P E T E R K I W I T T

Transcription

1 P E T E R K I W I T T B I O G R A P H Y Professor Peter Kiwitt has been a student and a teacher of film, a filmmaker, and a studio executive. He has professional experience in directing, writing, editing, and producing. He has worked in features, television movies and series, and in both the independent and studio worlds. He is also one of only a handful of Directors Guild of America (DGA) directing members working fulltime in academe. Professor Kiwitt graduated from Emerson College with a BFA in film. While there he brought two synchronous sound 16mm films from color negative to answer print. With the completion of his award-winning 16mm thesis film, he earned a MFA in directing from the American Film Institute (AFI). During his school years Professor Kiwitt lit and shot many productions culminating in his being hired as the cinematographer on a documentary for German television. He also held numerous production positions on commercials, television series and features, and produced and directed industrials. Within six months of completing his AFI short, Professor Kiwitt was given the opportunity to direct for television. Credits include multiple episodes of the police drama Hunter and the action/adventure series Superboy. However, while thrilled to be directing, he was unsatisfied with the types of assignments he was being offered. In a bid to move into features, Professor Kiwitt formed his own company and began writing and working with writers, developing numerous treatments and scripts. He also worked for hire as the sole writer on two assignments and co-writer on one optioned screenplay. Circulation of his work led to an invitation to co-write episodes of Baywatch, which he accepted to enhance his knowledge of writing and producing for television. During this time he also directed several short plays to enhance his knowledge of acting. When he learned his alma mater, Emerson College, opened its Los Angeles Center (ECLA) Professor Kiwitt began working with them, first teaching seminars and advising students on their internships, and then teaching a directing class he created. To bypass the slow pace of the studio development process, Professor Kiwitt produced and directed Silent Lies, an award winning independent feature, in conjunction with ECLA and with the help of donations from Martin Scorsese, Paramount Pictures, and CBS Studios among many others. Despite the film s difficult subject matter it was given a successful international release by MDP Worldwide. On the heels of finishing his film, Professor Kiwitt accepted an offer to work at MGM Television as a production executive. While he had to bring someone in to teach the subsequent semesters of the directing class at ECLA, he continued to provide training and technical support for the editing portion of the course. As Director of Production, Professor Kiwitt laid the groundwork for MGM projects before they began, supervised them while they worked, and tied up loose ends after they

2 wrapped. He also had responsibilities in postproduction, administration, and new technology. After two years Professor Kiwitt was named Director of Creative Affairs at MGM Television. He was charged with the oversight of all creative issues on a multi-picture Showtime Network commitment during which time he established an excellent track record of correctly anticipating creative and production problems. After leaving MGM, Professor Kiwitt worked as a consultant and ran two small businesses. As a consultant, he helped shape scripts for Seven Arts Pictures and Cinetel Films; re-cut features for Newmarket Films, Raygun Productions, and American World Pictures; and helped prepare international co-productions for Seven Arts. In one of his businesses, he designed and built a top-of-the-line Avid Media Composer and Unity system for rental to feature productions. In the other, he founded Media Arts Partnership, a provider of media arts training for elementary schools. At Elon University, Professor Kiwitt has worked hard to enhance the Cinema concentration. In his first two years, he played important roles in revising the cinema curriculum, expanding cinema equipment purchases, and improving equipment procedures. He is a principle teacher of narrative cinema and the faculty advisor for Cinelon, the student cinema group. He is also developing original applied narrative cinema theories, and is active in the University Film and Video Association, presenting papers, a short, and founding the Entertainment Industry Caucus.

3 P E T E R K I W I T T S E L E C T E D R E S U M E EDUCATION MFA Directing, 1985 American Film Institute, Los Angeles, California BFA Film (Fine Arts minor), 1980 Emerson College, Boston, Massachusetts TEACHING Higher Ed. Assistant Professor, Elon University, 2005 Present Producing Narrative Cinema (culminating class), teacher Narrative Directing, creator and teacher Screenwriting, teacher Film Production (using digital technology), teacher Independent Research, mentor Cinelon (student cinema group), advisor Technology & Curriculum Committees Academic advisor Instructor, Emerson College, Los Angeles Center, Director s Workshop, editing lessons and support, Director s Workshop, creator and teacher, Producing, 1996 Purchased, managed, and maintained equipment Gave seminars on storytelling in filmmaking Internship advisor Continuing Ed. Instructor, UCLA Extension, 2005 Creating a Digital Short Film: A Workshop, teacher Beyond the Basics: Storytelling Through Digital Cinema, creator and teacher Instructor, Learning Tree University, Directing for the Camera, creator and teacher Elementary Ed. Founder, Media Arts Partnership, 2005 Present Provider of media arts education for the Los Angeles Unified School District Instructor, Arts on Saturday, Arts program sponsored by the Los Angeles Unified School District and the Los Angeles Community College District

