into the craft of how these episodes were actually put together. |
Our discussions centered around the episodes:
Band of Brothers
Homeland
Forgive Us Our Trespasses
The Modern Prometheus
Our discussion and exploration of these episodes touched on such elements as:
- how and why scripts are put together, adapted and changed
- sword choreography and the challenges of working action sequences into an episode
- how music is composed and arranged to meet dramatic needs
- the ethics of 'real person' characterization (Byron)
- the challenges met by an actor - Adrian - on his first venture as a director
All our guests and attendees were stimulated and engaged in a level of discussion about the craft of acting, writing, directing and producing that previous conventions - even our own - had not touched on to such a degree.
Our guests included (in alphabetical order):
David Abramowitz (Creative Consultant and Head Writer)
Roger Bellon (Music Director)
Elizabeth Gracen ('Amanda')
James Horan ('Grayson' - Band of Brothers)
F Braun McAsh (Sword Master)
Don Paonessa (Creative Consultant, Post Production)
Adrian Paul ('Duncan MacLeod', and Director of Homeland and The Modern Prometheus)
Peter Wingfield ('Methos')
And as if the weekend's discussions weren't interesting enough, on the Saturday night we held a concert, a performance given by our guests. James sang. David sang. Peter and Elizabeth gave us their best versions of Sonny and Cher, and did a couple of solo numbers. F Braun regaled us with a wonderful tale of a day in the life of a sword choreographer during filming of an episode. And Adrian Paul performed a kata to the haunting sounds of bagpipes.
One big change the Walkabout Weekend brought about was the official recognization by Davis Panzer that the former Highlander DownUnder Australian Fan Club was now Highlander Worldwide - the Official international fan club for Highlander. Thus, the L.A. Walkabout Workshop became the last event we ran as HLDU. It was a fun, though at times bittersweet event, as we moved from HLDU to HLWW.
CLICK HERE to view the programme of events
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