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MODULE OVERVIEW

• Script Workshop 1

  In this module you are guided through a professional development process from idea to polished first draft script. You will go through this process twice—for an original script (Trimester 1) and for an adaptation using source material of your choice (Trimester 2). Finally, you will submit two short scripts totalling 25-30 pages, comprised of two 10-15 page short film scripts (one original script and one adaptation), along with two 1000 word critical essay reflections on your practice in a scholarly research context. The module runs tri-weekly throughout the first and second trimesters of the first year of the programme, meaning that it runs concurrently alongside Writing and Screen Project Development (WSPD) in Trimester 1 and Unconventional Approaches (UA) in Trimester 2. Techniques explored and developed within those modules will then be put into practice and experimented with in SW1 sessions.

  In the first 4 SW1 sessions (Trimester 1), you will focus on generating and writing original narrative scripts. In the second 4 sessions (Trimester 2), you will focus on adaptation: sourcing appropriate material and adapting for the short film form. You will be set creative tasks to complete prior to the tri-weekly workshops (e.g. writing scenes, creating character outlines, outlining script concepts), and it is expected that ‘creative play’ activities from WSPD and UA will feed into this process and be built upon, fostering a congruency in your work practice, flowing from the more critical modules, via creative practice, into your workshop modules and, ultimately, your practice as a screenwriter.

  By the end of the module, you will have completed a variety of creative writing exercises and experimentations, resulting in two carefully developed polished draft scripts totalling 25-30 pages, preparing you for the longer form scripts which you will be tackling in the second year of the programme, and providing you substantive scripts to begin filling out your professional portfolio. This written work is circulated and work-shopped in small groups: this process develops and enhances the projects, stimulates team-working and collaboration and helps develop not only your own writing but also your story-, script-editing and inter-personal skills.

• Writing and Screen Project Development

  This module will introduce you to the language, concepts, skills and storytelling theory commonly used in the development of projects for the screen, with an emphasis on the fundamentals of story structure and how those fundamentals tend to be applied and discussed within screen industries, both by writers and by other development professionals (script editors, producers, executives, etc). You will develop the core skills necessary to succeed both as a writer and a development professional: an appreciation and understanding of the conventions of screen storytelling, where those conventions come from, how they tend to be applied, and how they are discussed and worked with within industry. The critical, analytical and inter-personal skills required for key personnel in the development process (writers, producers, script editors, developers, and financiers) are examined and then developed and tested in a series of exercises, including the module’s major pieces of assessment – the Story Report and Script Report. Crucially, these assessments function to enable you to acquire an understanding of the structural norms underpinning the vast majority of work in the screenplay—an understanding which is essential to effective practice as a screenwriter as well as to all script development roles, and which will underpin your work on this programme. You also develop an understanding of the various jobs, roles and career opportunities across the screen industries. This work is carried across into the more practical Script Workshop modules and applied to your own creative projects.

• Unconventional Approaches

  This module guides you to look beyond the conventions of screen storytelling, so dominant in mainstream screen practice, to more innovative, original and unconventional approaches. It equips you with the skills and the knowledge necessary to criticise conventional screenwriting norms and to be more flexible and dynamic in your approach to screenwriting. Through exploring a range of unconventional structures (one act structure, two act structure, passive protagonists, multiple protagonists, modular structures, etc), you will discover the breadth of meanings and effects that can be created through structural choices, as well as exploring the political and social implications of broadly homogenised story form. You will develop analytical skills and experiment with applying unconventional structures in practice. The assessments are designed to enable you to acquire a deep understanding of unconventional structures both from a critical analytical standpoint and in terms of their creative application. This process further develops your cognitive ability to create and shape feature-length screen stories, preparing you for your Major Project. You will develop a critical, deep understanding of screenwriting conventions, how they can limit screenwriting practice, and how screenwriters can empower themselves to move beyond these limitations.

• Major Project Research

  In this module you begin the process of developing and researching your Major Project, the long-form script which will eventually form your major submission at the end of the programme. You will propose your project and, guided by a mixture of one-to-one tutorials and group workshop sessions, begin the creative development process. You will identify key screen texts (films, series) which you wish to emulate in your Major Project and conduct a research project to identify and analyse the screenwriting techniques deployed in those screen texts, techniques which you will then seek to adapt for use in your own work. You will submit the first 15 pages of the first draft of your Major Project screenplay together with a 1-2 page outline of the entire project, encouraging you to acquire and develop professional early-stage development skills.

  You will also submit a 2000 word Case Study showing the results of your research project, critically analysing the screen texts you wish to emulate. In week 3 of the module you will propose a ‘learning contract’ to your tutor, outlining what you plan to submit at the end of the module and how you plan to approach your targets, and at this point you will have the opportunity, through negotiation with your tutor, to shape your submission according to your creative and academic aims (for example, by submitting a 10 page outline rather than a script extract, or a video essay rather than a written case study).

