SCREEN 700

Screenwriting Project


Please note: this is archived course information from 2020 for SCREEN 700.

Description

This course teaches short fiction screenplay writing. Short films are a specific dramatic/comedic form that encourage efficiency, concision and distilled conceptual thinking. We study a range of genres and styles and provide lessons and practice in industry screenplay formatting, narrative structure, characterization, and naturalistic dialogue. The workshop process of critiquing student work involves table reads, feedback and revisions. Students complete two short screenplays in the class (2 and 5 minutes each.)

In addition to writing screenplays, students will also learn production management skills required to write funding and proposal documents. Scheduling, one-lines, synopses, writer/director’s statements, and lookbooks are some of the documents that will be developed as part of the class.

Disclaimer - This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the professor contingent upon performance and overall class progress and special events.
 

Course Objectives

  • Understand fundamentals and principles of dramatic writing in relation to short film
  • Learn to progress from “idea” to “story” to “screenplay”
  • Exposure to various modes of address, narratives and structure
  • Inculcate professional aspects of screenplay writing including making and keeping deadlines, consistency, presentation and standardisation of format
  • Experience the various stages through which projects progress; rewrites and revisions
  • Analyse screenplays, provide constructive critiques of peer-work
  • Practice writing funding documents (proposals, look-books)

Class limits information for 2020: Enrolment is limited to 18 students, with selection based on eligibility for admission to a postgraduate programme in Screen Production and the qualitative evaluation of Portfolio submitted.

Availability 2020

Semester 1

Lecturer(s)

TBA

Reading/Texts


Recommended Reading


Points

SCREEN 700: 30 points

Prerequisites


Corequisites


Restrictions

SCREEN 702, 705