COM/ENG 267 SCREENWRITING FUNDAMENTALS Online, Winter 2016 Professor Helen C. Harrison, MA Telephone consultations by appointment

Transcription

1 COM/ENG 267 SCREENWRITING FUNDAMENTALS Online, Winter 2016 Professor Helen C. Harrison, MA Telephone consultations by appointment Description This four-unit lower division course is an introduction to the major elements that constitute a narrative screenplay: script formatting; story ideas; themes; character arcs/personal journeys; narrative/character point/s of view; voice, mood, tone and visual style; genre; setting; plot & subplot; story structure; dramatic & writing style techniques; character; dialog; premises; synopses; summaries; step-outlines; treatments. You are not expected to have studied screenwriting previously but you are expected to have developed the individual motivation and study habits that will result in full completion of all course requirements. Classes will consist of reading, audio lectures and writing assignments. Objectives To learn the major elements of narrative screenwriting. 1. To learn correct screenplay formatting at an introductory level. 2. To integrate the major elements into the planning and development of an original screenplay idea as well as into individual writing assignments. 3. To complete a page original idea screenplay in correct format. 4. To participate in giving and receiving professional creative feedback. Texts and Programs Required: Russin, Robin U. & Downs, William M. Screenplay: Writing the Picture. 2 nd ed. Los Angeles: Silman-James Press, 2012 Strongly Recommended: Trottier, David. The Screenwriter s Bible, 6 th ed. Los Angeles, CA: Silman-James Press, OR Riley, Christopher. The Hollywood Standard, 2nd ed. Los Angeles, CA: Michael Wiese Productions, It is possible to set tabs in Microsoft Word for correct screenplay format if you d like to do that. However, it is easier to use the free version of the scriptwriting software Celtx which can be downloaded from the Internet. It has formatting limitations so in time you may want to purchase a professional version. In addition to Celtx, Movie Magic Screenwriter and Final Draft are two other industry standard scriptwriting software packages you may want to investigate. Regardless of what screenwriting software you choose, you must submit your scripts in correct screenplay format. If you do not submit your scripts in correct format, the assignment will not be graded until the format is correct. Russin and Downs cover format in an introductory manner; I highly recommend you invest in one of the specific format references so that you will

2 have a more complete resource for your efforts. Relevant readings from Trottier are included in the Schedule for your convenience. Behavior Your instructor may revise this syllabus or course policies at any time. Appropriating the work of others without credit is known as plagiarism and is strictly prohibited. Plagiarism will result in an F for the course and possibly dismissal from the program, department or university. Extra credit is available upon request. Be kind to each other when you give feedback; expressing creativity, especially when learning a craft for the first time, can cause anxiety. Be sensitive to this reality. Requirements A. Reading and Listening. You are expected to study the texts and listen to the audio lectures (in Pages section of Canvas) carefully and to assimilate the material so thoroughly that you will easily demonstrate your knowledge of it through your writings. All course activities are based on the assumption that you have studied the chapters and listened to the recordings in advance of the scheduled assignments. By the way, Canvas allows me to see when a student accesses the audio lectures. B. Writing. You are expected to submit the following writing assignments: 1) 5-6 page Script Format exercise (both exercises should altogether be about 5-6 script pages). See details in Schedule below. 2) Story Concepts (A sample submission is in the Files section of Canvas): You will develop story concepts for 3 distinct stories. Based on feedback from me, you will select 1 for further development. Include the following information for each story concept: A. The theme (in the form of a "creative premise") for the story (the intellectual, moral and/or emotional topic that the story investigates). Basic themes may be 1 or 2 words, but this is insufficient as the basis for an entire story. It is best if the creative thematic premise is up to 1 or 2 short phrases that includes the motivational reason (beginning emotional set up) of the story and the ending emotional consequence of that motivation. Beware of trying to cover too much territory in 1 screenplay; keep your thematic premise on the short side. Think of these beginning and end points as the two anchor pillars that hold up the bridge of the story in between. B. The idea for the story ( what if : a different or unique angle or take on a narrative integrating first expected and then unexpected story conditions). This can usually be accomplished in 1-2 sentences. Aim for highly unusual and and different narrative circumstances. C. The character arc or personal journey for the main character (the emotional and intellectual beginning, middle and end of the story: what is the emotional and intellectual condition of the main character when she/he starts the story; what are the emotional and intellectual challenges of the story's middle which force the main character to grow, change or otherwise adapt to the challenges; and what is the emotional and intellectual condition of the main character when she/he ends the story. The character arc or personal journey is the working out of the story's thematic premise through the plot in the context of the idea. This is usually 3 sentences; a sentence each to reflect the beginning, middle and end of the character arc or personal journey.

