Introduction to Screenwriting for Non-Film Majors

Catalog description

As opposed to the current screenwriting courses in our BFA Film Program, in which future directors learn to write screenplays for their thesis films, this course is specifically designed for future screenwriters as a profession. This course teaches the art of screenwriting translating a feature story idea into a dynamic visual script ready for production. Students work side by side with a professional screenwriter to develop a screenplay through seven stages- from its log line, story idea (“elevator pitch”), synopsis, step outline, treatment, first draft, and finally a master draft. Emphasis is on both character and plot, delivering the first 40 pages of a feature script by the end of the semester.