This is compulsory on MA Screenwriting.
This module runs every trimester 1 (September).
This module fee is for Overseas fee payers only.
Detailed Description
In this module you are guided through a professional development process from idea to polished first draft script. You will go through this process twice—for an original script (trimester 1) and for an adaptation using source material of your choice (trimester 2). Finally, you will submit two short scripts totalling 25-30 pages, comprised of two 10-15 page short film scripts (one original script and one adaptation), along with two 1000 word critical essay reflections on your practice in a scholarly research context.
The module runs tri-weekly throughout the first and second trimesters of the first year of the programme, meaning that it runs concurrently alongside Writing and Screen Project Development (WSPD) in trimester 1 and Unconventional Approaches (UA) in trimester 2. Techniques explored and developed within those modules will then be put into practice and experimented with in SW1 sessions. In the first 4 SW1 sessions (trimester 1) you will focus on generating and writing original narrative scripts. In the second 4 sessions (trimester 2) you will focus on adaptation: sourcing appropriate material and adapting for the short film form. You will be set creative tasks to complete prior to the tri-weekly workshops (e.g. writing scenes, creating character outlines, outlining script concepts), and it is expected that ‘creative play’ activities from WSPD and UA will feed into this process and be built upon, fostering a congruency in your work practice, flowing from the more critical modules, via creative practice, into your workshop modules and, ultimately, your practice as a screenwriter.
By the end of the module you will have completed a variety of creative writing exercises and experimentations, resulting in two carefully developed polished draft scripts totalling 25-30 pages, preparing you for the longer form scripts which you will be tackling in the second year of the programme, and providing you substantive scripts to begin filling out your professional portfolio. This written work is circulated and work-shopped in small groups: this process develops and enhances the projects, stimulates team-working and collaboration and helps develop not only your own writing but also your story-, script-editing and inter-personal skills.