• Script Workshop 2

  In this module you are guided through a professional development process from idea to polished first draft script. You will have the option to go through this process once, for a single 30min script, or twice, with a swifter development process, for two 30min scripts (one in Trimester 1 and a second in Trimester 2). You will make a Learning Agreement near the beginning of the module committing to whichever option you choose. Whichever you choose, you will only be assessed on one 30min script, submitted at the end of Trimester 2—the option to complete and submit a 30min script by the end of Trimester 1 creates the opportunity for additional formative feedback and a more rapid turnover of creative work, which many creatives find the most effective way to learn their craft. Alternatively, you are free to choose a slower pace with less opportunity to learn through doing but less pressure to produce work rapidly. In this way, you are granted greater power and agency over your learning process. The module runs tri-weekly throughout the first and second trimesters of the second year of the programme, meaning that it runs concurrently alongside The Business of Screen Project Development and From Script to Screen. Issues explored within those modules, particularly related to project viability, marketability and sociopolitical implications, will guide and impact the creative work you do in this module. You will be set creative tasks to complete prior to the tri-weekly workshops (e.g. writing and rewriting scenes, creating character outlines, outlining script concepts). ‘Creative play’ activities will be utilized, to maintain a low pressure, high-creativity atmosphere.

  By the end of the module, you will have completed a variety of creative writing exercises and experimentations, resulting, depending on your choice at the beginning of the module, in either one or two carefully developed polished draft scripts of approximately 30 pages. If you chose to write two scripts, you will select one to submit for assessment. This process prepares you for the feature-length script which you must submit for your Major Project and provides you with a substantive script or scripts to continue filling out your professional portfolio. Your written work is circulated and workshopped in small groups: this process develops and enhances the projects, stimulates team-working and collaboration and helps develop not only your own writing but also your story-, script-editing and inter-personal skills. There is a research element in which you are encouraged to engage in original research (to generate material for your scripts) but also to critically appraise and assess the various types of research that a writer might undertake as part of their process.

• The Business of Screen Project Development

  This module will focus on screen industry business skills, supporting you to develop an understanding of the various institutions, structures and key personnel in screen industries, and where you and your work can fit within those industries. Lecture content will provide you with a broad contextual overview of the various institutions, structures and key personnel in the film and television industries. You will examine the make-up of the film industry in the UK and internationally and critically explore how films are financed. In series (television and online platforms), you will examine the make-up of the industry and the relationship between broadcasters and independent production companies. There will be sessions on legal affairs relevant to screenwriters in development, examining copyright, option and assignment agreements. You will examine case studies of current industry practice across a range of key areas – screenwriting in various contexts, script editing and development, the various producer roles, the legal framework in which development takes place. These will give insight into how the industry works and will also inform your own professional development.

• From Script to Screen

  In this module you will look at storytelling and screenwriting for film and series from critical and theoretical perspectives. You will be introduced to screenwriting studies as an academic discipline and explore a variety of critical approaches to the screenplay. You will develop the skills to examine the practices and products of screenwriting from a critical perspective and explore how to use this knowledge to inform your own work and practice, looking at topic such as Gender & Agency in Screenwriting, Anti-Racist Screenwriting and Political Ideology in Screenwriting. You will be expected to conduct a scholarly regimen of research beyond regular class hours and supported in how best to address this. You will write and submit one substantial piece of scholarly writing—a 5000 word Case Study on a subject of your choice, focused on screenwriting technique and its sociological, political and ideological implications. You will have the opportunity halfway through the module to submit a literature review of up to 2000 words and to receive formative feedback on that work in order to structure and guide your research and writing process and keep you on track.

• Major Project

  This module is your opportunity to undertake a major piece of creative work. Using the idea developed in the Major Project Research module, and the skills and practices developed in Script Workshop 1 and Script Workshop 2, you will produce a substantial piece of written work in your chosen medium – feature film or
  series. You will submit between 90-120 pages of script, and, if choosing to create a series, a series outline showing the complete narrative arc of the series. This will be accompanied by a visual pitch deck in which you will present your project and its ideas in visual form, helping you develop the skills you will need to garner support and financing for your work. The script(s) you create will be your ‘calling card’ script(s), an essential element for approaching future producers, developers and agents and building your career. A series of one-to-one tutorials and workshops will guide your process, but you will have a large amount of autonomy to follow the writing and research process that suits your aims. At the culmination of the project, you will have experienced writing for every major scripted form (short form, half-hour, featurelength) and will have built a creative practice and research ethic, alongside a range of entrepreneurial skills
  and workflows and a substantive portfolio of screenplays, that you can use to underpin a career in screenwriting, script editing or script development within screen industries.

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