Screenwriting

Learn the Secrets of Successful Screenwriting

 

If you dream of making it as a screenwriter, this course is the place to start. Learn proven techniques for crafting a script that tells a story effectively and holds the attention of your audience.

We will dissect scripts from popular films to find out what makes a good story and an engaging screenplay. Using the free platform Writer’s Duet, students will learn the accepted way to format a script. They will also gain an understanding of how to structure a screenplay and construct scenes with compelling characters, settings, dialogue and conflict. Through a variety of writing activities, students will sharpen their screenwriting skills. Finally, they will bring together everything they have learned as they storyboard, write and edit their own scripts.

What You Will Learn

Practice using proven techniques for crafting a successful script.

• Practice formatting a script using Writer’s Duet, a free formatting website.
• Discover how to use scene headings, subheaders, extensions, dual dialogue, sluglines, transitions and parentheticals.
• Learn to establish characters, settings, stakes and a central conflict.
• Explore how to structure a script by introducing an inciting incident, creating a confrontation and then resolving storylines.
• Gain an understanding of how to create compelling characters as protagonists and antagonists.
• Analyze how to structure an effective scene.
• Practice writing dialogue that feels natural, reveals character and advances the story.
• Put this new knowledge to work by storyboarding, writing and editing scripts.

Return to the Sally Ride Science Junior Academy website here.

Note: In response to COVID-19 health guidelines, we have restructured our in-person Junior Academy workshops as online courses. Contact us at srs@ucsd.edu if you have questions.

Course Number: THEA-90003
Credit: 1.50 unit(s)

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7/26/2021 - 7/30/2021

$175

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• SECTION ID:

  156370

• CLASS TYPE:

  Synchronous web-based class meetings that are scheduled to meet online at published times (time/date).

• INSTRUCTOR:
  

  Evans, Alissa

  Alissa Evans graduated from UCLA with a degree in cognitive science and a minor in film, TV and digital media, as well as a specialization in computing. She ultimately hopes to combine her love for psychology with her penchant for storytelling to create complex characters as a screenwriter. She has written for multiple online publications and looks forward to sharing her strong passion for writing and movies with her students. Harry Potter is one of her all-time favorite franchises, and she is excited to use her background in science to break down the iconic fantasy series. By exposing students to the science of Harry Potter and the art of screenwriting, topics that aren't traditionally emphasized in K-12 education, she hopes to help them discover and foster new passions.

• TEXTBOOKS:

  No textbook required.

• POLICIES:

  1st meeting mandatory.
  Early enrollment advised.
  No UCSD parking permit required.
  No visitors permitted.
  Pre-enrollment required.
  No refunds after: 7/19/2021.
  

• NOTE:

  Grade Level: 6th-8th Instructor will contact students 24-hours in advance of class with Zoom information. Students have the option of logging on to Zoom from 1-1:30pm to have office hours with the instructor. In addition, students have the option of staying on Zoom after class ends from 3-4pm for additional support. Please note that some courses require supplies. Supply information will be posted here by 4/15/21. We recommend you check back at this point for further details.

DATE	DAY	START	END	LOCATION
7/26/2021	Mon	1:30 p.m.	3:00 p.m.
7/27/2021	Tue	1:30 p.m.	3:00 p.m.
7/28/2021	Wed	1:30 p.m.	3:00 p.m.
7/29/2021	Thu	1:30 p.m.	3:00 p.m.
7/30/2021	Fri	1:30 p.m.	3:00 p.m.