Writing for the Screen: Introduction to screenwriting for Novelists, Short Story Writers, Poets, and Playwrights.

This is a two-day workshop aimed at new screenwriters who are transitioning from other creative writing medias to the screen sector

The workshop will be comprehensive and medium-specific, covering all aspects of structure, concept, and story development for film and TV, in order to help writers better understand the elementary tenets of screenwriting.

COURSE OUTLINE

MODULE 1 | FILM AND TV CONCEPT & PLOT
Identifying the core differences between Short Story, Theatre, Novel, and Screen stories
Establishing the Concept & Expanding it into a Plot
Elements and Purpose of The Screen Story
Theme & Tone
Identifying the Key Characters and Their Goals – Hero and Villain – and how they are represented on screen
Introduction to Film and Episodic Pacing & Structure
Introduction to Character Development through Action and Dialogue

MODULE 2 | CREATING THE SYNOPSIS, TREATMENT, BIBLE, AND OTHER MATERIALS

What is a screenplay?
Why is a screenplay so important?
What goes into a screenplay?
What is a synopsis and why is a synopsis so important?
What is a treatment and what is it used for?
What goes into a treatment?
How is a treatment structured?
What is the difference between a treatment and a series bible?
What is a Pitch-Deck and what is it used for?
Other Documents and Their Uses.

MODULE 3 | WORKING IN THE INDUSTRY

Identifying the core differences between Screen Industries and the Publishing and Theatre Industries

Availing of Funding within the Industry
Working and Collaborating with Creative Communities
Approaching Production Companies
Working with Producers
Collaborating with Directors
Basics of selling TV Dramas to Broadcasters and Streamers
Basics of selling to the Film Industry

By the end of the course, a writer entering the screen sector from another industry will have the competence and confidence to create a film or TV story, write the screenplay and other necessary materials, as well as to approach producers, script-editors and funding bodies.