3 Also introduced in this lecture is narrative logic, the cause and effect trajectory of the story's plot development that relies on realistic, believable and sensical words and actions by the characters from a human psychological and sociological standpoint. Students often focus so diligently on narrative logic that they forget that the protagonists must have a character arc/personal journey planned for them ahead of time. The narrative logic that creates the trajectory of the story's plot relies on the character arc being determined ahead of time. If a writer doesn't know what that arc is going to be/those arcs are going to be, and doesn't have a good idea of the personalities, values and motives of the protagonists that create that/those arc(s), then the narrative logic will be non-sensical. This is sometimes called "character logic." D. The premise. This is a plot (aka structural) description of the story. This is a 1-2 sentence description of who-character takes what-action to fulfill what-goal before what-else happens. (This is a compact summary of the main plot; it generally does not address issues of creative premise/theme or emotional journey/character arc); and E. The synopsis. This is about 6 sentences expanding a bit on the plot/structural premise. (Generally two sentences are dedicated to summarizing each Act). 3) Story Design (Sample submissions are in the Files section of Canvas): Describe the following for your selected story (only 1 story is required): A. Provide a description of the story s genre (what type or kind of story is it?) and why you think it would be the best genre for the theme/topic and character arc/personal journey you want to cover; B. Voice (What is your [as the author's] opinion or attitude on the topic/theme? What are you trying to say about the theme/topic? What do you want your audience to think or feel about the topic/theme after watching your story?); C. Mood (What emotion will be established by the story's atmosphere? What will the locations look like that will give an overall sense of the emotional setting of the story. Is there a lot of color? Are there a lot of shadows? What will the weather be like? What will the environment look like? The buildings? How will the set be dressed to suggest the mood? What will the characters look like? Hair? Make-up? Wardrobe? Will the mood be scary? Happy? How will that be established visually or aurally through the production design and storytelling choices? Will the mood change in different settings and after specific events? What will be different?); and related to mood... E. Tone (What is your characters' attitudes about life? What are they feeling about what is happening to them? About others? How will you write so that your writing style reveals these attitudes and emotions that embody the topic/theme and the journey (arc) of your character(s)? What kind of writing style will you engage to present a character's tone? Examples of nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, descriptive phrases, dialog?); D. Style (What will be the visual creative artistry of the story presentation? What are the distinctive production design elements that are expressive of this story only. Are there any special visual, aural, editing or computer effects? Are there any special ways of shooting [e.g. camera placement, image distortions] that will be characteristic of this story to convey voice, mood and tone); F. Narrative/character point/s-of-view (From what narrative/character perspective/s is the story told? How will that point of view be represented in the writing process so it can be demonstrated visually and aurally through the production process?); and,

