If you would like to download a leaflet about The Bigger Picture, click here (this file requires Adobe Acrobat Reader). Alternatively read on below for more information about the programme.
 


 
Following on from the popularity of last year's Picture The Scene, The Script Factory's training team are gearing up to bring you The Bigger Picture this Autumn. And this time it's not just for writers, but for everyone involved in the script development process.
 
In the screenwriting community, the word ‘structure’ is a loaded one; yet, whether you subscribe to a particular paradigm or dismiss them all, there is no arguing with the fact that every screenplay is constructed. Every detail included in the script, whether placed there consciously or as a by-product of other choices, necessarily impacts on the meaning of the whole.
 
Over six sessions, held on the mornings of Thursday 28 October – Saturday 30 October, The Bigger Picture will take a practical look at the construction of a film script from how to set-up and manage the relationship between audience and character to ensuring that each scene is integral to the main story conflict.
 
The Bigger Picture has been specifically designed for everyone involved in the script development process, and offers an invaluable opportunity for both writers and producers to meet potential new collaborators. Afternoons are kept free to enable participants to take full advantage of the SCENE programme of seminars, masterclasses and preview screenings.
 
The Programme
Thursday 28 October
10.00 – 11.30 Putting the audience in the picture
The job of a writer in any medium is not only to entertain the audience but also to communicate something of value to them. Screenwriting is the one of the most technically demanding of all literary forms and the struggle to understand and master the craft can often blind the writer (and the developer) to the importance of the meaning of the story: what does this writer have to say and, importantly, are they communicating that meaning to the audience? This session will examine the delicate balance between hitting the audience over the head with a ‘message’ and embodying the premise of the film in characters with whom the audience will want to go on a journey.
 
11.30 – 12.00 Coffee break
 
12.00 – 1.00 Layering the conflict
The standard ‘formula’ for a screenplay is that the protagonist must overcome the obstacles standing in the way of their goal. But spinning out this conflict for the duration of the film can often leave the screenplay feeling flat. This session explores how you ensure that the premise of the story is invested with enough potential conflict to sustain the tension and to increase the stakes at key moments.
 
Friday 29 October
10.00 – 11.30 Joining up the dots
To keep a screenplay moving forward you need to give the audience everything necessary to make logical sense of the action without it all being so spelt out that the pace drags. This session explores how much can and should be left for the audience to fill in for themselves, and offers an approach towards the final edit of a draft. We will also consider how to set up significant meaningful events in a character’s world to allow for more subtle and satisfying revelations when those moments are paid off.
 
11.30 – 12.00 Coffee break
 
12.00 – 1.00 The big picture in miniature
Much of the development process inevitably focuses on the overall shape of the story and the individual character arcs within it. But what do you do once all that is working well and yet you still have a script that contains scenes that refuse to leap off the page? In this session, we will look at how the principles of dramatic structure should be applied to each scene as well as the film as a whole.

Billy Elliot Daldry's feature debut
Saturday 30 October
10.00 – 11.30 Can you see what it is yet?
Many of the most interesting and talked about films of recent years are ones that self-consciously play with structure; forcing the audience to work really hard in order to make sense of the story. The ones that work best are not just ‘clever’; rather they employ alternative narrative structures to create additional layers of meaning to the film. Yet when new screenwriters set out to subvert expectations, the mantra ‘you have to know the rules to break them’ is chanted at them from every corner. This session takes an honest look at how creative you can be with a story’s structure without jeopardising the sense and accessibility of a film.
 
11.30 – 12.00 Coffee break
 
12.00 – 1.00 Now I get it !
This final session will examine film endings and explore how to maintain the dramatic drive right through to the closing credits. We will tackle some of the common problems that occur in the third act of screenplays, such as having too many endings or switching genres, and we’ll consider just how long after the climax we need to stick around?
 
Standard Course Fee: £120 + VAT
Script Factory Members Course Fee: £100 + VAT
(view Membership detail here)
 
The training will take place at The Curzon Soho, Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1.
 
Priority booking For The Bigger Picture is now open to SCRIPT FACTORY MEMBERS only - general booking opens 8 August 2004. For information about joining The Script Factory as a Member click here
To book your place, please call Josh on +44 (0) 20 7323 1414
 

For information about the whole SCENE London events programme click here.

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