Santa Ana College

TV/VIDEO COMMUNIATIONS (TELV) 120, 121, 123

Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced

Writing for Television and Film

Fall 2018

 

Instructor: Ezra Lunel (lunel_ezra@sac.edu)

Tuesdays, 8:00am – 11:10am, Room D-213

 

Course Description:

TELV 120: Designed to acquaint students with practical approaches to writing for television, motion picture, the Internet and corporate video. Emphasis on the development of story treatments and first drafts of scripts.

TELV 121: A course exploring professional requirements of the TV, film, Internet or corporate scriptwriting. Intended to strengthen fundamental writing skills in relation to their role in production, direction, and series development.

TELV 123: Explores professional requirements for writing all TV, film, Internet and corporate video genre. Individual projects will improve and extend students’ writing skills and related techniques in production, direction, and series development.

 

Required Text and Materials:

•  “Screenwriting for Film and Television” by William Miller
•  Class handouts and assigned readings.

 

Course Objectives:

The purpose of the course is to teach students basic tools and principles of screenwriting, with particular emphasis on character, dramatic scenes, story patterns and the development of an analytical approach to solving script problems.

From the outset, the importance of character will be stressed. Screenwriting as a craft and as an essential part of the filmmaking process will also be emphasized. The student will be encouraged to see that scripts as the plan for the film, “shooting” the story on paper before committing anything to film.

Premises and assignments will be aimed toward focusing the students’ powers of observations and written expression, as well as discovering that their own lives and experience of the world are their best source of raw material from which to create characters and stories. There are no formulas to fill in, but there are guidelines and principles that can help students create more compelling characters and tell their stories with greater clarity and effect.

Students will be introduced to the format and conventions of screenwriting as well as the idea that the writer must be inside the character yet simultaneously inside the audience as he or she is writing – that the writer must remain aware of everything that is happening inside the story and to the characters, while continuing to know just what effect the story is having on the audience. The importance of conflict between the story’s main character and the world in which he or she lives, as well as the need to create tension within the audience will be emphasized.

Through initial premises ranging from single- and two-character scenes (dialogue as well as non-dialogue) students will be introduced to qualities that can make a dramatic scene, including:

• the role of dialogue
• the importance of subtext
• the use of visual descriptions
• sound
• the notion of writing for the camera
• and changing the emphasis of what the audience sees through the camera’s carefully planned use.

By analyzing what works and doesn’t work in their own and each other’s work, students will gain a perspective on screenwriting, and an understanding that a large part of writing is rewriting. They will learn how to identify problems and find solutions that will help with each new project they take on.

Students will see that passionate characters are at the center of good stories and drama and that only by exploring their characters in depth can they fulfill their story’s potential. They will be introduced to the three-act structure – within dramatic scenes as well as in the overall structure of the story – and will be encouraged to find ways to heighten the tension and escalate the obstacles within their stories.

We will also deal with other tools at the screenwriter’s disposal, such as:

• use of the audience’s natural curiosity
• ways to help create audience empathy for the main character
• the need to heighten the audience’s emotional response to the story
• atmosphere, costuming, sound effects, pacing, and repetition with variation.

 

COURSE SCHEDULE

Week  1 8/28   What is Story?

COURSE OVERVIEW: SCREENPLAY FORMAT & DECIDING YOUR
STORY: Genre & Story Themes

HW: Read Chapter 1: The Writing Process: Getting Down to Work

 

Week  2 9/4 Hooking Your Reader

BUILDING YOUR STORY WORLD: The Writing Process

HW: Read Chapter 2: Deciding Your Story

 

Week  3 9/11 All Stories Make a Point

DEVELOPING YOUR CHARACTERS: Composing Effective Characters;

Introducing and Developing Characters

HW: Read Chapter 3: Characters

 

Week 4 9/18 Feeling What the Protagonist Feels

STORY STRUCTURE: PLOTTING YOUR STORY BEATS:
Structure Models

HW: Read Chapter 4: Story Structure

 

Week 5 9/25 All Protagonists Have a Goal

HW: Read Chapter 5: Diverse Techniques and Concerns

 

Week 6 10/2 Uncovering Your Protagonist’s Inner Issue

TONE: THE SCREENWRITER’S LENS

HW: Read Chapter 7: Alternative Structures: Adventures in Innovation

 

Week 7 10/9 Midterm Workshop

HW: Complete Midterm Script

 

Week 8 10/16 Being Specific Rather Than Vague

SCENES/SEQUENCES: Tension – Conflict – Suspense – Point of View

HW: Read Chapter 8: Scenes/Sequences

Mid-term Script due or Exam in Class (100 points)

 

