CLASS 1: Creating characters and developing your pr
emise
\nJune 23\, 2012
\n1st Assignment Due: July 2nd<
/p>\n
CLASS 2: Creating story beats (mapping out your plot)
\nJuly 14\, 2012
\n2nd Assignment Due: July 23rd
CLASS 3: The ABC’s of Television Dramas
\nAugust 4\, 2012
\n3rd Assignment Due: August 15th
CLASS 4: Finessing your story and writing the script (screenpl
ay formatting)
\nAugust 25\, 2012
\n4th Assignment Due:
September 5th
CLASS 5: Polishing your draft a
nd working in the industry
\nSeptember 15\, 2012
10a m – 12:30pm
\nLocation: GSU Campus – ATLFF365 Offic es (1 Park Place\, SE\, 30303)
\nAll 5 Sessions
\nGeneral Registration – $275 (15 % Off Full Registratio
n Price)
\nATLFF365 Member Registration – $225 (30% Off Full Registra
tion Price)
\;
\nThis five-part “Screenwriting 201” series will guide students through the development process of turning the ir ideas into a solid one-hour television series concept. Storytelling str ucture will be used not as a template\, but as a device to create a beat s heet outline. Students will then focus on the steps needed to finish a rou gh draft. Writers’ room brainstorming sessions will be conducted and scene s from produced shows will be screened and dissected in order to illustrat e what works or doesn’t work on the small screen. Students should come pre pared with ideas.
\n\;\n
\;
\nWriters often have great ideas that prompt creative executives to ask\, “But why is this a se ries?” This first class will examine the character development process and delve into standard structure of the hour-long television format (teaser plus five acts). Find out what elements are needed to transform your idea into a series.
\nAssignment: Complete character profiles and structu ral template NOTE: Assignments must be submitted before class to receive f eedback in the following session – (Due June 23rd)
\nThe true task of writing i s the story you come up with before going to script. This second class wil l walk students through the process of plotting story beats for a step-by- step outline. Careful attention will be paid to the series structure devel oped in the first class.
\nAssignment: Refine structural template an d begin beat sheet (Due July 11th)
\nHour-long dramas typically have three storylines that are inter woven to create an episode. This third session will be used to examine the A\, B and C stories of television and how they are used to heighten drama and conflict. Learn how to plot and interweave multiple storylines for a robust episode.
\nAssignment: Complete A\, B and C stories (Submit b y August 1st for feedback in session 4)
\nTh e first part of this fourth session will explore the following elements of 6-act structure: Foreshadowing\, set ups and payoffs\, dialog\, act break s and the twist. The remaining part of the fourth class will examine the r ules and conventions of screenplay formatting. Learn how to format your sc ript in a professional manner.
\nAssignment: Submit teaser and Act I (Submit by August 18th for feedback in session 5).
\nIn this fifth and final class\, students will learn how to improve an d polish their scripts. Remember writing is rewriting. Learn how to tackle your rewrite and assemble submission materials like a logline\, synopsis and television treatment. The discussion will end on the television indust ry and how to improve your chances of breaking into the business.
\nKevin Collins i s an Ivy League graduate with nearly two decades of entertainment industry experience. He has worked for several large studios including Paramount P ictures\, Warner Bros. and most recently DreamWorks. After years of writin g as hobby\, Kevin took a draft of his screenplay\, “Talk Show\,” and used it to gain entrance into the Bill Cosby Screenwriting Fellowship Program located on USC’s film school campus. Even though features were his primary focus\, in 2000\, Kevin joined the production staff of the Showtime serie s “Soul Food.” In series television\, he learned invaluable knowledge abou t the production process from writing to post-production. Fascinated by t he world of television\, Kevin wrote his first television spec of the then popular series\, “Buffy The Vampire Slayer\,” which advanced to finalist status in Disney’s Writing Fellowship Program and gained him “consider” st atus in Fox’s Diversity Writing Program. Two seasons later\, Kevin receive d his first produced credit when he wrote a free-lance episode of Soul Foo d: the series. The following year\, he was hired on as a staff writer in t he show’s final season.
\nKevin’s passion for storytelling centers o n thrillers and sci-fi fantasies in the vein of “Silence of the Lambs\,” “ Fatal Attraction\,” “Blade Runner” and “The Lord of The Rings.” In 2004\, he wrote and produced his first short\, a thriller entitled\, “Headliners” about two competing serial killers. In 2009\, he relocated from Los Angel es to Atlanta where he is now a professor of screenwriting at two local ar t schools\, which include the Atlanta campus of The Savannah College of Ar t and Design and The Creative Circus. Kevin’s most recent work includes a feature-length\, fantasy-action screenplay entitled “Mitlandia.” He has li ved in Africa and Europe and is fluent in French. His memberships include Cornellians in Entertainment and two independent writers’ groups.
\n\;
\n DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120714T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120714T123000 LOCATION: SUMMARY:Writing the One-Hour Television Drama: Creating Story Beats URL:http://www.atlantafilmfestival.com/ai1ec_event/writing-the-one-hour-tel evision-drama-creating-story-beats/?instance_id= END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR