Screenwriting I Film-M213-002 Engl-A313-002
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SCREENWRITING I FILM-M213-002 ENGL-A313-002 Course Term: FALL 2020 Course Location: ONLINE Class hours: TU/TH, 3:30-4:45 pm Instructor: Miles Doleac, PhD Office Location: CM Building 412 Phone: (Office) 504-865-3430, (Cell) 601-329-1630 Email: [email protected] Office hours: By appointment “A screenplay is a story told with pictures, in dialogue and description, and placed within the context of dramatic structure.” -Syd Field REQUIRED TEXTS: Field, Syd. Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting, rev. ed. New York: Bantam Dell, 2005. McKee, Robert. Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting. New York: HarperCollins, 1997. Rogan, Michael. Screenplay Format Made (Stupidly) Easy. Scriptbully, 2018. COURSE AIM: This course is intended to introduce students to the craft of screenwriting, and, in broader terms, the art of storytelling. In doing so, our focus will be the following: 1) Hollywood paradigms and brilliant scripts that defied them 2) classical dramaturgy, mythology and universal forms: how age-old tropes have been assimilated and appropriated by Hollywood 3) Movie writing as a “combination of art and science” (to borrow Field’s phrase): techniques, tricks and the search for a subject 4) what makes compelling characters and dialogue 5) formal or “traditional” screenwriting structure. NOTE: I place “for- mal screenwriting structure” last in my litany of focus points, because, although important to always keep in mind, the “rules” of screenwriting are often and often quite effectively violated. YOUR CHARGE: By the end of this semester, you will have written 15 or so pages of a NEW screenplay, a self-contained short film. CAVEAT: Your script must have at least TWO characters in dialogue with one another. SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS: Screenwriting software MUST be used in this class. Celtx (https://www.celtx.com/index.html) is available free to Loyola students and you are welcomed and en- couraged to take advantage of this software. WriterDuet (https://writerduet.com/) is free and adequate for use in this course. Final Draft is the industry standard. Cost for “educational” purposes is currently $99.99 https://store.finaldraft.com. This software is not required for this course, but ... Digital Filmmaking Ma- jors and other students with an interest in screenwriting should strongly consider purchasing Final Draft software for use in professional settings. Obligatory supplemental reading materials will be posted on Canvas and/or provided via e-mail to students by attachment . EXPECTED STUDENT LEARNING AND COURSE OUTCOMES: 1. Students will gain an understanding of Hollywood paradigms and review elements of the brilliant scripts that defied them. 2. Students will learn classical dramaturgy, storytelling, mythology and universal forms: how age-old tropes have been assimilated and appropriated by Hollywood. 3. Students will learn current industry script formatting standards. 4. Students will learn to use current screenwriting software. 5. Students will gain a visual language to scripting techniques. 6. Students will begin to learn the concise craft necessary for today’s screenwriter. 7. Students will develop tools to critically analyze script quality GRADE BREAKDOWN: READING, PARTICIPATION, AND DISCUSSION: 25% ATTENDANCE: 10% SYNOPSIS AND CHARACTER BREAKDOWN: 15% (due to me via e-mail attachment, 10/2/2020 by 5 pm) IN-CLASS QUIZZES/ASSIGNMENTS: 20% FINAL SCRIPT (must include at least one rough draft): 30% (rough draft due 11/6/2020 by 5 pm; final 12/4/2020 by 5 pm) SOME CONSIDERATIONS: READING, PARTICIPATION, AND DISCUSSION: 25% of your grade will be based on your responses to readings and participation in class discussions and in-class assignments. You are expected to have read and considered the reading assignments BEFORE coming to class to have reasoned responses to them. If you fail to read the assignments and to participate in class discussions, your participation grade will re- flect as much. CHEATING is BAD, primarily because it hurts YOU. If you must cheat to be successful in this course, you are wasting your time and your instructor’s. Cheating will not be tolerated. Offenses will be penalized to the full extent university policy allows—a failing grade for the course. ATTENDANCE POLICY: Attendance is mandatory even in our virtual class format. As such, you will be al- lowed TWO unexcused absence before absences begin to affect your grade. Thereafter, with each unex- cused absence, two points will be deducted from your attendance grade. After four unexcused ab- sences, I will begin two deduct points from your FINAL GRADE. For your absence to be excused it must be cleared with me before the class in question. This includes formal Loyola commitments (which will be excused if you let me know before the class in question). Exceptions to this rule will be made only in the case of dire circumstances such as INCAPACITATING personal illness or injury, death in the family, natu- ral disasters, or other circumstances deemed legitimate by the instructor. LOYOLA E-MAIL/CANVAS: You are expected to check your Loyola e-mail and Canvas for information relevant to this course. I will not be responsible if you fail to do so. LATENESS: If you are more than TEN minutes late to class and you have not cleared it with me before- hand, you will be counted absent. MAKE-UP QUIZZES, TESTS, LATE ASSIGNMENTS: No make-up quizzes or tests will be given except in the case of dire circumstances (as noted in the attendance policy). Late assignments will not be accepted unless cleared with instructor in writing beforehand. ACCESS TO INSTRUCTOR: Please do not hesitate to contact me or schedule an appointment if you have questions or concerns about the course or your progress in it. Do not languish in a fog of confusion! I am here to help you succeed in this course. ACCOMMODATIONS: Providing access to a diverse student population is embedded in the philosophy of Loyola. We recognize disability as an aspect of diversity that is integral to society and to the campus community. To this end, the OAE collaborates with students, faculty, staff, and community members to create usable, equitable, inclusive and sustainable learning environments. We promote and facilitate awareness and access through training, partnerships, innovative programs and accommodations. The entire OAE operating statement can be found here: http://success.loyno.edu/sites/default/files/oae_ada_handbook_for_students_faculty_and_staff_septe mber_2018_0.pdf For further information about accommodations, please contact: Office for Accessible Education Pan-American Life Student Success Center Monroe Library 2nd Floor Phone: 504-865-2990 Fax: 504-865-3543 [email protected] Reading due for Thursday, August 27: McKee, STORY, pp. 1-28 (https://ironzorg.fr/downloads/Writ- ing/Screenwriting/Story%20by%20Robert%20McKee.pdf) .