Introduction:
Fundamentals of screenwriting, with a view to imparting basic instruction to students in the art and craft of telling stories using the medium of cinema. By the end of the course, students should be able to understand the mechanics of a script, as well as the interplay between its various elements like Premise, Theme, Story, Character, Structure, Scene Design and Dialogue.
Method of Teaching: The course will be delivered through interactive sessions, screenings of AV content, discussions of current trends in the space as well as discussions with various industry experts and real world example for further learning.
Course Content:
Session 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5
STORYTELLING AND CINEMA
- Narrating a story using visuals, Screenplay as distinct from other forms of writing (short stories, novels, plays).
- The power of the medium.
- An overview of the screenwriting process. Introduction to different elements – Premise, Theme, Story, Character, Structure, Scene Design and Dialogue.
- The importance of conflict.
Session 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10
STORY
- Formulating the premise. Identifying the theme. Assessing the premise for its dramatic power. The omnipresence of the theme and the premise in the screenplay.
- Identifying the protagonist. POV.
- Developing premise into story. Setting the story in milieu, time and space. Creating the main plot, the important sub-plots and the backstory. Structuring the story.
Session 11, 12, 13, 14 & 15
CHARACTER
- Creating credible, multi-dimensional, unique characters, with universal resonances. Character biographies – their physiology, sociology, psychology. Getting to the core of the characters. Desire, strength, weaknesses, motivation, growth. Sympathy and empathy. Character arcs. Understanding archetypes. Avoiding stereotypes.
- Plot vs. character. Identifying the protagonist’s need. Character transformation.
- Creating the antagonist, secondary characters.
- Films with multiple protagonists.
Session 16, 17, 18, 19 & 20
THE NATURE OF DRAMA – CONFLICT
- The importance of conflict as the driving force of the screenplay. Types of conflict – inner, external, moral, ideological, etc. Rising conflict.
1. STRUCTURE
- Structuring the screenplay. The classical 3-act structure - set-up, confrontation, resolution. Turning points.
- Act I - setting up the story. Introducing the protagonist and other important characters. Setting the main plot and important sub-plots in motion. Disguising exposition. The end of Act I.
- Act II - the spine of the story. Plot progression through escalating conflict. The Thesis-Antithesis-Synthesis paradigm of plot movement. Charting the protagonist’s struggle. Plotting the mid-point. Developing the sub-plots. Using different devices – pay-in/pay-out, co-incidence, macguffins, red herrings, etc. Using flashbacks. The end of Act II.
- Act III – resolving the story. Complications and reversals. Crisis, climax and resolution. Types of endings – closed, open, ambiguous, ironic. The denouement.
2. SCENE DESIGN AND DIALOGUE
- Functions of a scene. Structuring a scene. Maintaining plot progression through every scene. Turning points within scene. Scene transitions.
- Role and functions of dialogue. Dialogue vs. conversation. The ‘less-is-more’ principle. Dialogue as action/reaction. Sub-text. Finding a distinct voice for each character.