INTRODUCTION TO SCREENWRITING II: WORKS IN PROGRESS (Online) Summer 2010 Instructor: Andrew Osborne

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1 INTRODUCTION TO SCREENWRITING II: WORKS IN PROGRESS (Online) Summer 2010 Instructor: Andrew Osborne SYLLABUS Course Description Designed for those with some training in feature film writing fundamentals and an outline or beat sheet in hand, this workshop takes students through the process of refining their stories and then guides them to write their scripts through the mid-point of Act II. Personalized feedback along with mini-lectures on key craft points, including character development and story structure, help students to meet their goal of generating 45-to-50 solid draft pages. Course Goals and Philosophy: The stated goal of this course is for each student to progress from a step outline or beat sheet toward completion of the first draft by the end of ten weeks. However, I also realize writers work in different ways, so don t feel obligated to stick with one script, story idea or set of characters if you d rather experiment. Likewise, if you ve already completed the first draft of your script, you re free to use this course to help you develop and improve whatever draft you re on. The weekly lectures in this course will be shorter than those in my Intro I class, to allow more time for reading and commenting on longer and more challenging writing assignments. Because this course is online, you can log into the website to read and post material to the Discussion Board whenever you want. New lectures will post on Wednesdays during the term; assignments will generally be due a week after they re assigned. Assignments: Assignments for this course fall into two categories: original material and feedback/discussion. Original material can be uploaded from your computer to the Discussion Board as Word (.doc), Rich Text Format (.rtf ) or Adobe (.pdf) files no Vista (.docx), Final Draft (.fdr) or other formats, please! Each writing assignment will include acceptable parameters in terms of page length. If you turn in work that falls BELOW the minimum page length, it won t count as a fully completed assignment. 1

2 However: please don t write MORE than requested. If an assignment is listed as 5 pages, I ll give you my undivided attention until the bottom of page 5...and then I ll stop reading (no matter how much I want to see what happens next). Likewise, your fellow students are not obligated to give you feedback beyond the scope of any given assignment. And, on a related note, there s a difference between participating in class discussions and dominating the Discussion Board with overlong posts. (Not that I want to squash anyone s inspired, passionate, creative output, but I must include these rules for reasons of time, fairness and practicality.) Feedback on original material and discussion of class lectures will take place on the Discussion Board, where you can reply to ongoing discussion threads or click Add Thread to launch a new discussion. (Or, if you wish to contact me privately, you can always send an to the address below.) Remember: regular participation is necessary for the class to function properly, so please do your part by commenting on the work of your fellow students, joining discussions and respecting class deadlines! (It may be hard to catch up if you fall behind, so pay attention to the upcoming assignments listed on the syllabus and leave yourself plenty of time to complete them!) Workshop Guidelines This ten-week online workshop is communal and participatory: I ll be leading the discussion, but the class only really works if we re all willing to learn from each other in a civil, open and supportive environment. That means everyone must be willing to do their work in a timely manner and give (and RECEIVE) constructive criticism. Angry tirades and personal attacks won t be tolerated, but don t be afraid to speak your mind. And be specific: developing a vocabulary to discuss the flaws and strengths of another student s material will improve your ability to honestly judge the relative merits of your own work. Feedback is most helpful if it makes specific points. It's least helpful when it deals in generalizations. For example: Example 1 "Your piece is great." "I really didn't like this. It just didn't work for me." 2

3 These are weak and uninformative comments, because they leave the writer nothing specific to work on. Overall judgments like these are usually not helpful in revision (especially if they're negative). Example 2 "I like the way you used point of view." "Seems like the point of view changes throughout the piece." These are better, because they help the writer focus on a specific aspect of the piece. Example 3 "I couldn't figure out whose point of view we're seeing on page 4." "I liked the way you shifted from the dog's point of view to your brother's on page 3. That helped me understand the conflict between them how the dog thought the brother was stealing its food, but the brother thought he was just saving the dog from a bad case of indigestion." These are useful comments. They let the writer know whether a specific aspect of the piece is working (at least for one reader), giving them some idea where they might best spend their revision time. Notice that useful feedback doesn't necessarily have to offer suggestions. It can merely observe, leaving the writer to work out solutions for themselves. Your feedback can build on the responses of others. Assignment Schedule: Because the assignments will be longer in this class than in Intro I, the due dates will sometimes be staggered to allow the rest of us time to read and comment on all the submitted material. Please make sure to submit your assignments when they re scheduled, and make sure to post them to the proper week s thread on the Discussion Board! Assignment Groups: Starting next week, you ll be randomly placed in one of two assignment groups. Later in the term, Group One and Group Two will post their assignments on alternating weeks. Instructor Feedback I ll generally provide feedback on your assignments within the week they re posted to the Discussion Board. I also read every comment on the Discussion Board, although I 3

