Film Workshop with Jesse Vaughan: The Actor and the Director on Set

This is part one of a two part master class in partnership with Virginia Production Alliance. Sign up for part 2 here

The Community Media Center presents a film master class with director Jesse Vaughan who will explore the relationship between actor and director and deepen connections made on set. This is a practical workshop, where scenes will be analyzed and explored through scene blocking, rehearsals, camera angles and how to get the best out of the people that you have hired.

About the Director

Before directing the Warner Bros./Morgan Creek comedy motion picture “Juwanna Mann” starring Vivica A. Fox and Miguel Nunez and “The Last Punch – Muhammad Ali Story,” American film director Jesse Vaughan started his career at WTVR-TV6 in Richmond, VA where he directed local news and produced his first television show at the ripe age of 19. He later went on to direct nine nationally syndicated educational documentaries distributed to PBS stations all across America entitled Fourth R: Rights. At 22, he was hired by NBC, where for over a decade he worked on programs such as the Jesse Jackson Show, America’s Black Forum, Meet the Press, NBC Nightly News, the Today Show, and the Charlie Rose Show and directed WRC-TV News Center 4’s 5pm News to its first number-one position in over ten years. Quincy Jones once said, “Watching Jesse direct is like watching a composer conduct an orchestra.” After leaving NBC, Jesse directed the acclaimed sketch comedy series In Living Color, starring Jim Carey, Jamie Fox and David Alan Grier before moving on to direct music videos for ‘NSync featuring Justine Timberlake and numerous music documentaries for MTV Networks, including music specials on Rod Stewart, Stevie Wonder, Paula Abdul, Melissa Etheridge, and Steve Winwood. He has directed commercials for Domino’s Pizza, K-Mart along with show openings for NBC’s Barcelona Olympics in Spain. Over the course of his career, Jesse has been nominated for 64 Emmy Awards, of which he has garnered 36. He is currently the Chief Marketing & Communications Officer at Richard Bland College of William & Mary, making commercials and documentaries to help influence young people to recognize the value of higher education. Jesse is bicoastal between Los Angeles and Virginia, maintaining a residence in Petersburg, VA.