Introduction to Screenwriting

8 Thursday evenings: Sept 10, 17, 24, Oct 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
19:00 - 21:00
£180

Whether you are a complete beginner or have written before, this 8 week course will help you develop key screenwriting skills. The course combines practical, fun, writing exercises, discussions, and analysis of film examples. You will also develop your own original ideas and write your own short screenplay.

Course overview.
Week 1: Introduction to screenwriting and to other participants. Where do we get screen ideas from? What is a premise?
Week 2: The short film – three acts, three types of short film.
Week 3: Characters and characterisation. Developing approaches to characterisation and the character arc.
Week 4: Visual style. What is the difference between a writer’s style and a director’s style? Tools of visual scene writing. Develop an outline for a short film.
Week 5: Theme and genre. How do theme and genre work to create emotional engagement in a narrative?
Week 6: Dialogue. Its uses and functions in a screenplay. The relationship between dialogue and action in scene writing. Subtext.
Week 7: Workshop on first draft screenplays.
Week 8: Pitching and selling your ideas. Next Steps.

Julie Everton is a professional script writer and script editor. She has written for TV, films, theatre, and radio. She has taught screenwriting for 20 years and is a Senior Lecturer at University of Brighton.