Department: Theatre, Film, Television and Interactive Media
Credit value: 20 credits
Credit level: I
Academic year of delivery: 2024-25
See module specification for other years:
2022-232023-24
Module summary
Comprising 8 x weekly lectures, screenings and 2 hour seminars, this module aims to introduce participants to the skills and tools that are required to write for the screen. Through a combination of screenwriting theory, practical exercises discussed in class and self-directed learning, you will develop your own 30-minute film or TV script, in a genre or story type of your choosing, from initial idea to first draft. Though few 30-minute films are made today, the emphasis of this module is on development – of characters & stories; of genre & story-types; of skills & tools required for screenwriting. You are therefore encouraged to view the module as a testing ground in which you will be supported to write your preferred stand-alone screen story – be it a ‘mini’ genre film, drama, sit-com, experimental film or ‘short’. N.B. You are recommended to undertake this module if you plan to undertake a screenwriting option in the Individual Project module in your final year.
Module will run
Occurrence
Teaching period
A
Semester 1 2024-25
Module aims
The module aims:
To provide you with a range of strategies for generating script ideas
To provide guidance and support in writing scripts for film and television
To enable you to understand and participate actively in the process of story & script development
To situate the creative act of scriptwriting within its industrial context (e.g., target audience, medium, genre, pitching, development, formatting, etc.)
Module learning outcomes
Upon completion of this module you are expected to be able to:
Demonstrate a working knowledge of common narrative structures (including three-act structure) of scripts for film and television.
Demonstrate an understanding of the process by which a television programme or film develops from initial idea to first draft script.
Demonstrate an understanding of how to create and then develop characters through action.
Demonstrate a familiarity with pitching and the use of short documents in film and television story development.
Demonstrate an understanding of how to write scenes for a film or television script.
Demonstrate familiarity with the form, structure & formatting of scripts for film and television.
Indicative assessment
Task
% of module mark
Essay/coursework
100
Special assessment rules
None
Additional assessment information
Formative work week by week is embedded in this module. Students deliver the 1st Act of their 30-minute script for the final seminar and discuss this document with their teacher and classmates in seminars, receiving feedback designed to move them and their projects forward into the final assessment. This document provides an excellent launching pad for students to undertake their scripts.
Indicative reassessment
Task
% of module mark
Essay/coursework
100
Module feedback
There will be an extended range of formative writing exercises across the module. These all receive feedback. You will also receive extensive written feedback on the final summative assessment within the standard university turnaround time, designed to inform choices in the third year.
Indicative reading
Bordwell, D. (2004) The Way Hollywood Tells It: Story and Style in Modern Movies. London and Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Thompson, K. (2003) Storytelling in Film and Television. Cambridge, MA and London: Harvard University Press.
Tierno, M. (2002) Aristotles Poetics for Screenwriters: Storytelling Secrets from the Greatest Mind in Western Civilization: Hyperion.
McKee, R. (1999) Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting. London: Methuen.
Howard, D. & Mabley, E. (1995) The Tools of Screenwriting: A Writer's Guide to the Craft and Elements of a Screenplay, St. Martins Griffin.
Moran, A. and Malbon, J. (2006) Understanding the Global TV Format. Bristol: Intellect Books.
Thornham, S. and Purvis, T. (2005) Television Drama: Theories and Identities. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan.
Maras, S. (2009) Screenwriting: history, theory and practice. London: Wallflower.
Seger, L. (1990) Creating Unforgettable Characters, Owl Books, Henry Hold & Company.
Field, S. (2003) The Definitive Guide to Screenwriting. London: Ebury.
Field, S. (1998) Four Screenplays: Studies in the American Screenplay. Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group.
Snyder, B. (2005) Save the Cat: The Last Book on Screenwriting You ll Ever Need, McNaughton & Gunn, Michigan.
Argentini, P. (1998) Elements of Style for Screenwriters: the Essential Manual for Writers of Screenplays. Lone Eagle Publishing
The following films and episodes from television series may be screened as part of the module: