2.Main Content
Training
Writers' Workout
Make like Rocky and get a good workout for your screenplay
LAST CHANCE TO BOOK FOR 2O12
Wednesday 25 & Thursday 26 April 2012
Shoreditch Town Hall *SOLD OUT*
A chance to write and put theory into immediate practice. This hugely popular workshop course for writers designed to strengthen your screenwriting skills, ideal for those who have already completed a draft and are looking for inspiration to address the re-write or to create the next project.
Talent can't be taught, and storytelling is an instinctive skill, but screenwriting is a craft and the more you practice any craft the better you will get.
Pretty much everyone in the film industry will tell you that a good screenplay depends on a strong story idea and certainly even the very best writing can't hide a weak story. But, going beyond 'story' what makes a screenplay sparkle is the detail: well observed characters rendered immediately through one distinct action; clever exposition that implies a credible history but keeps us firmly rooted in the present; dialogue that aches with the burden of what it's concealing; beautiful imagery that defines the emotional landscape of the film; surprising moments that resound with truth.
Screenwriting is a precise and economic craft. Each scene and each exchange of dialogue should define character, be full of drama, come layered with subtext and resonate with meaning. Whilst a focus on getting the story right is essential, a satisfying screen story can only be written with a solid understanding of the nitty-gritty of screenwriting craft. Of course, the more practised you are in screenwriting craft then the more efficient you will be at solving story problems and generating fresh material that is worthy of the big screen.
Writers' Workout is a practical two-day course designed to consider some of the essential techniques that are unique to the screenwriting form. Participants will be trained in key principles and coached through a series of practical exercises designed to stretch your creativity, hone your technique and send you back to your screenplay with renewed enthusiasm and sharper instincts.
Working in small groups with a high tutor/student ratio, some of the work you do will be specific to your current screenplay but much of it is designed to equip you with skills and approaches that can be applied to both current and future projects.
DAY ONE:
Beyond the obvious
Interesting drama rarely happens in coffee shops but a disproportionate number of screenplay scenes seem be set in them. This first session is about freeing up your creativity, adding life and texture to your script by avoiding the obvious choices of scenes and settings and discovering the drama that might lurk off the beaten track.
Establishing character histories: Things We Lost In The Fire Characters: don't I know you from somewhere?
Continuing the theme of breaking from the obvious, this session thinks about how to build original screen characters. We will consider how to introduce your characters and establish their histories without falling into awkward exposition. We'll look at creating drama in the gap between what your characters choose to reveal and the truths they are concealing (even from themselves). And we'll also think about the personal habits and behavioural tics that make a screen character unique, memorable and recognisably 'human'.
Breaking rituals
The best way to get to know someone is by what they do. Everyone has their rituals whether it's the way they take their coffee, the rented holiday home they return to each year, or the section they choose first from the Sunday papers. This session uses practical exercises to explore what happens when those rituals are broken and considers how a shift in behaviour can be used effectively to convey significant changes in a character's circumstance or attitude.
An arresting opening: School Of RockOpening images
First impressions count! The opening images of a film should prime the audience for the story that is to follow, encapsulating the main story idea and setting the tone. This session looks at how to flag up themes and introduce characters in a way that is appropriate to the kind of film you are writing - be it a high concept genre movie or a multi-strand art house drama.
Overnight homework
Between the first and second day writers will be required to complete an overnight writing exercise related to your current screenplay idea. This will be discussed with your tutor and fellow group members on the second day.
DAY TWO:
Group Feedback
The second day starts with an opportunity to discuss the writing exercise in small groups and get constructive feedback from your tutor and fellow writers.
Skillful manipulation of point of view: Tsotsi Point of View
Some film stories, such as 21 Grams or Magnolia, make a particular structural feature of exploring narratives from different points of view. Of course, all storytelling is subjective, its meaning derived from whose perspective we are asked to interpret events. A skillful manipulation of point of view is crucial to the screenwriter's job: it's how you keep us aligned with your chosen protagonist, ensure that subplots remain relevant to the central storyline, establish dramatic irony and generate tension right up until the final pages of script. In this session we will consider the impact of choices regarding point of view, including decisions about the overall story design as well as methods of ensuring that we experience the emotional impact of each scene as you, the writer, intend.
Dialogue
In life we rarely ever say directly what we mean (or even if we do, our words get twisted and the person we're speaking to thinks that we meant something else!). In screenwriting, it's always what remains unsaid that is so much more important and the ability to layer dialogue with an unspoken subtext is a fundamental screenwriting skill. This session will provide plenty of practice at doing just that, as well as ensuring that dialogue exchanges serve as actions and reactions which move the story on.
Scene breakdowns
The only way to become fluent in the language of screenwriting is to study as many screenplays as possible. This course, like all Script Factory programmes, is designed to encourage writers to actively analyse screenwriting texts and learn about story structure, scene function and character arcs by breaking down the inner workings of a successful script. Only by analysing a screenplay, beat by beat, can we really appreciate how rich and textured this writing form is. In this final session we will look at how to compile a scene breakdown, both as an essential learning tool and as a useful method of developing your own story.
Then we'll retire to the bar for a well-deserved drink!
This course is limited to just 8 participants. It is taught by Lucy Scher, one of The Script Factory's directors.
We are now taking bookings for:
Writers’ Workout - 25 & 26 April 2012
*SOLD OUT*
The fee for Writers' Workout is £225 plus VAT (Total £270).
Script Factory Members are entitled to an extra discount, making the fee £202.50 plus VAT (Total £243).
The course will take place at:
Shoreditch Town Hall
380 Old Street
London
EC1V 9LT
Please note that once paid, Script Factory course fees are non-refundable.
Gone Baby GonePreparatory Viewing
We would like all participants on this programme to watch the following films in advance:
Juno (2007, dir. Jason Reitman, scr. Diablo Cody)
Gone Baby Gone (2007, dir. Ben Affleck, scr. Ben Affleck & Aaron Stockard)
Little Miss Sunshine (2006, dir. Jonathan Dayton & Valeries Faris, scr. Michael Arndt)
What previous participants on Writers' Workout have said:
* "I find starting to write a screenplay feels a bit like setting out to climb a mountain. The journey has an element of uncertainty about it, there are pitfalls and dangers, and all the time there are weather systems rolling in, obscuring my view of what I'm trying to achieve. I juggle the opposing forces of enthusiasm for the challenge and fear of the enormity of it. So when I saw the Writers' Workout advertised I took the chance to work closely with the experts at The Script Factory, with the hope of finding some surer footing.
* "The course exceeded my hopes. Lucy and Justine set out with the intention of 'making our scripts sparkle.' They analysed some of the tools that successful screenwriters use to lift their scripts out of the ordinary. And they gave us the opportunity to have a go with some of these ideas ourselves, in a supportive atmosphere of small groups of fellow writers. In doing so, they divided up the task of climbing the mountain into fun areas of play, making the summit seem very much nearer and more accessible.
* "The course has both freed me up creatively to make real progress with my screenplay, and given me tools to radically improve the quality of the finished draft."
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