UCLA SCREENWRITING CLASS SYLLABUS



UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

DEPARTMENT OF CINEMATIC ARTS

CTWR 206B

SECTION 19156D

WRITING THE SCREENPLAY

SPRING 2009

Instructor: Tom Benedek

Tuesdays 4 p.m. – 6:50 p.m.

Classroom Location: SCA 342

Office Hours: By Appointment -- Tuesdays 2 PM – 3PM or as available.

NOTE: Please email instructor to set an appointment by the Friday afternoon before Tuesday’s class.

email: Benedek@usc.edu

phone: 310 9188132

COURSE GOALS:

In CTWR 206B, each student will complete the first draft of feature length motion picture screenplay. During the Fall semester, in 206A, we have focused on the development of a detailed beat sheet/story outline and the writing of the first act. During Spring semester in 206B, students will extend their outline and first act into a finished script.

Students will adjust their beat sheets, based on feedback of their completed first act, and they will write second and third acts. We will dedicate class time to readings and group discussion of students’ ongoing writing project work

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

Through classroom discussion of student writing and study of assigned screenplays, films and textbook readings, students will strengthen their familiarity with the structural elements of the feature length motion picture screenplay with well-developed plot, characters, setting. Students will become familiar with the general guiding elements of dramatic structure and character development in a variety of styles of storytelling.

TEXTBOOKS:

THE TOOLS OF SCREENWRITING: A WRITER’S GUIDE TO THE CRAFT AND ELEMENTS OF A SCREENPLAY by David Howard and Edward Mabley; St. Martins/Griffin; New York; 1993.

MAKING A GOOD SCRIPT GREAT by Linda Seger;

Samuel French; Hollywood; 1994.

SUBMISSIONS OF WRITING FOR CLASS DISCUSSION

Writing assignments must be emailed IN PDF FORMAT to the instructor no later than Sunday evening prior to scheduled Tuesday class.

GRADES:

Please see the attached Definition of Grades and Marks.

Your course grade will breakdown as follows:

First Draft Screenplay 30%

Weekly Assignments 40%

Class Participation 30%

.

First Draft Screenplay in hard copy AND electronic form(PDF) due by 1pm, May 1, 2009.

GENERAL RULES & GUIDELINES

Due dates are non-negotiable. Assignments that are due on a given date must be submitted on that date.

Class attendance is mandatory. If you have more than two unexcused absences, it will result in a reduction of one grade from your final course evaluation. The only way an absence can be excused is with medical documentation.

Adaptations of other written material are not allowed unless authorized by the instructor. All written material submitted for this class must be your original work. Proofread your assignments. Spelling and grammatical errors will influence grades. Use a good dictionary, thesaurus and do not rely on a computer spell-checker program.

Reading the required student writing, textbook assignments and in-class handouts is a course requirement.

Viewing/reading assigned films and screenplays is a course requirement.

Students are expected to participate in class discussions when student writing, films, scripts, treatments, handouts are being analyzed/evaluated.

Students with Disabilities:

Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure this letter is delivered to me as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The telephone number for DSP is (213) 740-00776. Should you have any questions, you may contact your Writing Advisor in the Writing Division office.

Academic Integrity:

The School of Cinema-Television expects the highest standards of academic excellence and ethical performance from USC students. It is particularly important that you are aware of and avoid plagiarism, cheating on exams, submitting a paper to more than one instructor, or submitting a paper authored by anyone other than yourself. Violations of this policy will result in a failing grade and be reported to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs. If you have any doubts or questions about these policies, consult “SCAMPUS” and/or confer with the instructor.

CLASS 1

SEMESTER OVERVIEW

DISCUSSION OF SECOND ACT FUNDAMENTALS

DISCUSSION OF WRITING PROCESS

WORKSHOP SECOND ACT OUTLINES

Assignment::

1)Read first act of Sean’s, Jack’s, Ben’s, and Max’s screenplays.

2)Write 1-2 page assessment for each using provided rubric.

CLASS 2

WORKSHOP FIRST ACTS

WORKSHOP SECOND ACT OUTLINES

Assignment::

1)Read first act of Trevor’s, Amy’s, Hannah’s, and Justin’s screenplays.

2)Write 1-2 page assessment for each using provided rubric.

CLASS 3

WORKSHOP FIRST ACTS

WORKSHOP SECOND ACT OUTLINES

Assignment:

1) Begin writing second act

2) View assigned film.

CLASS 4

WORKSHOP SCRIPT PAGES

Assignment:

1) Write script pages

2) View assigned film.

CLASS 5

WORKSHOP SCRIPT PAGES

Assignment:

1) Write script pages

2) View assigned film.

CLASS 6

WORKSHOP SCRIPT PAGES

Assignment:

1) Write script pages

2) View assigned film.

CLASS 7

WORKSHOP SCRIPT PAGES

Assignment:

1) Write script pages

2) View assigned film.

CLASS 8

WORKSHOP SCRIPT PAGES

Assignment:

1) Write script pages

2) View assigned film.

CLASS 9

WORKSHOP SCRIPT PAGES

Second Act in hard copy AND electronic form(PDF) due by 1PM, March 13. 2009.

CLASS 10

FUNDAMENTALS OF THIRD ACT STRUCTURE

WORKSHOP THIRD ACT OUTLINES

WORKSHOP SCRIPT PAGES

Assignment:

1)Read second act of Trevor’s, Amy’s, Hannah’s, and Justin’s screenplays.

2)Write 1-2 page assessment for each using provided rubric.

3) Write script pages

CLASS 11

WORKSHOP SCRIPT PAGES

Assignment:

1)Read second act of Max’s, Sean’s, Jack’s, and Ben’s screenplays.

2)Write 1-2 page assessment for each using provided rubric.

3) Write script pages

CLASS 12

WORKSHOP SCRIPT PAGES

Assignment:

1) Write script pages

2) View assigned film.

CLASS 13

WORKSHOP SCRIPT PAGES

Assignment:

1) Write script pages

2) View assigned film.

CLASS 14

WORKSHOP SCRIPT PAGES

FUNDAMENTALS OF MARKETING PRACTICES FOR SCREENWRITING SERVICES

PITCH WORKSHOP

PRESENTATION OF NEW WRITING PROJECTS

Assignment:

1) Write script pages

2) View assigned film.

CLASS 15

WORKSHOP SCRIPT PAGES

FUNDAMENTALS OF MARKETING PRACTICES FOR SCREENWRITING SERVICES

PITCH WORKSHOP

PRESENTATION OF NEW WRITING PROJECTS

Final First Draft is due Final Screenplay Outline and Act I in hard copy AND electronic form(PDF) due by 1PM, MAY 1, 2009.

SCREENPLAY EVALUATION TEMPLATE

A)

PREMISE OF STORY

QUALITY OF STRUCTURE

PLOT DEVELOPMENT

ACT I

ACT II

ACT III

SUB-PLOTS

RESOLUTION

B)

THEMATIC DEVELOPMENT

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

CHARACTER DETAIL

ACTION DETAIL

GENERAL VISUAL DETAIL

DIALOGUE

TONE OF WRITING

C)

WRITER’S INTENTION

QUALITY OF WRITING

SPELLING, GRAMMAR, FORMAT

D)

POTENTIAL FOR IMPROVEMENT IN REWRITE

AREAS OF FOCUS FOR REWRITE

AREAS OF FOCUS FOR WRITER’S GENERAL SCREENWRITING CRAFT DEVELOPMENT

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