.bmp) SCRIPTWRITING FOR FILM AND TVWith Greg Waters (10WATE4) 8 x Wednesday evenings: 7, 14, 21 & 28 April; 5, 12, 19 & 26 May, 6.30pm – 9.30pm
. | Full Price | Member (30% disc) | Conc Member (40% disc) | | $680 | $480 | $400 |
Storytelling for the screen has its own rules, conventions and craft skills. This practical course teaches elements of screenwriting craft while developing students’ work. Come with an idea, an outline or even a draft and put class teaching into effect while improving your story on the spot. We will discuss which ideas best suit film and/or television and how to express those ideas dramatically. We will explore character and the critical role it plays in drama: how to identify a protagonist; making passive characters active; defining character objectives; creating a character arc and investigate the ways character informs plot. The course will cover film and television structure and explain the rules of cinema and television, why they exist and when you can break them. We’ll learn the vocabulary of structure: turning points, scenes, sequences, acts, exposition, complication, climax, resolution, subplots, commercial breaks, A, B & C stories, and how they work. The course introduces short documents – synopsis, treatment, bible, scene breakdown and how to use them effectively when writing and rewriting and will involve practical exercises. Using your ideas we will create story templates, identify the dramatic question and how it powers narrative in drama. Using examples, we will examine genre, formula and cliché. The final night of the course will be practical discussion on where to go next with your new and improved script. . Week OneWhat is drama? Scriptwriting art and craft. What is a film story? What is a TV story? Finding an idea. Turning an idea into a story. Terms and definitions. Logline, pitch and premise. Try a scene. . Homework: Write a logline and a premise for your project. . Week TwoCharacter. Protagonist. Active/Passive. Objectives. Arc, journey and quest. What’s your problem? Transformation. How character drives plot. Characterisation. Dialogue. Is a character suited to film or TV? Reading and discussing loglines and premises. . Homework: Identify your protagonist. Write a brief character description. . Week ThreeStructure. Turning points. Scene, sequence, act. Exposition. Complication. Climax. Resolution. Subplots. Formula and cliché. Dramatic spine. Central question. Creating a story template. How character and meaning create plot. Reading and discussing projects. Identifying where turning points may be. . Homework: Use the story template to create a one paragraph synopsis. . Week FourDrama. Conflict. Obstacles. Antagonist. Coincidence. Genre. Levels of conflict. Emotional line. Archetypes. Theme. Show not tell. Visual story-telling. Read and discuss story template work. . Homework: Write a 1 page synopsis. .. Week FiveShort documents – treatment, scene breakdown, step outline. Screenplay layout. Television layout. What is a series bible? What is a pilot? Revision. Reading and Assessing synopses. . Homework: Revise and expand synopses to treatment. . Week SixSubtext, disguising your exposition, expectation, anticipation, surprise. Reading and Assessing Treatments. . Homework: Revise and improve treatments. . Week SevenRevision. Reading and Assessing Treatments. . Homework: Take a promising scene from your treatment and expand it. . Week EightReading and assessing sample scenes. Where to from here? Writing professionally for film and TV. The Australian industry. . Level: Beginner/Intermediate . Student Requirements:Food: Tea and coffee making facilities will be provided. Course participants are advised to bring their own lunch. . Size: 15 max . GREG WATERS is a freelance writer and script editor. He has script edited TV series Double The Fist Series Two, Two Twisted and feature films The Final Winter and Accidents Happen. He is script editing a number of films being developed with the support of Screen Australia. He has written for Fireflies, The Alice and Out of the Blue and worked on the development of several upcoming TV series. He is currently writing for My Place produced by Penny Chapman for ABC TV. His short films have won local and international awards. He has developed three feature films Tuna, Popo’s Garden and Sleeping Dogs with the support of AFC. He is a former political adviser and a graduate of AFTRS. |
