NURTURING NEW TALENT
A one-day workshop on managing creative relationships and sharpening your script development skills. We would all love the perfect script to land fully-formed on our desks, but the true value of a development professional is the ability to support a talented screenwriter from early draft or initial idea stage through to a highly polished script ready for market.
Saturday 18 May, 11 - 5pm
56 Greek Street, Soho
JUST ONE PLACE LEFT!
(Please note this course was previously entitled Wrestling the Redraft)
An essential guide to the practical process of script development: hone your analysis skills and refine your creative working process. This one day course is especially designed for script readers, developers and producers who want to explore the best practice of giving feedback and running development meetings with writers.
We have all heard the old adage: writing is rewriting. But maintaining the inspiration and enthusiasm for repeated redrafts is an acquired skill and where a good script developer really proves their worth. Drawing on over twenty years experience of working with writers, we will outline effective strategies to establish positive creative relationships, deliver clear-headed story analysis, and confidently keep the project on track.
Participants on this course will work on a live screenwriting project and create a strategy for working towards the next draft with the writer. Together we will analyse the current script, assess its potential as a film, and consider how to translate that analysis into gold standard feedback.
Workshop Content
1. Development Relationships
This session considers how to establish the most positive dynamic between developer and writer with the aim of empowering the writer to produce the best work they possibly can. This session looks at how to approach the first development meeting; gaining the writer's trust; understanding the story the writer wants to tell and why; protecting the writer’s unique voice and establishing creative boundaries.
2. Analysing the Material
The initial stages of development are all about finding the best potential film in the material. We'll lay out an approach for determining whether the key elements of the story are in place and whether the current draft is exploiting the strongest aspects of the idea. Any role in script development requires a solid understanding of screenwriting theory, but the job goes far beyond simply critiquing what’s currently on the page. We will consider how to discern the writer’s intentions within a script, and how to support the writer’s aims whilst also ensuring they deliver a story an audience will engage with.
3. Constructive Feedback
Too much feedback (however intelligent and informed) can be counter-productive, this session considers how to write development notes that don't overwhelm the writer but that provide a useful resource for addressing the next stage of development. We consider how to adapt your style to suit the way each writer works and explore how to offer ongoing support between drafts. In this practical session we'll consider how to respond to subsequent drafts (especially those that seem to get worse) and work with practical planning documents such as Beat Sheets.
“Training with The Script Factory was so inspiring, illuminating and effective, and introduced me to an incredible network of people. It’s helped reinforce my confidence in my skills, and given me the vocabulary to work with writers and creatives in all settings. I couldn’t recommend their training highly enough, whatever level you may be working at. “
Lindy Taylor, Production Executive
FAQs
Who Is The Course For?
This workshop is ideal for anyone who works directly with writers, for script readers wanting to move to face-to-face development meetings. We also welcome writers who want to gain insight into how their work is analysed and learn strategies for prioritising the next stage of script development.
Course Preparation
Prior to the course we will send you an unproduced screenplay to read and prepare some notes on.
Course Tutor
This course will be taught by The Script Factory’s Charlotte Bogard Macleod & Justine Hart.
Where And When Will The Course Take Place?
This one-day workshop will take place on Saturday 18 May 2024 in the Elton Room at 56 Greek Street, London, W1D 3DU.
The teaching will run from 11-5 with a 45-minute lunch break. There will also be the option of meeting for coffee beforehand and heading to the bar afterwards to maximise the opportunity of meeting with fellow filmmakers.
What Does The Course Cost?
Attendance on the course costs £115. Places are limited to 14 participants.
Kindly note that once booked we are unable to offer refunds for cancellations.
Booking
You can now book online using the link below. For any enquiries about this course, please complete the contact form and we will get in touch with you.