ENGL 3375: Screenwriting I
Description:
Designed as an introduction to screenwriting, this course provides a fundamental understanding of how screenwriting differs from other written forms of storytelling and the ways a screenplay acts as the foundation for film production. Students will practice adapting other prose forms into screenplay format, develop methods for conveying character and plot information in a filmic medium, and learn basic techniques for writing action and dialogue. In the workshop model, students will share, critique, and discuss each other's work, ending with a revised short screenplay for a short film (not to be produced in this course).
Highlights:
—Screenplay Format: Learn proper script formatting using professional screenplay software. Learn why this formatting is essential for timing the acts and scenes of your screenplay to fit within established film and television formats.
—Understand Story Forms: Come to understand the differences between prose forms (novels and short stories) and screenplays/films, along with the restrictions and possibilities in each.
—Adaptation: Develop your ability for turning the oral and written stories we tell and read each day into film.
—Cinematic Storytelling Techniques: Use dialogue, character development, action, pacing, and more to write riveting on-screen story.
—Plot: Familiarize yourself with the established act structures.
—Elements of story: Learn the essential parts of story that engage viewers.
—Workshop: Refine your pitches, storytelling, and writing in active, ongoing discussion with fellow screenwriters. Refine your work together as a creative community that will set you up to continue writing even beyond the semester.
—Develop ideas: With other workshop members, take even the smallest seedling of an idea and see it grow into a fully fledge screenplay.
—Practice pitching: Half the battle of developing your idea is “selling” it to potential viewers—whether they be strangers, fellow writers, or producers. Learn how to condense and refine your concepts so your characters and stories take crystal-clear shape.