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What We Do
Serious Screenwriting
Get serious about your screenwriting and hear about Olly Blackburn's Donkey Punch
Thursday 5 & Friday 6 June 2008
Soho Theatre, Dean Street, London W1
Serious Screenwriting is a brand new training and networking event for writers who are serious about a career in the British film industry. You know that even the most successful writers have drawers full of draft screenplays that no-one has ever seen and you know that the only way to hone your craft is to write and keep on writing. But, however much you love the writing process, we know the reason you write screenplays is the hope that one day your stories will leave the page and come to life on a cinema screen.
The aim of this major new programme is to help you ensure that your talent, passion, energy and time are invested in projects that are genuinely screen-worthy and stand a decent chance of being made.
Over two days in Central London this June, we will be hosting eight sessions combining practical training with inspiring guest speakers talking about the reality of film-making and screenwriting in the UK today. We assume that attendees will be familiar with the basic principles of dramatic writing and screenwriting craft, so the training element of the programme will be focussed on specific areas that seem to cause the most common stumbling blocks for new writers.
Our aim is that everyone leaves equipped with all the information you need (including details on further training, MA courses and funded development opportunities), but mainly much more savvy about how to make your screenwriting seriously successful.
SERIOUS SCREENWRITING DEVELOPMENT SCHEME
Get your work seen by Film 4's decision-makers.
If you're serious about your screenwriting, then we are too. At the end of the programme all participants will be invited to apply for the Serious Screenwriting Development Scheme. We are looking for two writers who have a great idea, the talent to write, and are committed to spending the next twelve months developing their feature film project. Those two writers will be invited to work through two further drafts of their current screenplay or film idea with The Script Factory’s development team. This will mean at least three one-to-one development sessions and free attendance on selected Script Factory training programmes during the development period. At the end of that period we're delighted to announce that the results will be scrutinised by Film 4 and the two writers invited in for a private meeting with Film 4's Development Department.
This scheme will only be open to Serious Screenwriting participants. The deadline for submissions will be approximately one month after the Serious Screenwriting programme, so don't panic, you'll have plenty of time to work on a great idea...!
To read the Serious Screenwriting Development Scheme Terms & Conditions click here.
And there’s more… It might be serious but it’s also going to be fun.
MOVIESCOPE SCREENWRITING CHALLENGE
We’ve asked one of our favourite screenwriters to set an overnight screenwriting challenge. Full details will be revealed on the first day of training, but the idea is simple: you’ll be offered a set up, some interesting characters and a situation, and sent off overnight to get to work on writing a scene. Three finalists will have their scenes read by professional actors at a snazzy Drinks Reception on Friday evening and the winner and runners up will collect enviable prizes and the admiration of all!
THE PROGRAMME
Both mornings of Serious Screenwriting are devoted to four practical lecture sessions, each taught by Rob Ritchie, a regular Script Factory tutor who has extensive experience as both a writer and script developer. Afternoons are reserved for masterclasses and industry panel discussions.
Thursday 5 June: 10–5pm
Workshop Session: Good Ideas and Great Ideas
A story may have a solid dramatic structure but what more does it need in order to deserve a place on the big screen? For example, what makes a crime story a cinematic idea rather than just a plot line for an episode of CSI? And how do you make an intimate personal drama visually powerful enough to succeed as a movie? This first session thinks about ways of testing the strength of your ideas to ensure that your time, talent and effort are invested in pursuing projects with the most cinematic potential.
Workshop Session: Truth and Fiction
Most new writers will start out by drafting original spec screenplays, but even a quick scan of recent cinema releases will reveal that most produced films are based on existing stories (novels, short stories, plays, real lives and true events). The prospect of adapting the latest bestseller may seem a distant dream but the ability to structure a story from existing material is a skill every serious screenwriter should master. This session considers various creative approaches to working with source material plus some very practical principles.
