Humanities Arts Cultural Stu 0261 - Same Difference: Screenwriting

This course will introduce students to the practice of screenwriting. We will begin by examining the classical three and five act structures in the various traditional fiction genres. We will develop character, dialogue, story arc etc. However, we will go further and experiment with alternatives to narrative structures. We wll create styles of "writing" with images and music that break the conventional standard of what Peter Watkins refers to as the "monoform". At the end of the semester, we should have screenplays that we can present to the wider community, either in the form of readings or as so-called "filmic" screenplays that we can screen.Prerequisite:In terms of preparation I would like students to go and look at their family tree. Find the first of your relatives that is "other" for whatever reason. Write a one page outline of the story you would like to develop in this class, based on that relative's life or experience. You can define "other" as you wish. The story idea does not have to be complete; the idea is enough to begin with. The stories we develop can be as imaginative as we want, after all we have no budget requirements.Instructor permission required.

Independent Work Multiple Cultural Perspectives Quantitative Skills Writing and Research In this course, students are expected to spend 8 hours weekly on preparation and work outside of class time.