Film & HD Video Workshops

PF Bentley is a 30-year veteran photojournalist & documentary filmmaker who has covered domestic and international politics.

David Berez is a Director/Editor/Producer of high quality video communications. With over two-hundred video, film and multimedia media projects under his belt, David is totally familiar with the entire production process. He is the owner and Senior Producer of Post Office Editorial, a corporate communications company based in Camden, Maine. 

Steve Fierberg, ASC, is an award-winning Hollywood DP who shoots feature films and television movies. Steve created the look and feel of HBO's hit series Entourage, shooting the first 25 episodes. He then returned to shooting features, and has since worked with directors Sally Potter, Alex Cox, Marc Klein and Bryan Singer.

Dirck Halstead, is an award-winning photojournalist, author, educator, and senior fellow in photojournalism at The Center For American History at the University of Texas. Dirck's 40-year career includes 29-years as a photojournalist for Time Magazine covering the White House and world events. He is now the Editor and Publisher of The Digital Journalist website, and Lead Instructor on the Platypus Workshops. Dirck’s new book: “A Moment in Time,” tells of his time in Vietnam from photographing the Marines landing at Danang, to his years as the Bureau Chief in Saigon in the early 1960s. For the 30-years following his tour in Saigon, Dirck was the White House Photographer for Time Magazine. Dirck now leads the Platypus HD workshops, turning news photographers into digital video journalists. Catch him monthly at www.DigitalJournalist.org.

Douglas C. Hart, BFA,  MA, has been a First Camera Assistant for more than 35-years.  He worked with Director of Photography Gordon Willis, ASC, for ten years, including many of Woody Allen's films.  He also worked on Presumed Innocent, Bright Lights Big City, Money Pit, and many other renowned films, plus hundreds of TV commercials, series and documentaries.  He has been leading the Film/HD Camera Assistants workshop in Maine for more than 20-years, and wrote the book: The Camera Assistant: A Complete Professional Handbook.

David H. Lyman, is a photographer, filmmaker, writer and renowned workshop leader. He founded The Maine Photographic Workshops and The International Film Workshops and was the principal visionary and director for 34-years. In a career that spans 50-years, he has sailed oceans (solo), climbed mountains, skied down glaciers, been a radio personality, publisher, magazine writer, and college president.  Today, David writes about, gives lectures on and conducts workshops that deal with the artist's path and the creative process.

Jack McDonald is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker who has written and directed documentary films for National Geographic Television, Discovery, TLC and PBS. 

Bill Megalos is an award-winning documentary filmmaker whose series of mini-dramas on family planning won the World Health Organization's Global Award for Media Excellence in Beijing in 1985. Bill Megalos is a complete filmmaker - director, cinematographer and popular workshop leader. He has photographed over 30 full-length documentaries for PBS, BBC and Channel 4 (UK) and has filmed in 50 countries. His biography of Jack Benny for HBO was awarded the Cine Golden Eagle Award. Bill has been leading HD workshops in Maine for the past 10 years, and in Uganda for the past 5 years. He also teaches film at USC.

Michael Minock, a US Director of Photography on feature films, commercials, documentaries and music videos.

Eric Mofford is a writer, director and producer who has been involved in more than 50 film, television and on-line productions as well as numerous music videos, including Aerosmith, Sheryl Crow, and Alan Jackson.  He has worked as an Assistant Director, Production Manager, Location Scout and Location Manager, even a PA on over 30 feature films and television programs. Eric has taught Production Management workshops for many years at The Workshops in Maine as well as at various schools in the LA area. Eric has a production blog for Unconventional Media, his production company, at UnconventionMedia.Wordpress.com

Peter Nichols is a screenwriter, writing coach, and the author of the national bestsellers A Voyage for Madmen and Evolution's Captain (both have been optioned for film). His other novels include the memoir Sea Change: Alone Across the Atlantic in a Wooden Boat, and the novel Voyage to the North Star. He has taught creative writing at NYU, in Paris, Georgetown University, Bowdoin College, and The Film Workshops in Maine. He has lived in Britain, France, Spain (as a teenager, he lived on Mallorca, and is familiar with the culture, language and landscape), and in the United States. He worked in the film business in Los Angeles for 7-years as a staff and contract screenwriter and has written many screenplays.

BARRY is a renowned Hollywood TV and film actor, film director and acting coach. He has starred, or played leading roles in over 50 feature films. He wrote and directed Mistress, produced by Robert De Niro's Tribeca film company. Barry has been teaching at The Workshops since the 1980s.

Kate Robinson is a film and television Director, Writer, and in a previous career, one of the UK’s leading Steadicam and camera operators.

Kate began her career in the seventies as a Clapper-Loader on such films as Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, Star Wars II (The Empire Strikes Back) and Chariots of Fire, graduating to Focus Puller on John Boorman’s The Emerald Forest, The Dresser and Michael Mann’s The Keep. In the mid 1980s she studied Steadicam with Garrett Brown in Rockport, Maine at David’s Film Workshops. As a Steadicam & Camera Operator Kate was in high demand for her imaginative use of the camera in both advertising and feature productions. She has worked alongside such notable directors as Chris Palmer, Paul Weiland, Clint Eastwood (White Hunter – Black Heart) Steven Spielberg (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) and David Fincher (Aliens III), twice winning the prestigious Panavision award for Best Camera Operator.  Kate turned to directing and writing as a way to fulfill her own creative needs and is a naturally positive leader. As a director, Kate is distinguished  by being both a creative artist and a knowledgeable visual expert. 

Mike Southon, BSC, is a UK based Director of Photography. He has been a cinematographer for over twenty years, making his mark in music videos for artists such as U2, Prince TORI AMOS, SEAL, MICHAEL BOLTON, DEPECHE MODE, winning two best photography awards for his MTV work for FREEDOM (George Michael) and NOVEMBER RAIN (Guns & Roses). Mike has photographed numerous features including, GOTHIC and PRISONER OF HONOR for Ken Russell. PAPERHOUSE for Bernard Rose, Universal's KISS BEFORE DYING for James Dearden, Orion's LITTLE MAN TATE for Jodie Foster, Castle Rock's RUN OF THE COUNTRY and Interscope's ROOMMATES for Peter Yates, Paramount's EMILY BRONTE'S WUTHERING HEIGHTS, Interscope's SNOW WHITE - A TALE OF TERROR for Michael Cohn and for which he received the 19th Annual CableACE Nomination for Best Cinematography and an ASC Nomination for Best Cinematography for a Mini Series of made for Television Movies and Su Armstrong and Tony and Ridley Scott's produced RKO 281 which was directed by Ben Ross and received a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture made for Television.

Mike is a knowledgeable visual artist and articulate speaker having served as President of the British Society of Cinematographers as well as on a number of film industry related charities and new technology working parties.

Paul Taylor is a well known Steadicam expert and operator. He has been teaching Steadicam at The Workshops for over 15 years.

Robin Thwaites has been involved in Steadicam training since 1987. Robin, now on the staff at Tiffen, participates as both joint instructor or technical advisor for Tiffen at workshops held by the Steadicam Operators Association as well as for clients at their own location in the UK; including several BBC regions, ITV, Sky, the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy. Originally qualified as a photographer and following his working for various London studios, he moved on to work in major motion pictures, dealing with manufacturers and rental houses where he first became involved with Steadicam.