Warp X's Complete History of My Sexual FailuresGuest Session: Current Trends
A panel discussion considering what type of projects are popular within the industry now and questions what audiences seem to be engaging with. Joe Oppenheimer (BBC Films), Lizzie Francke (UK Film Council Development Fund), Caroline Cooper Charles (Warp X) and Julia Short (Verve Pictures) give a producer / funder / distributor's perspective on 'Current Trends': Are there genres that will always be in fashion or have genre distinctions shifted in recent years? How is it possible to catch the zeitgeist when the average film takes at least four years to make it to the cinema screens? And what are the digital film-making opportunities available for new screenwriters from the growing micro-budget production schemes.
Tim Firth's hit screenplay Calendar GirlsGuest Session: A Masterclass with Tim Firth
One of the UK’s most successful screenwriters, Tim Firth’s college career saw Sam Mendes direct all of his early plays before he cut his professional teeth simultaneously in theatre and on TV. Work on TV favourites like The Bill, Boon and Minder pre-empted his smash hit series, All Quiet on the Preston Front, which scooped numerous awards over its five year run. Meanwhile, in theatre Firth’s Neville’s Island was nominated for an Olivier Award in 92. His first venture on to the big screen was with the Mel Smith-directed Brit flick Blackball, before he smashed through to take gold with his screenplay for Calendar Girls, which went on to become one of the highest grossing British films of all time. His follow up, Kinky Boots, starred Chiwetel Ejiofor, while he has recently completed the much-anticipated adaptation of Sophie Kinsella's novel Confessions of a Shopaholic. He continues to work on stage with his Olivier Musical Award-winning Our House currently touring before it returns to London in June. We're delighted that Tim Firth will join us to talk about his serious career in screenwriting.
Thursday Evening: Don’t forget to keep this evening free to complete your entry to the Moviescope Screenwriting Challenge!
Friday 6 June: 10–5pm
Workshop Session: By their deeds ye shall know them
One of the most regular criticisms of screenplays by aspiring British writers is the lack of effective characterisation. When we think about character we are more likely to think about attitudes and psychological make-up, i.e. character types, and perhaps don’t spend enough time thinking about the specific habits and mannerisms that differentiate one person from the next. This session examines how characters come to life on the big screen and explores how to write the necessary physical habits, behavioral tics and distinct speech patterns into the screenplay.
Workshop Session: Rewriting Right!
Writing is rewriting, but how do you know what to rewrite? How do you make significant changes to a script without the whole thing falling apart? How do you distinguish between useful development notes and feedback that is just a matter of someone else’s taste? This final session explores the process of script development and how to survive it!
Lunch: MA Market
During a slightly extended lunch break on the Friday, we will be inviting representatives from a range of the UK’s Screenwriting MA and Diploma courses who will be available to talk to you individually. If you’re considering further study then this is your chance to sift through the different programmes on offer and find out which suits your writing style and your ambitions.
Guest Session: From script to set to screen
This entertaining session illuminates the practicalities of shooting a story. For example, if you write in your script – Joe crashes his car into a lamppost – how does that actually get made? An experienced director will guide you through the process of turning words into action and consider some of the practical concerns that it’s helpful for writers to be aware of.
Donkey Punch - Olly Blackburn's debutGuest Session: Olly Blackburn - One to Watch
This final session hopes to leave you inspired that it can happen! In an in-depth case study we'll introduce you to Olly Blackburn, one of the most exciting new film-makers in the UK whose debut feature Donkey Punch, is about to launch across the country. One of the first of the new Warp-X features the film is already making waves after its Sundance premiere. To get it made, Olly's career has spanned TV, theatre, shorts, music video and commercials and in this session we'll quiz him about the career moves that have helped get his cherished first feature off the ground. For more about Olly, see www.ollyblackburn.com.
Friday Evening: 5.30–7pm
A well deserved drink at a Soho venue (tbc) where the shortlisted scenes of the Moviescope Screenwriting Challenge will be performed and the winner announced.
BOOKING INFORMATION
Serious Screenwriting costs £175 + VAT (total £205.63).
There is a special discounted rate for Script Factory Members of £150 + VAT (total £176.25). Click here for details about Script Factory Membership.
To make your booking please call The Script Factory on weekdays between 10am-6pm on 020 7851 4890 with your credit or debit card details, or email jeni@scriptfactory.co.uk with any queries.
Details on how to find Soho Theatre are here.