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Course
Modules:
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Week 1
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"Ideas
That Sell"
What a script really is. The essential elements of a successful
screenplay. How to generate your own ideas for a successful
script. Stories and themes.
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Week 2
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"Loglines,
Titles and Structures"
The key elements of your logline. What makes a powerful story.
Film as a visual medium. 3 act structure explained. Storytelling.
The 3 elements of generating an effective title.
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Week 3
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"Outline
and Pitch"
Techniques to expand your logline. Introduction to the primary
characters of a screenplay. The concept of goals. How to pitch
your script and test your ideas.
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Week 4
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"Characters"
Creating characters with emotional depth your audience will
relate to. The 4 layers of character. The transformational
arc. Range of change. Character dimension. Character and characterisation.
Writing your character outlines.
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Week 5
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"The
Storyline"
Why you need a storyline. Developing your outline. Cause and
effect. Concepts of time. The midpoint. Point of no return.
The climax. Using subtext. The 2 types of controlling idea.
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Week 6
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"The
Treatment"
The 4 ways of writing a treatment. Characters, background,
motivations. Themes and issues. The essential elements of
your treatment. Subplots and how to introduce them.
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Week 7
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"Scene-by-Scene
Breakdown"
How to describe each scene in your screenplay. Techniques
for developing your treatment. Sequence of events. Creating
mystery and building tension. How to develop themes. Special
techniques for inspiration and overcoming writer's block.
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Week 8
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"Creating
the First Draft"
Writing the script. Easy techniques to develop the scene-by-scene
into your first draft. Format conventions of a Hollywood film
script. Scene descriptions. Sluglines. Writing in master shot.
How to emphasize the most important elements.
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Week 9
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"Presentation
and Layout"
Making dialogue sound fresh and realistic. Writing a conversation.
Using dialogue to develop characters and themes. Formatting
dialogue. Finishing off the first draft. Cover page. Critical
elements of formatting and script presentation.
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Week 10
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"Rewrites
and the Final Polish"
The importance of rewrites. Common mistakes to look for. Checking
for errors. Making your script more visual. Removing extraneous
parts of your screenplay. How to give your script the final
polish.
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Week 11
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"Troubleshooting"
Review of each stage in the screenwriting process. Common
errors and problems that occur at each stage and how to deal
with them. Developing your own personal marketing strategy
as a screenwriter. Some of the resources available for selling
your screenplay.
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Week 12
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"Marketing"
Finding out production company needs. Protecting your script.
How to submit your script on spec. The market for spec scripts.
competitions. Film festivals. How to find a reliable agent
and get them to handle your sales. The future. Developing
your voice. Your personal action plan.
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