4 won t always reply. However, if you direct a specific question or message to me on the Board, I ll do my best to respond within 48 hours. Office Hours/Live Chat/Contact Information: I will be available on the Discussion Board, by (baitshop3@aol.com), or by appointment for live online discussion. Again, if you contact me by or via the Discussion Board, I ll do my best to reply within 48 hours. If you use the Blackboard Messages feature (under Communication) I may not respond as quickly, since I usually forget to check my Blackboard inbox! Technical Support If you have any technical questions or concerns relating to the online nature of the course, please click the Help button or contact the course manager (under Staff Information ). Letter grades or Pass/Fail Students taking the class for grades or pass/fail will be evaluated on the above criteria, specifically: Class participation (20%) Thoughtful and timely completion of assignments (80%) SCHEDULE Week 1 Introduction and class orientation The Story Thus Far: o Your Current Outlines/Story Ideas o Just Add Water: Negotiating the differences between outline and screenplay Big Picture Review: o Three-act structure o Character arc o Screenplay format Explanation of assignment #1 Assignment: 4

5 1. Upload a current outline, beat sheet or description of the screenplay you re planning to work on during the course. (1-3 pages, words) 2. Please read and comment on the work of your fellow students. Week 2 Review: Uses of dialogue o Exposition o Character o Theme o Unspoken o Foreshadowing o Throwaway Dialogue beats Casting Major and Minor Characters Explanation of assignment #2 Assignment #2 (Choose one): 1. Write a scene that relies on dialogue (1-5 pages) 2. Eavesdropping scene (1-5 pages) 3. Please read and comment on the work of your fellow students. Week 3 Character history Character goals Dramatizing character Explanation of assignment #3 Assignment #3 (Choose one): 1. Dramatize a specific aspect of a character s personality (3-5 pages) 2. Write a detailed history of 1, 2 or 3 of your story s main characters (1-3 pages) 3. Please read and comment on the work of your fellow students. Week 4 Economical description Visual writing Explanation of Assignment #4 Assignment #4 1. Group 1, for Week 5: Write a scene or sequence that relies on visual description (3-5 pages) 5

6 2. Group 2, for Week 6: Write a scene or sequence that relies on visual description (3-5 pages) 3. Please read and comment on the work of your fellow students. Week 5 Working with scene sequences Writing sex & violence ( action scenes) Explanation of assignment #5 Assignment #5 1. Group 1, for Week 7 Write a related sequence of scenes (5-10 pages) 2. Group 2, for Week 8 Write a related sequence of scenes (5-10 pages) 3. Please read and comment on the work of your fellow students. 4. Submit questions for Week 6 Open Forum Week 6 Open Forum Nuts & Bolts: Set-ups, Payoffs, Meet-Cutes and Ticking Clocks Helpful screenplay terms (ANGLE ON, etc.) Explanation of assignment #6 Assignment #6 (Optional) Submit 1-5 pages of new or revised material. Week 7 Genre & Tone Explanation of assignment #7 Assignment #7 1. Group 1, for Week 9 Write a scene or sequence that emphasizes your screenplay s genre and/or tone (5-15 pages) 2. Group 2, for Week 10 Write a scene or sequence that emphasizes your screenplay s genre and/or tone (5-15 pages) Week 8 Premise vs. Theme Outline Evolution: Is your screenplay still what you thought it was? Rewriting review o Reverse engineering & relics o What to keep, what to cut, what to recycle o Treatments & outlines in the revision process 6

7 o Page-one rewrites vs. tweaks o Character and dialogue polishing o Rewriting for others vs. rewriting for yourself Week 9 The business and economics of screenwriting Screenwriting and independent film Week 10 Live class Course wrap-up KEEP WRITING, AND GOOD LUCK! SUGGESTED READING LIST Adventures in the Screen Trade by William Goldman (Screenwriting, Film Biz Observations) All I Needed to Know About Filmmaking I Learned From the Toxic Avenger, Lloyd Kaufman (Independent Filmmaking) The Battle of Brazil, Jack Matthews The Devil s Candy, Julie Salamon Down and Dirty Pictures, Peter Biskind Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, Peter Biskind (Behind-the-Scenes Film Biz Reporting) Feature Filmmaking at Used Car Prices, Rick Schmidt (Independent Filmmaking) The Gross, Peter Bart Hello, He Lied, Lynda Obst How I Made A Hundred Movies In Hollywood And Never Lost A Dime, Roger Corman Keys to the Kingdom, Kim Masters Killer Instinct, Jane Hamsher (Behind-the-Scenes Film Biz Reporting and Observations) Screenplay, Syd Field (Screenwriting) 7

8 Shock Value, John Waters Slacker, Richard Linklater Spike Lee s Gotta Have It, Spike Lee Spike, Mike, Slackers & Dykes, John Pierson (Independent Filmmaking) Story, Robert McKee (Screenwriting) Which Lie Did I Tell, William Goldman (Screenwriting, Film Biz Observations) You ll Never Eat Lunch In This Town Again, Julia Philips (Film Biz Observations) USEFUL WEBSITES Writer s Guild of America (wga.org) Drew s Script-O-Rama (script-o-rama.com) Film Threat (filmthreat.com) indiewire (indiewire.com) Internet Movie Script Database (imsdb.com) Variety (variety.com) Internet Movie Database (imdb.com) The Sundance Institute (sundance.org) 8