4 G. Setting (What are the temporal and spatial contexts for the story? What are the historical, social and physical conditions? Why are these important for telling the story? Why is this setting or those settings necessary for conveying the story?). 4) Story Development (Sample submissions are in the Files section of Canvas) Summary (4-6 paragraphs; also called a Long Synopsis), Step-outline (1-2 pages) and Treatment (3-4 pages single-spaced; blank line between paragraphs; see Writing Style guidelines below) of the plot and subplot. Step-outline and Treatment examples in Pages (also in Files). Instructions for the type of writing for a treatment (how to write it; what and what not to include) are in the "Summary, Step-Outline and Treatment" audio lecture. Also in the text box of the Canvas page for the Assignment. Also in Trottier Link to online treatment examples in Pages section of Canvas at bottom of the site. See format in Writing Style section below. 5) Character sketches for all the major characters of your story with some dialog samples. Write out in prose 3 paragraphs of description for each of your major characters and then also create 2 short scenes of about script pages long each (3-4 pages total) that demonstrate how your characters interact and talk with others (think tone). These can be scenes you use in your final work or one-off exercises. I'd like to see you describe your main characters as persons. What are their temperaments? What are their goals? What are their strengths? What are their weaknesses? How are they motivated? What are they apathetic about? What do they really value in life? What is their attitude on certain topics? What do they like and dislike? What are some of their habits or hobbies? Make them as real a person as you can imagine, and then write some sample scenes that show these character(s) come alive in the script. How does their verbal and non-verbal behavior reveal who they are? Start writing the whole script! 6) Scene description, dialog and action in script format for the first 9-10 pages; and 7) First Draft properly formatted screenplay pages for your story as a final project with beginning, middle and end. 8) Final Draft properly formatted screenplay pages integrating any revisions required by the professor. If you do such a good job that no revisions are required and your first draft is good enough to qualify as a final draft, you'll be given these points without revisions necessary. Writing Style All writing assignments must not have more than 3 GPSFVS (grammar, punctuation, spelling, format, vocabulary, style) errors per page or they will be returned without being graded and must be corrected before grading. Non-script, essay/prose-type assignments must be in Times New Roman font, 12 pt type, 1.25 margins left and right, 1 margins top and bottom, and single-spaced with a blank line between paragraphs. This format is industry standard. Prose style for the sales treatment should be more creative; more use of picturesque scene, character and action description, but not too much. A little psychological interiorization (describing what a character is thinking or feeling) but not a lot -- just enough to convey character attitude and emotion (tone) upon introduction or at an important plot point. Script assignments must follow screenplay format conventions or they will be returned without being graded and must be corrected before grading.

5 Submit your scripts to Canvas in PDF format as Canvas cannot open specialty scriptwriting program formats. Late assignments are worth 60% value and may be submitted after the term is over to complete the course. C. Participation: You are required to post 2 assignments into the Discussion section of Canvas and you are required to give feedback to 2 different students for each assignment so that by the end of the term you have given feedback to 4 other students in the class. What do you like about your colleagues efforts? What do you find intriguing about their ideas or story? What things confuse you? What suggestions for improvements can you make? Be polite and helpful in your feedback. Everyone is sensitive about his or her creative efforts and we re not here to prove how smart we are or to put others down. The media industry is based on a collaborative creative process so you must learn how to contribute positively and respectfully to achieving a creative goal. You will be graded on the creative insight of your feedback and on the professional manner you deliver your feedback. The two assignments to post are: #2 Story Concepts and #6 First 10 Pages. After the due date for posting you will have 4 days to review your colleagues work and give feedback. I will give my feedback as to which idea is the most intriguing from a narrative standpoint and recommend that idea for developing into a script. There is no credit for giving late feedback. Grading Participation 25 points each time 50 points Format Exercise 5-6 script pages total 50 points Story Concepts 3 essay pages min. 50 points (themes, ideas, character arcs/emotional journeys, premises, synopses) Story Design 4-5 essay pages min. 50 points (genre, voice, mood, tone, style, narrative/character pov/s, setting) Character Sketches/Dialog 2-3 essay pages; 3-4 script pages 75 points Summary/Outline/Treatment 75 points Summary (Long Synopsis): 1-2 pages Outline: 1-2 pages Treatment: 3-4 pages Scene/Dialog/Action First 9-10 pages of script 100 points First Draft Screenplay pages 100 points Final Draft Screenplay pages 50 points Total points 600 points A=550 and above; B=500 to 549; C=450 to 499; F= 449 and below. This is an 8% grading scale and not a 10% grading scale: 92%=A; 84%=B; 76%=C. I do not award the grade level of "D" for a professional development course. You have to be minimally competent if you intend to use your writing skills -- any type of writing skills -- in a career capacity, which pretty much covers every college student. Schedule Week 1: Jan 5 Jan 11, 2016 Lectures What is a Story? Parts I & II (Context, Characters, Complications/Conflict, Consequences) Readings Russin, Ch 2: Format (Trottier, Book III: Formatting Technique; Riley)

