Screenwriting

Course description

This free online screenwriting teaches you the fundamentals of scriptwriting and explores various genres and formats. We show you how to carry out research, develop a script and turn your vision into a screenplay. The course demonstrates how to develop compelling characters, polish your script and create a pitch that sells your idea. We also take you through the common ‘do’s and ‘don’t’s of writing for the big or small screen.

Working on a screenplay can be long and frustrating but once you have a good idea - you have to get it down on paper! This course walks you through the process of moving your screenplay notion from your head to the printed page as we cover the fundamentals of screenwriting. Every successful screenplay went through highs and lows and enduring this process demands motivation and we can help you stay inspired and driven. This course shows you how to conduct research to conceive and develop ideas.

We introduce you to the concept of genre and unpack how it affects your story as knowledge of genre and subgenre elements is vital for a screenwriter. While writing, it's worth working out the plot ahead of time and we explain how to write a plot outline. Dialogue is an incredibly important part of screenplay writing and getting it right means matching tone and inflection with the characters personality and the overall story. This brings us to the concept of character and archetypes and their ability to drive the narrative which is all discussed throughout this course.

Creating a unique screenplay is not easy but this course provides you with the tools to create a good balance of the key components involved in telling a story as a screenplay which includes the formatting needs of a screenplay. A script has specifications and needs to be written to a certain standard and should not look like or sound like an email, for example, or a novel. This course provides an understanding of script structure and format and outlines how to write a synopsis thereof. Furthermore, selling a screenplay requires the presentation of a business idea to potential investors and we teach you how to create a credible pitch. This course can help you turn your private inspiration into a public work of art as you move a story from your mind to the page and screen.