Workshops & Classes
Hear from some of Mississippi's best minds. Dont forget to take notes!
Tech:
Basics of Video Game Development - Dustin Ruckman
Mobile App Development
- Terence Williams
Drone Demo- Coop Cooper
Dustin, born in Mesquite, Texas, now calls Laurel, MS home. He has 23 years of experience in IT, with the 16 in software development. He currently works as a C# developer on medical record software at Jefferson Medical Associates in Laurel. Prior to that, he worked with Dell in an onsite resource center. He is fluent in many programming languages, including C#, HTML, CSS, PHP, Javascript, and has experience with Python, C, C++, Visual Basics, Ruby, Perl, etc. Dustin started with game dev by creadting mods for already made games, and eventualy made his own MMO game using Realm Crafter. He's since started working with Unity/C# and released a Facebook enabled matching game for Android. He is currently working on a mobile "rapid tap" game, and has plans to make a mobile strategy/base building game. Click here for Dustin's Android game.
Learn the basics from a self taught mastermind! Get started in video game development on your own.
Most talked about tech guy in the south: Terence is the founder and CEO of Nobility Tech, a software development company specializing in mobile apps. He's proof that great people come from small towns, being from Coffeeville, MS! He's a current student of Software Development at Mississippi State University. Terence was chosen as one of the 350 students worldwide who were offered a scholarship to attend Apple's summit. A huge honor in itself! Apple representives were so impressed with him, that they also offered to pay for his wife Daesha to fly to California for the summit with him, as he wouldn't go without her. He's been interviewed and featured by many various outlets for his incredible story, as well as his mobile apps: Bully Walk (a customized campus GPS), Color Swerve, The Originals (a trivia app), Christlike, MiLo (location sharing), and Vizinote (a virtual to-do list - COMING SOON!).
Bring your notebook and your questions!
Film:
Claymation - Juliet Buckholdt
Claymation films are an entire work of art in themselves, learn how to make one yourself from an award winning claymationist.
What are the legalities involving drones? Where can you fly them? What kind of footage can you get? Coop knows.
From Clarksdale, MS, Coop is one of the state's most beloved filmmakers. He studid at the American Film Institute in LA. He wears many hats in terms of film; director, cameraman, location scout, writer, sound guy, workshop director, critic - he's done it all! Most recently he's gotten into the drone scene. He works on many Mississippi films, including his own, which he's had the honor of being played at various film festivals all over.
From Jackson, MS, Juliet has been involved with filmmaking since she was little. Starting with acting at a very young age, she then transitioned to work behind the camera as she got older. Her debut claymation, "A Little Love Goes a Long Clay," deal with anti-bullying in students. It's been chosen as an official selection at numerous film festivals across the USA as well as having won awards from various festivals. Be sure to watch her film at Afterglow!
Cosplay:
Special FX Make Up - Sarah Dobbs
Improv and Cosplay - Malfunctioning Productions
Ew! Is that guy's skin peeling off?!? Nope, it's the beauty of SFX make up. Learn behind the scenes secrets of how to take your characters to the next level, whether it be for creatures out of this world, or bloody messes.
The best part of cosplaying is staying in character as to be a believable extension of whoever you're playing, but you have to know how to do just that. Find out how!
Fulton, MS native, Sarah is a student at Ittawamba Community College. As part of the film club, she's had the ability to work on various film sets, most recently, she acted as Key Make Up on set of "Finality," starring Marlyn Mason.
Malfuntioning Productions is comprised of Jessica McLean, Kazzy Clupka, and Sierra Allread. The group has been cosplaying for 4 years and have travelled around the country to attend conventions. Each of the girls having a broad array of characters in their repretoire, they are well suited (mind the pun) to share their knowledge of cosplay. Last year at Afterglow, they hosted the Coplay Contest and also the Intro To Cosplay workshop.