Ctwr 412 Introduction to Screenwriting

CTWR 412 – INTRODUCTION TO SCREENWRITING USC School of Cinematic Arts Section 19169R Spring 2010

Instructor: Elizabeth Gill Brauer Class Day: Monday, 10 a.m. – 12:50 p.m. Location: SCA 362 Office Hours: Before or after class, or by appointment. Students are encouraged to arranged individual meetings to discuss their work. E-Mail address: [email protected] Phone: 310/871-4552

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Class meetings will be held in workshop format: work will be written, presented, analyzed, and discussed. The focus of discussion will be on what is communicated in the writing as presented. Feedback will be of a constructive nature, addressing how the writer may enhance the communication of his/her intention.

COURSE GOALS:

--Acquire a personal, professional writing style in screenplay format --Write from a visual and aural perspective. --Understand character, the basis of compelling drama --Develop a fundamental understanding of the dramatic scene --Understand the economy of effective narrative screenwriting --Develop an understanding of story – the elements, the human need for story. --Explore your own stories, via memory and observation --Develop a responsiveness to the world you live in and find stories therein. --Understand how theme is expressed through characters and story. --Understand aspects of the human condition in order to achieve universality in your stories. --Use details to make stories come to life; the value of specifics. --Understand how to make an emotional connection with the audience; why do we care?

REQUIRED TEXTS:

The Tools of Screenwriting, Howard & Mabley The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Storytellers and Screenwriters, Vogler FINAL DRAFT – screenwriting software CLASS SCHEDULE: (Subject to Change)

Jan. 11 – Introductions. Overview of class (syllabus). Brainstorm on the Human Condition. Plot and narrative. Visual storytelling. Class exercise: Atmosphere/Genre (non-dialogue).

Assignment: Finish Atmosphere/Genre exercise.

Watch and outline THE GRADUATE.

Jan. 18 – Martin Luther King’s B’day – no class

Jan. 25 – Share atmosphere pieces. Conciseness of screenwriting style. Screenplay Format.

Assignment: Roommates (Before/After). Preparation for a Date (Before/After). Both non-dialogue.

Watch and outline IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT.

Feb. 1 – Share assignments and critique. Character. Hand-outs. Five “rules.” Personal motto. Worst fear.

Assignment: Pregnant Girl or Drunk Boy (adding dialogue now).

Watch and outline THE APARTMENT.

Feb. 8 – Share assignments and critique. What is a scene? Protagonist, antagonist.

Assignment: Seduction Scene or Unexpected Guest scene.

Watch and outline BODY HEAT.

Feb. 15 – Presidents’ Day – no class

Feb. 22 – Share and critique. The importance of the “future” in screenwriting. Creating suspense. Obstacles. Hand-out.

Assignment: Fairy Tale Redux in three scenes.

Watch and outline HIGH NOON.

Mar. 1 – Share and critique. Writing from personal experience. Stages of life. Childhood Exercise – blueprint of your house. Assignment: Find a story in one of the “rooms” and expand it into a scenario. Look for a potential “twist” or “epiphany” for the ending.

Watch and outline GROUNDHOG DAY.

Mar. 8 – Share and critique. Three Act structure. Plot points. Ordinary and Special Worlds. Character-as-Hero. Mythic narrative.

Assignment: News story/media/ads/advice columns. Find a story in it and adapt to script.

Watch and outline THE APARTMENT.

SPRING BREAK!

Mar. 22 – Share and critique. Watch “EYEBALL EDDIE.” Outline.

Assignment: Come up with three ideas to pitch in class. Each one must be written on a single page (called a “leave-behind”) in the form of a general synopsis of the story, plus brief descriptions of the main characters, one word theme, and logline.

Watch and outline TOOTSIE.

Mar. 29 – Turn in any rewrites on assignments and any missing movie outlines. Give pitches. Go over Vogler and Step Outline handout. Divide into groups.

Assignment: Choose one of your ideas and develop the story, scene by scene (as much as possible), first on cards (at least 12, mirroring the Vogler breakdown) and then in “step outline” form (see handout).

Apr. 5 – Step Outlines. Group A

Apr. 12 – Share and critique 1st draft scripts. (Act One) – Group B

Apr. 19 – Share and critique 1st draft scripts (Act Two ) – Group A

Apr. 26 – Share and critique 1st draft scripts (Act Three) – Group B

May 3 – Rewriting.

May 10 – Turn in scripts.

CLASS RULES: This is a workshop. We will all respect each other’s creative process, offer useful feedback and constructive criticism (in the true spirit of collaboration), and together provide an atmosphere of trust and inspiration. Self-proclaimed geniuses will not be tolerated.

Work with spelling and grammatical errors will be returned unread.

All work MUST have your name and date on it. The date is very important. Final work (the short scripts) must have a TITLE, even if it’s just a “working title.” I prefer that you title exercises too. Just for practice.

COPY POLICY: The Writing Division office will be happy to copy up to 10 pages free of charge. Give them at least an hour ahead of time.

You will make approximately 8 copies per class. (Students will share so we can save a few trees.) When we split into two groups, you will bring in 8 copies if you are “on.” You will email the class your work if you are the “off “ week.

LAPTOPS: You may bring your laptops to class, but only for accessing class work. We will take a vote and see if emailing work might save more trees. But then everyone will be required to bring their laptop to class. Stay tuned!

No emailed work! Please turn in hard copies only to me! I like to write on them! Of course, feel free to email me if you have any questions or if, for any reason, you can’t attend class.

GRADING:

Grades will be based on attendance, class participation, timely completion of assignments, quality of the writing, use of the imagination, level of commitment, and the degree of improvement in the writing over the course of the class, ie., your growth as a writer. In that regard and as reflected in your final grade, I will not be comparing you with anyone else but you. Your progress is a reflection of your commitment to the class.

Participation means offering feedback on our classmates’ work and contributing to classroom discussions. Attendance is mandatory. TWO UNEXCUSED ABSENCES constitutes a drop in your grade. THREE and you will fail. So it is imperative that you email me if you are sick or have some other valid reason for not attending class. And please BE ON TIME. Class starts on the hour. Anyone later than five minutes will be marked TARDY, and three TARDIES will constitute an ABSENCE.

10 per cent – class participation 40 per cent – quality of weekly assignments/exercises 50 per cent – quality of final project A written EVALUATION will be given to you so you know where you stand at MIDTERM.

DISABILITIES STATEMENT:

Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disabiiity is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obrtained from DSP. Please be sure this letter is delivered to me as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. , Monday through Friday. The telephone number for DSP is (213) 740-0076.