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From Comics to Screen: The Best Properties for Film & Television

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23 February 2010 (Tue)
10am – 6pm

Toa Payoh Public Library
6 Toa Payoh Central, Singapore 319191
MAP

Course Fee: $280.00

This is a past course. View upcoming courses.

Join Phil Yeh, a.k.a The Godfather of The American Graphic Novel, as we look at adapting graphic novels to film and television.

1. Brief history of the American graphic novel and what common elements creators used to create some of the world's best known characters in comic book and film history.

Drawing from Phil’s background as a journalist, artist, and friend to many of the top artists in the 20th century and as one of the first American artists to write, draw, and publish a graphic novel in 1977 for a mainstream audience, gives him unique insights to what will sell commercially and what does not.

Phil will go into the creation of famous characters that the whole world has come to know, and the inspirations and influences on illustrations. We will especially focus on creators who have their original work translated into film or television. We will break down why each of these creations did well on the screen, big or small, and was able to be commercially successful throughout the whole world.

2. The actual creative process in developing characters

As we develop characters, Phil will talk about the main reason why some characters become iconic and last through generations while others fade away. The vast majority of characters created in fiction are sadly forgotten and it is a good idea to understand what makes the successful characters a worldwide success. It doesn't matter on the skills of the artist in creating world class characters, but it does matter on the depth and originality of the characters themselves.

3. Influences

We'll explore the elements that all creators and artists from a wide variety of fields have in common and their creativity processes. 

We’ll also discuss classic books, fine art, children's book illustrators and other things that play a very critical role in creating and shaping unique characters and storylines. It is worth noting that many of the world's most popular film directors are in fact well versed in comics and graphic novels and some are even artists themselves like Tim Burton. One should look at who influenced the people that you most admire in order to better understand how these influences played a role in the characters that they created for books and
film.

4. Practical ways to turn your ideas into actual TV shows and films

With digital video and the internet and so many ways to launchpad your own graphic novels and scripts to the big or little screen, the time for getting your work out to the public has never been better. We’ll explore some of the ideas and ways that more people from around the world can give their own stories a serious chance at a world audience, the many unique ways to market your books and ideas. Marketing and business is very important for any artist in any field to understand.

About the Trainer: Phil Yeh

Phil Yeh

Phil Yeh is one of the pioneers of the graphic novel art form having published one of the very first graphic novels in the United States in 1977. The book, Even Cazco Gets the Blues paved the way for many other publishers and Phil's fellow artists to dive into the form.

Some of the people Phil has known personally include; Jack Kirby (The X-Men, Silver Surfer, Spider-Man), Ray Bradbury (Fahrenheit 451), Kevin Eastman & Peter Laird (The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Jerry Robinson (creator of the Joker), Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster (creators of Superman), Matt Groening (The Simpsons), Dave Stevens(The Rocketeer), Bob Burden (The Flaming Carrot and Mysterymen), Jean "Moebius" Giraud (The Incal, Tron), Alfredo Alcala (inker on Swamp Thing, Batman, Conan and creator of Voltar in the Philippines), and many others.

Registration Details

Registration is on a first-come-first-served basis and workshop fees must be paid before the workshop. If the minimum number of participants is not met for the class, the organisers will inform all participants about possible postponement and cancellation, two weeks before the workshop date.

Cancellation & Substitution

The workshop can be cancelled or postponed two weeks before the workshop date if the minimum number of participants is not met. Participants will be fully refunded for workshops cancelled by us.

Participants who are unable to attend a workshop they have registered for are to inform us of the reason two weeks before the workshop date. They will be fully refunded in the event of extenuating and mitigating circumstances (E.g. illness, bereavement, accidents) . Those who inform us up to five (5) working days before the workshop date will receive a 50% refund. Participants can also attend another course at the same value within the same year.

Upon registration, you are deemed to have read and understood the cancellation, withdrawal and substitution policy and accept the terms contained therein.