EGL 84 W — Build a World, Seduce the World: The Screenplay Submission
Summer
Date(s)
Jun 22—Aug 28
10 weeks
Drop By
Jun 25
3 Units
Fees
$795
Limit
17
Closed
The gatekeepers of the film industry make up their minds about a script in its very first pages. Their decision is not just based on compelling writing. Those first pages must not only charm, they must also convince the reader that they are the foundation for a complete and deeply imagined world—in other words, the foundation for a great film.
Whether you’re new to screenwriting or already have a script under way, this course will help you achieve a great screenplay’s key objectives in an open and supportive workshop atmosphere. Through weekly writing exercises, you’ll learn how to introduce your main character, set a tone, establish the status quo of your fictional world, and signal a theme. We will discuss screenplays such as North by Northwest, The Big Lebowksi, and The Piano, along with articles and interviews, as well as excerpts from screenwriting instruction books such as Story by Robert McKee and Creating Unforgettable Characters by Linda Seeger. Students will complete the course with the first ten pages of a screenplay, a one-line summary, and a toolbox of exercises and materials to help them complete the screenwriting process.
Whether you’re new to screenwriting or already have a script under way, this course will help you achieve a great screenplay’s key objectives in an open and supportive workshop atmosphere. Through weekly writing exercises, you’ll learn how to introduce your main character, set a tone, establish the status quo of your fictional world, and signal a theme. We will discuss screenplays such as North by Northwest, The Big Lebowksi, and The Piano, along with articles and interviews, as well as excerpts from screenwriting instruction books such as Story by Robert McKee and Creating Unforgettable Characters by Linda Seeger. Students will complete the course with the first ten pages of a screenplay, a one-line summary, and a toolbox of exercises and materials to help them complete the screenwriting process.
This is an online course. For more information about the Online Writing Program, visit continuingstudies.stanford.edu/onlinewriting.
Xandra Maria Castleton, Screenwriter
Xandra Maria Castleton’s scripts have served as the basis for award-winning documentary, television, and film projects, including a profile of the filmmaker John Waters, which received an Emmy award. Her films have been shown at the Sundance, Tribeca, AFI, and Rotterdam festivals. She co-wrote and produced the feature film Full Grown Men, which received the 2007 Sundance Channel Audience Award. Castleton is a co-creator and writer of the television comedy docuse- ries Stand Up Planet. She received an MFA in cinema from San Francisco State.Textbooks for this course:
(Required) Linda Seger, Creating Unforgettable Characters (ISBN 0805011714)
(Required) Robert McKee, Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting (ISBN 0060391685)
(Required) David Trottier, The Screenwriter's Bible, 6th Edition (ISBN 1935247107)
(Required) Robert McKee, Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting (ISBN 0060391685)
(Required) David Trottier, The Screenwriter's Bible, 6th Edition (ISBN 1935247107)