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The temptation when
writing a film is to think of the big-picture elements first—a
mind-blowing premise or fast-moving plot, the scope and spectacle—and
then to consider characters who’ll allow the spectacle to take place.
But this, of course, is working backward: character isn’t a way to
reveal the world of a film—character is the heart of any film, no
matter the genre or style, and the world, plot, and stakes of the film
exist to reveal and to deepen our understanding of that character, not
the other way around.
Elements of story
and the story’s world are only meaningful when filtered through a
protagonist’s particular perspective and motivation, when the audience
can see something of him- or herself in the protagonist’s quest and
relationships with the other characters…allowing us not just to
empathize with the quest but to see our own hopes and desires, our own
shortcomings, reflected in the story, and feeling the stakes as
personally as if we were the ones at risk, the ones victorious when the
goal is achieved, or the ones facing ruin if the goal were lost.
In this course,
through online lectures, supplemental readings, video clips, and
written assignments and exercises, we’ll consider:
- how character affects all other aspects of
story,
including plot, theme, and structure
- how to build a protagonist with whom the
audience identifies
- the necessity of empathy and sympathy in
crafting character, and how a character’s own shortcomings allow
for these
- how to both use and play against character
types and tropes
- the relationship between character arc and plot
arc,
and more
We’ll also reference
— and occasionally take cues from — such seemingly disparate films
as The Wizard of
Oz, Star Wars, The Lord
of the Rings, Casablanca,The Silence of the Lambs, The Matrix, Fargo, The Breakfast Club, Casablanca,
Raiders of the Lost Ark, and others.
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Course Starts Thursday!
April 8 - May 6
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Instructor: Jenna Avery
Jenna Avery is a
screenwriter, columnist for Final Draft and Script Mag, instructor for
Script University and The Writer’s Store, and story consultant. As a
storyteller, she specializes in sci-fi action and space fantasy. Jenna
is also a writing coach and the founder of Called to Write, an
online community and coaching program designed to help writers make the
work of writing actually happen, where she has helped hundreds of
writers overcome procrastination, perfectionism, and resistance so they
can get their writing onto the page and into the world where it
belongs.
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Active Interest Media
P.O. Box 20730 Boulder, Colorado, 80308 United States
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Comedy writing is
sometimes compared to songwriting: in music, every note is important;
in comedy, every word, even every syllable can be critical.
There are lots of classes about writing funny; this one is about what
funny is – its mechanics, its principles. And while comedy
people certainly vary in their ability to articulate those principles,
they all take them seriously and refer to them constantly (“Call-back’s
too soon”; “Set-up’s got too many words”).
This talk has no direct instruction but rather takes a deep dive into
the comedy principles which are, in fact, the basic principles
of every art form: tension and resolution, pattern
disruption, misdirection and surprise. And we’ll see how these
principles achieve their effects by looking at examples ranging from
Buster Keaton to Richard Pryor to Amy Schumer.
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- The
roles of persona, contrast, and timing
- How
single letters can make a line funny, or not
- How
showing less can result in more
- Why
comedy and logic are bitter enemies
- Why
punchlines can be bad
- The
thin line separating comedy and tragedy
- Why
your body is hilarious
- The
secret life of jokes
- and
much
more!
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- Writers
at all levels
- Comedy
writers
- Drama
writers, because while the class is about comedy it shows how
comedy principles not only apply to but can actually enhance drama
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Instructor: David Misch
David Misch is
an author (“Funny: The Book,” “A Beginner’s Guide To Corruption”),
screenwriter (“Mork & Mindy,” “Saturday Night Live,” “The Muppets
Take Manhattan”), teacher (his own courses on comedy at USC and musical
satire at UCLA) and lecturer (Sony Pictures, Walt Disney Studios,
Lucasfilm, Yale, the Smithsonian, Oxford, University of Sydney,
Raindance Film Festival (London), Austin Film Festival, American Film
Institute, Second City, Actors Studio).