4 CONFERENCE PAPERS Kiwitt, Peter. (2007). What is Cinema? University Film and Video Association, Denton, TX. Kiwitt, Peter. (2007). Reductive Editing: A Case Study. University Film and Video Association, Denton, TX. PRODUCING/ EXECUTIVE Producer, Phoebe Philms, Developed theatrical and television projects while providing consulting services for other companies Consulting Producer, Seven Arts Pictures, Provided development and production services for theatrical and cable films Duties included story notes, script revisions, scheduling, budgeting, and work on international co-production agreements and structures Director Creative Affairs, MGM Television, Responsible for developing original and library titles; overseeing selection of writers, directors and cast; giving script, dailies, editing, and mix notes; and preparing free television versions on such films as Golden Globe winning Dirty Pictures, Hendrix, and Holiday Heart Director Production, MGM Television, Responsible for overseeing budgets, schedules, locations, and crews in Los Angeles and Canada on a variety of series including Fame L.A. and Poltergeist: The Legacy, and movies including That Championship Season and Inherit the Wind President, Matrix Entertainment, Developed features; raised financing and produced Silent Lies WRITING Feature Red America, Seven Arts Pictures (script consultant), 2003 Crafted compromises to satisfy competing visions of the producer and director, and identified script problems and solutions Detonator, Cinetel Films (script consultant), 2002 Reconceived story structure for creative and budgetary issues Go-Go Tales, Seven Arts Pictures (script consultant), 2001 Completely restructured an excessively episodic script to create a dramatic through-line built on existing vignettes 2

5 The Orb of Aldur, Center Amusements (unproduced assignment), 1995 Adapted of the first three-and-a-half books of the best selling, fivebook fantasy series The Belgariad by David Eddings Chattel, Channel Communications (unproduced assignment), 1992 Fan Letters, George Gage Productions (optioned, shared credit), 1991 Syndication Baywatch, Kicks (shared credit), 1993 Baywatch, Princess of Tides (shared credit), 1992 DIRECTING Professor Break, 14:00, HDV, 2008 Directed as a Producing Narrative Cinema project with the class as my crew Presented at UFVA, Colorado Springs, CO, 2008 Feature Silent Lies (also Producer), 1996 Produced in conjunction with Emerson College s Los Angeles Center and made possible with numerous industry donations. Silver Award, Worldfest Charleston Distributed internationally Network Hunter, multiple episodes, 1986 Hardcastle and McCormick, The Games People Play, 1985 Syndication Superboy, multiple episodes, True Confessions, multiple episodes, Graduate Belle, 25:00, 16 mm color negative, 1985 Bronze Award, Houston Intl. Film Festival Distributed internationally Quitters, Inc., 21:00, Beta, 1982 Gentleman Tom, 29:00, Beta, 1982 Sometimes They Come Back, 18:00, Beta, 1981 Undergraduate An Evening in November, 20:00, 16mm color negative, 1980 TLC, 16:00, 16mm color negative, 1980 Chosen as director from a class of 15 students 3

6 Theater Landscape with Waitress, The Flight Theater, 1993 American Theater Arts, multiple productions, EDITING The Amateurs, Raygun Productions (consultant), 2004 Provided producer with alternate cuts of an ensemble feature starring Jeff Bridges and Ted Danson aimed at increasing narrative drive and pace. Stark Raving Mad, Newmarket Films (televisions version, uncredited), 2003 Improved narrative flow, increased pace, and lowered the rating on a feature starring Seann William Scott using only footage available in the theatrical version. Mail Order Bride, American World Pictures (uncredited), 2002 Reconceived structure of a problematic film co-starring Danny Aiello. Silent Lies, Matrix Entertainment (uncredited), 1996 RELATED EXPERIENCE Cinematographer, Schoenberg in America, 1982 Documentary for Bavarian Television Production Manager, Pawn, 1980 Independent feature for Triad Productions AFFILIATIONS Directors Guild of America, Director member University Film and Video Association Founding chair of the Entertainment Industry Caucus WRITING, DIRECTING, EDITING, AND DEVELOPMENT SAMPLES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST 4