6 Assignment 1 Format Exercises #2 & #3, p 36 of Russin. DUE 1/11/16 by 8:00pm Be sure your scripts are properly formatted. I will not grade your submission if the totality of your effort does not follow the guidance provided by the text references. There is a sample First Draft short story script and a Final Draft short story script in the Pages of Canvas so that you can see how script development occurs and what a Final Draft short story script looks like. Week 2: Jan 12 Jan 18, 2016 Lectures: The Content of Screenwriting; The Process of Screenwriting Story Concept: themes, ideas, character arcs/emotional journeys, plot premises, synopses Readings: textual help; a script) Assignment 2 Russin, Ch 3: Theme, Meaning and Emotion (Use Trottier, Book I: How to Write a Screenplay A Primer if you want additional Book II: A Workbook if you want more guidance on turning your story idea into Create 3 Story Concepts that will work for an page screenplay. DUE 1/18/16 8:00pm Post in the Discussion section of Canvas for Group Feedback AND Post in the Assignment Section of Canvas so it can be graded Discussion Post positive and helpful feedback to 2 colleagues. DUE 1/21/16 8:00pm Week 3: Jan 19 Jan 25, 2016 Lectures: Elements of Screenplay Construction; Setting Download Elements of Screenplay Construction document and listen to audio that explains the document simultaneously. Readings: Russin, Ch 4: The World of the Story; Ch 11: The Structures of Genres Assignment 3 Story Design for the Selected Idea: genre, voice, mood, tone, style, narrative/character pov/s, setting. DUE 2/1/16 8:00pm Week 4: Jan 26 Feb 1, 2016 Work on and Submit your Story Design. Lectures: Conflict and Power; Barriers to Communication; Paradox Review well-written sample first draft short form screenplay Therapy with mark-up, and then read the final draft. These scripts demonstrate great plot and characterization but with some oversights and errors in tone, scene description, scene headings and dialog. Located in Pages section of Canvas. Week 5: Feb 2 Feb 8, 2016 Lectures: Document: Readings: Story Structure: Structural Checklist; Subplots Summary, Step-outline, Treatment (See Canvas Pages) Writing Style Techniques (See Canvas Pages) Russin, Ch 6: Historical Approaches to Structure; Ch 7: Power and Conflict;

7 Ch 12: Narrative Assignment 4 Summary, Step-outline and Treatment. DUE 2/15/2016 8:00pm Week 6: Feb 9 Feb 15, 2016 Work on and submit your Summary, Step-outline and Treatment. Lectures: Dialog: Character Tone & Voice; Delivery; Overview; Subtext & Exposition Characters: Building Characters; Adversity; Relationships; Stereotypes, Character Types & Archetypes; Antagonists. Week 7: Feb 16 Feb 22, 2016 Lectures: Continue listening to Character and Dialog lectures as needed Readings: Russin, Ch 5: Character; Ch 13: Dialog Assignment 5 Character Sketches with Dialog Sample Scenes. DUE 2/29/16 8:00pm Week 8: Feb 23 Feb 29, 2016 Work on and submit your Character Sketches with Dialog Sample Scenes. Listen to lectures as needed. Week 9: Mar 1 Mar 7, 2016 Lecture: Writing Scenes Reading: Russin: Ch 8: Beats, Scenes and Sequences Assignment 6 Submit first 9-10 Pages of your Project. DUE 3/7/16 8:00pm Post in the Discussion section of Canvas for Group Feedback AND Post in the Assignment Section of Canvas so it can be graded Discussion Post positive and helpful feedback to 2 colleagues. DUE 3/10/16 8:00pm Week 10: Mar 8 Mar 14, 2015 Submit First Draft page short narrative screenplay. DUE 3/14/16 8:00pm Finals Week Submit Final Draft page short narrative screenplay. Complete any revisions requested by instructor. DUE 3/17/2016 5:00pm