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Active Interest Media
P.O. Box 20730 Boulder, Colorado, 80308 United States
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Whether you're
completely new to writing screenplays or you're an experienced
screenwriter looking to add a new skill, Script University has a course
for you, all from the comfort of your home! Click
here to view
the full course schedule >>
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Courses
Starting This Week:
Story Development and Outlining
Instructor:
Lynn Grant Beck
Do you have a great core idea for your story, but find yourself
struggling to add depth, structure, and arc to your concept? Developing
your premise is no easy task, but once you have the essential elements
pieced together, your story can truly come together. In this course,
you'll learn how to take your screenplay from the early stages of
building an idea to a fully developed story.
21 Days
to Your Screenplay Treatment
Instructor:
Bryan Young
Let this course show you, step-by-step, how to create an
electrifying treatment! We’ve made the anxiety-producing process of
treatment writing simple with our ground-breaking approach to the form.
By the end of this workshop, you will have a strong treatment and a
solid log line for your screenplay that has been vetted by an industry
professional.
Construct
Compelling Characters
Instructor:
Jenna Avery
Character is the heart of any film, no matter the genre or
style. In this course, we’ll consider how character affects plot,
theme, and structure. You’ll learn how to build a protagonist an
audience can identify with, how to use and play against character
tropes, and the relationship between character arc and plot arc.
Mastering
the Conventions of Horror Writing
Instructor:
Neal Stevens
Horror has been one of the staples of film ever since the medium
was invented. This genre is truly a writer’s medium: If you can present
a new version of an old concept and scare us on the page, your script
can sell. Plus, there is always room for innovation and creativity
within the field. That’s why horror is a natural choice for many a
screenwriter.
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Upcoming
Webinars:
How Comedy Works
with David
Misch
April 29 -- A Special 3-Hour Event!
Comedy writing is sometimes compared to songwriting: in music, every
note is important; in comedy, every word, even every syllable can be
critical. There are lots of classes about writing funny; this one is
about what funny is – its mechanics, its principles. This talk has no
direct instruction but rather takes a deep dive into the comedy
principles which are, in fact, the basic principles of every art form:
tension and resolution, pattern disruption, misdirection and surprise.
Breaking Into Hollywood
with Jeanne
Bowerman
June 17, 2021
When screenwriters ask an industry insider for advice, the most common
response writers hear is, “Move to L.A.” But Jeanne Veillette Bowerman
says, “Not so fast.” Jeanne has built a strong network for herself
right from her country home in New York State while only making a
handful of trips to L.A. a year. She’ll show you her key secrets that
have led her to be successful outside of Hollywood.
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EXPERT INSTRUCTORS | CONVENIENT ACCESS
INVALUABLE FEEDBACK
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This course will
show you, step-by-step, how to write script coverage. We will cover key
elements of screenwriting coverage, including writing a synopsis,
analyzing a script, writing an evaluation, script formatting, and
finding work as a reader. Whether you want to become a script
reader, a story analyst, or just want to polish up your own script, a
solid understanding of format and script structure will be essential.
Writers put on a different hat after a script is written: revising a
script is a different skill set than creating one.
Gain firsthand insight into what story analysts must look for when
reading a script and specifics as to what will prompt them to reject or
consider a project for production. You will also learn what movie
executives demand in a winning screenplay and how the story analyst’s
role fits into this scenario. By the end of this
workshop, you will receive a certification of completion of
this course to assist you in getting work as a story analyst.
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Instructor: Brian O'Malley
B. O'Malley started
reading scripts in 1994, at the literary agency Media Artists Group. In
1997, he went to work as for legendary B-movie maverick Roger Corman
(Little Shop of Horrors, Death Race 2000, Rock and Roll High School),
and in 1999 assembled a team of top-notch script readers and filmmakers
to launch the script coverage service Screenplay Readers.
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Active Interest Media
P.O. Box 20730 Boulder, Colorado, 80308 United States
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