Screenwriting for Short Form

Course unit code:

311SSF

Course unit title:

Mode of delivery:

zápočet

Range:

2/T

Type of course unit:

compulsory subject

Level of course unit:

Year of study

1st year

Semester when the course unit is delivered

zimní

Number of ECTS credits allocated:

Garant předmětu:

Pavel JECH

Name of lecturer(s):

Pavel JECH

Study Objectives:

The objective for students in this workshop is to write a production quality screenplay up to thirty minutes in length.

Workshop participants pitch story ideas, submit character sketches, preliminary outlines, first drafts and re-writes, according to strict deadlines so that their work may be properly evaluated by the instructor as well as read out loud before the group.

Mode of delivery:

Seminar and workshop.

Prerequisites and co-requisites:

Recommended optional programme components

Course contents:

This course examines the short dramatic film. Theoretic lectures and practical analysis provide a foundation for dialogue. Writing short exercises and a short dramatic script allow students to master the short form.

During the course students will also write a script „Setting the Table“ which will be filmmed by Directing Students from the first year of CDM.

Students will also a write a early version of the project The Triangle which they will film in the second year.

Study materials:

Aristotle. Poetics. Translated by Gerald Else. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan

Press, 1967.

Howard, David and Edward Mabley. The Tools of Screenwriting. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 1995

Jech, Pavel and Angiolillo, Mary. The Seven Minute Screenplay. Prague, NAMU, 2009

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

1) lecture:

Intro to dramatic form, to Aristotelian fundamentals, to three-act structure

Why we tell stories

On pitching

In-Class Writing Assignment and Reading of Assignments

assignment for next class: prepare 3 brief pitches

2) due: students pitch stories

lecture:

1) Character and conflict; Character desire: want vs. need

2) Short film analyses: Screening and Discussion

In-Class Writing Assignment 2, and read out loud

assignment for next class: Character sketch: (two parts)

Character Essay: One to Two Pages, exploring both external and internal characteristics

One page essay relating Conflict (obstacles/ problems) to Character

3) due: character essay, and essay on conflict

In-Class Writing Assignment 3, and read out loud (time allowing)

Lecture: Ten rules of scripting short film

recommended readings due: Howard: p.32-33, p.52-54, p.66-68, p.76-81

assignment: Step out-line:

one or two sentence per scene

identify turning points: inciting incident, Act I, Act II midpoint, climax

4) due: read step-outlines

lecture:

screenplay format: philosophy and rationale

empathy and identification

In-Class Writing Assignment 3 or 4, read out loud (time allowing)

assignment: create a treatment or rough draft, or a combination of the two by writing selected scenes in script format

5) due: rough draft/ treatment

lecture: dialogue

recommended readings due: Howard p. 37-39; p.68-70

6) due: first draft

lecture: narrative techniques and dramatic strategies

recommended readings due: Howard, p.60-62, p.72-73, p 91-94

7) due: second draft

lecture: strategies for making the script more cinematic

recommended readings due: Howard, p.81-90

8) due: final draft: reading of selected scenes

final quiz

Assessment methods and criteria

Writing and revision of at least two drafts are mandatory for completing the course.

Grading System:

Pitches - 5%

Character and Conflict Essays - 10%

Step Outline - 10%

Rough Draft/ Treatment - 15%

First Draft - 15%

Second Draft - 10%

Final Script - 25% *

Participation/ Promptness - 5%

In-Class Writing Assignments - 5%

Final Quiz - 5% (extra credit) **

* Because the goal of this class is to write a high quality final screenplay, the lowest grade from one of the earlier assignments will be dropped should the final script receive a better grade. Thus ? for those who do well ? the final script can be worth up to 40 % of the final grade.

** The final quiz, while mandatory, will be entirely extra credit for the final grade.

Language of instruction:

English

Work placement(s):

Pracovní stáž není u tohoto předmětu zavedena.

Course web page:

Note:

Schedule for winter semester 2010/2011:

The schedule has not yet been prepared

Schedule for summer semester 2010/2011:

The schedule has not yet been prepared

The subject is a part of the following study plans:

Cinema and Digital Media - Screenwriting (qualification subject)