The Art of Screenwriting

Catalog description

This class uses a workshop format for students to develop the fundamental tools and techniques of screenwriting for film. It is designed to provide the creative and film writing student with skills that cultivate an ability to create compelling narrative story lines, a nuanced understanding of the dramatic structure of screenplays, and an ability to effectively read and write in film script format. The class is designed for the screenwriting student who is prepared to originate new work and present it in a supportive and rigorous workshop setting. Work will be given a close reading by all students and the teacher in the workshop. Participants will give detailed written comments as well as engage in group critique of work. The class will seek to investigate screenwriting as a genre that is both bound by conventions but breaks with held formulas. We will reflect on the commercial versus the artistic aspects of the screenplay and the demands of each market- how can the screenplays and stories we want to tell be both personal (reflect our cultural identities) and viable in a commercial marketplace?