Checking date: 04/10/2023


Course: 2023/2024

Screenwriting
(17130)
Bachelor in Film, Television and Media Studies (Plan: 382 - Estudio: 211)


Coordinating teacher: MELERO SALVADOR, JOSE ALEJANDRO

Department assigned to the subject: Communication and Media Studies Department

Type: Compulsory
ECTS Credits: 6.0 ECTS

Course:
Semester:




Requirements (Subjects that are assumed to be known)
- Film narratives. - Introduction to Media Studies. - Reading Moving Image.
Objectives
- To appreciate the difficulties of finding ideas and developing them. - To understand the complexities of working with other fellow writers: sharing ideas, finding consensus. - To become familiar with teh basis problems of scriptwriting: from structure to character's arc. - To know the traditions in the schools of scriptwriting. - Ability to analyse professional scripts and persona lcreative work.
Skills and learning outcomes
Description of contents: programme
- The film script: from the idea to the story; literary script; technical script; scenes, sequences and shots; characters; dialogues; the closing of the story. - Writing for the screen and the "camera stories". - Structure of the script: the staged drama (actions and events). Units, parts and concordance and final discordance. - Creative and idea mechanisms for film stories. - The Scriptwriter's toolbox.
Learning activities and methodology
These assignments may vary depending on the course dynamics. Assignment 1. The writer within the industry. A global approach. Assignment 2. The process of creating a story. Synopsis, argument, outline, treatment. Assingment 3-4. Analyzing internal and external conflicts. Examples in feature films: Ranging Bulls vs Rocky Analizing short films. Finding the objective that lead us to the end. Fighting for what we care. What are we talking about Objective, obstacles and premises. Dramatic tension. Analyzing feature films. Plot point, subplot. The classic narrative versus the character driven . Syd Field and his paradigm. Italian neorealism. The nouvelle vague. Drama and Psychology. From Ibsen to James Joyce. From literatura to Cinema. The three fronts. Tools for creating characters. The process of improving the script. Finding what is wrong. The art of fixing problems. From the scene to the structure. Conclusions. Assignment 5. PitchingOffice hours are offered for the supervision of assignments and final project.
Assessment System
  • % end-of-term-examination 50
  • % of continuous assessment (assigments, laboratory, practicals...) 50

Basic Bibliography
  • Howard, David and Mabley Edward. The tools of screenwriting. Griffing Edit. 1995
  • King, Henry. Ramona. Cinemateca (DVD). Llamentol. 2018
  • King, Stephen. On Writing. Charles Scribner's Sons. 1999
  • Ted Nannicelli. A Philosophy of the Screenplay. Routledge. 2013
  • William A. Wellman. Roxie Hart. Cinemateca (DVD). 2018
Recursos electrónicosElectronic Resources *
Additional Bibliography
  • Huet, Anne. El guión/The script. Paidos. 2006
  • Ken Dancyger, Jeff Rush. Alternative Scriptwriting Beyond the Hollywood Formula. Routledge. 2013
Detailed subject contents or complementary information about assessment system of B.T.
(*) Access to some electronic resources may be restricted to members of the university community and require validation through Campus Global. If you try to connect from outside of the University you will need to set up a VPN


The course syllabus may change due academic events or other reasons.