Course Description
Summary
A good movie begins with a good script. A good script begins with a good story. In this class, we will explore the basics of structure and format for a feature-length screenplay, but the majority of the course we will be focused on storytelling, the development and polishing of good, strong stories. We will ask what goes into a good story, and how do you take those elements and, alchemically, turn them into good scenes for a script. Students will write treatments and scenes for their own original feature film ideas, and in the process will learn the formal constraints of a screenplay, formatting, scene development, and how to write effective and compelling dialogue. Most of the semester will focus on reading and discussing screenplays but the class will screen a select number of films over the course of the semester in order to see how moments on the page translate to the screen. The course will require extensive collaborative and small-group work, reading scripts, in-class and out-of-class writing exercises, and the submission, by the end of term, of a partial or full feature-length screenplay.
