12/22/2024 4:06:15 AM	MEDIA 123 Course Outline as of Fall 2020	Changed Course
CATALOG INFORMATION
Discipline and Nbr:  MEDIA 123	Title:  INT. SCREENWRITING
Full Title:  Intermediate Screenwriting
Last Reviewed:12/9/2024

Units		Course Hours per Week			Nbr of Weeks	Course Hours Total
Maximum	3.00	Lecture Scheduled	3.00		17.5 max.	Lecture Scheduled	52.50
Minimum	3.00	Lab Scheduled	0		6 min.	Lab Scheduled	0
		Contact DHR	0			Contact DHR	0
		Contact Total	3.00			Contact Total	52.50
		Non-contact DHR	0			Non-contact DHR Total	0

Total Out of Class Hours:  105.00

Total Student Learning Hours: 157.50

Title 5 Category:  AA Degree Applicable
Grading:  Grade or P/NP
Repeatability:  00 - Two Repeats if Grade was D, F, NC, or NP
Also Listed As: 
Formerly: 

Catalog Description:

An intermediate screenwriting course that focuses on longer form writing, expanding a first act into a complete feature length script.  Emphasis will be not just on writing content (story plot, writing style, etc.), but also on marketing one's work and choosing concepts that are marketable.

Prerequisites/Corequisites:
Course Completion of FMA 22 ( or MEDIA 22)

Recommended Preparation:

Limits on Enrollment:

Schedule of Classes Information
Description:

An intermediate screenwriting course that focuses on longer form writing, expanding a first act into a complete feature length script.  Emphasis will be not just on writing content (story plot, writing style, etc.), but also on marketing one's work and choosing concepts that are marketable.

(Grade or P/NP)
Prerequisites:Course Completion of FMA 22 ( or MEDIA 22)
Recommended:
Limits on Enrollment:
Transfer Credit:
Repeatability:00 - Two Repeats if Grade was D, F, NC, or NP

ARTICULATION, MAJOR, and CERTIFICATION INFORMATION

Associate Degree:		Effective:		Inactive:
Area:
CSU GE:	Transfer Area			Effective:	Inactive:
IGETC:	Transfer Area			Effective:	Inactive:
CSU Transfer:		Effective:		Inactive:
UC Transfer:		Effective:		Inactive:
C-ID:

Certificate/Major Applicable: Both Certificate and Major Applicable

COURSE CONTENT

Student Learning Outcomes:
At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Revise and finish properly formatted screenplay, act, or television script.

2. Evaluate the current trends in the marketplace to develop concepts for sale.

3. Market themselves as writers and their scripts.

 

Objectives:

Students will be able to:

 

1.   Exploit the subtle features of the screenplay format.

2.   Write a screenplay with a particular writing style.

3.   Examine marketing trends of feature films and television products.

4.   Create marketing tools to promote one's script or concept.

5.   Foster creative practices individually and in groups.

6.   Write and brainstorm effectively in groups.

7.   Focus on original concepts and plots.

8.   Understand the conventions of genre.

9.   Focus on character development through backstory.

10. Write character-specific dialogue.

11. Compose a finished, revised, properly formatted screenplay, act, or television script.

Topics and Scope

I. Structuring and Plotting

    A. Three-act structure and blending genres.

    B. Multiple character arcs

     C. Plot set-up, execution and delivering the unexpected

    D. Writing to scale and writing to shoot

    E. Feature length and story writing

 

II. Formatting the Screenplay

  

III. Writing

   A. Story outlines

   B. Character backstories

   C. Creating dramatic scenes and story arcs

   D. Tension, irony and expectation

   E. Character, dialogue and subtext

 

IV. Revising

   A. Workshops

   B. Peer critiques

 

V. Film Analysis

   A. Film grammar

   B. Film genres

 

VI. Marketing

   A. Targeting a market

   B. Screenplay festivals and agents

   C. The screenwriters marketing materials

Assignments:

1. Readings: (10 to 60 pages per week)

    a. Current and classic screenplays, reading and analysis

    b. Style guide for proper writing formats

    c. Topical literature pertinent to screenwriting topics and

       to the film and television industry which applies to the

       writer and the writing process

2. Screenings and discussions of representative feature films

3. Writing: (90 to 120 pages)

    a. Daily and weekly creative assignments dealing with various topics such

        as story development, format, dialogue, characterization

    b. A major screenplay project

4. Participation in group activities, in-class workshops, peer critiques, optional quizzes, and

    exams

Methods of Evaluation/Basis of Grade.

Writing: Assessment tools that demonstrate writing skill and/or require students to select, organize and explain ideas in writing.		Writing 70 - 80%
Written homework, story development, screenplay
Problem solving: Assessment tools, other than exams, that demonstrate competence in computational or non-computational problem solving skills.		Problem Solving 0 - 0%
None
Skill Demonstrations: All skill-based and physical demonstrations used for assessment purposes including skill performance exams.		Skill Demonstrations 0 - 0%
None
Exams: All forms of formal testing, other than skill performance exams.		Exams 10 - 20%
Optional quizzes, exams
Other: Includes any assessment tools that do not logically fit into the above categories.		Other Category 10 - 20%
Class participation and group work

Representative Textbooks and Materials:

Invisible Ink: A Practical Guide to Building Stories that Resonate. McDonald, Brian. 2017

 

Screenplay the Foundations of Screenwriting. Field, Syd. Bantam Dell. 2005 (classic)

 

Selling a Screenplay: The Screenwriter's Guide to Hollywood. Field, Syd. Bantam Dell. 2005. (classic)

 

Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting. McKee, Robert. Harper-Collins Publishers, Inc. 1997 (classic).

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