Script Coverage

Catalog description

This course focuses on the techniques used to analyze screenplays, a process known in the entertainment industry as “script coverage.” It explores artistic, formal and business considerations for evaluating a script’s quality and viability for production. Students learn to critically appraise key narrative elements such as plot and character development, as well as budgetary and logistical concerns, necessary for a script to meet a potential buyer or producer’s needs. Students read a variety of scripts and professionally-generated coverage documents from real-world entertainment companies. Students write their own coverage documents from assigned readings and sharpen their analytical skills through class discussions.