Writing for The Screen II

Catalog description

Writing for the Screen II provides a structured workshop environment in which students who have already completed a first draft of a feature-length screenplay can assess their work and take their writing to the next level by completing a second draft and a polish. Can the script be edited to improve pace and structure? Can the story be made more active and visual? Can more be done with character choices and setting? Are there ideas, themes, and/or jokes to further explore? Are there issues of story logic or continuity yet to be worked out? Is the story presented professionally, creatively using screenplay format to engage the reader? What elements make the script commercially viable and how might it be pitched? Writing a second draft is a creative adventure, a chance to see how far you can take your initial idea as your story grows richer and your characters start to come alive on the page. Texts include Russin and Downs, Writing the Picture ; Mamet, Bambi vs. Godzilla: The Nature, Purpose, and Practice of the Movie Business ; Goldman, Adventures in the Screen Trade ; Lowenstein, My First Movie: 20 Celebrated Directors Talk about Their First Film ; and the screenplay for Chinatown by Robert Towne.