Week    9 10/23 Suspense and Conflict

DIALOGUE: Voice • A/B Dialogue • Subtext • Research                  

HW: Reach Chapter 9: Dialogue/Sound/Music

 

Week 10 10/30 Cause and Effect

HW: Read Chapter 10: Doing the Rewrite

 

Week 11 11/6 What Can Go Wrong, Must

COMEDY: Attributes - Components - Techniques

HW: Read Chapter 11: Comedy

 

Week 12 11/13 Setups, Payoffs, and Clues in Between

ADAPTATIONS

HW: Read Chapter 12: Adaptations

 

Week 13 11/20 Flashbacks, Subplots, and Foreshadowing

FILM VS. TELEVISION: TELEVISION NARRATIVE:
Techniques and Guidelines

HW: Reach Chapter 6: Television Narrative

 

Week 14 11/27 VISUAL LANGUAGE:

Storyboards – Shots – Blocking

 

Week 15 12/4 THE PATH TO CREATIVITY

 

Week 16 12/11 Final Script Workshop

 

Week 17 5/30 THE USE OF SOUND AND WRITING FOR THE CAMERA

Final Scripts Due (100 Points)

 

Grading in the course will be based as follows:

• 10 Writing Assignments (100 points total)
• Mid-Term Exam (100 points)
• Final Project (100 points)

 

Grading Scale:
300-270 points = A
269-240 points = B
239-205 points = C
204-175 points = D
174-0 points = F

 

ATTENDANCE:

2 tardies of 15 minutes or more will be considered 1 absence.  If you are tardy, you will be marked absent. You must “check in” if you arrive tardy in order to clear the absence on the day of the tardy.  Leaving class early is also a tardy. More than two absences will result in an automatic drop from the class.

You are responsible for all materials missed when you are absent.  This includes lectures, handouts and assignments.

All cell phones must remain off during class.  Any student disrupting class with the use of a cell phone will be asked to leave the class, and the removal will be marked as a tardy.

 

EXPECTATIONS:

• Attend class.
• Be on time.
• Be prepared.
• Complete all assigned readings before the beginning of each class.
• Participate and contribute to class discussions, and small group conversations.
• Bring your textbook, notes, and materials to each class session.
• Only turn in homework for grading after it has been checked for spelling and accuracy.
• Please type and double-space all homework.
• Respect all assignment deadlines.
• Respect your fellow classmates, their views, attitudes, beliefs, and values.
• Be sensitive and courteous when discussing challenging topics that may conflict with your personal views.
• You are responsible for all material presented in class, including announcements about changes in course procedures, assignments, and tests.
• Academic dishonesty of any sort will result in an automatic course grade of F.

 

CLASS RULES AND DECORUM

PARTICIPATION AND PREPARATION

• Students must actively participate in classroom discussions, and be prepared to contribute to the class discourse.
• Students must meet all deadlines, and complete projects on time.
• Students are graded on classroom participation, discussion, and preparedness.
• Students must read all assignments, and participate equally in projects and group presentations.
• The subjects presented in this course may require vigorous discussion and may challenge your thinking and personal views. Students must always respect the views of fellow classmates and treat others with courtesy and sensitivity. Students who violate these rules or behave in a discourteous or confrontational manner towards others will be asked to leave the classroom and may be dropped from the course.

 

FORMAT FOR ALL WRITTEN HOMEWORK

• Type and double-space all assignments. You must type your name, date, assignment, course number, (TELV 120, 121, 13) and classroom number in the upper left corner of each page.
• To provide space for comments, begin one-third down the first page and at the top of all other pages.
• All assignments must be copy-edited, spellchecked and checked for accuracy.

 

EMERGENCIES

• This information is not meant to be a source of anxiety, but rather is to prepare you for survival in the event of an emergency.
• Students have the responsibility to act or react to any emergency that may occur during class. You have the right to call 911 any time you feel threatened. You can also call campus security at (714) 564-6330. Campus Security can also be reached from any campus classroom or desk phone by dialing 333. In some cases, we may need to act as a group and not as individual class members.

 

FIRE ALARMS

• If the fire alarm sounds, we need to evacuate this room as quickly as possible, and to leave in an orderly fashion. Do not take the elevator.
• Students should meet outside at the designated area indicated on the map at the front of the room.
• Those who are capable should assist others in this room to safety.
• You should call 911 anytime you see smoke or fire. Do not rely on someone else to call.

 

EARTHQUAKE RESPONSE

• In the event of an earthquake you should get under your desk and stay there until the earth stops shaking.
• We need to exit the building in an orderly fashion. Do not take the elevator.
• Meet in the designated area as shown on the map in the front of the classroom.
• Take your belongings with you, as we may be dismissed from the assembly area and not be allowed back into the building.
• Those who are capable should assist others in this room to safety.

 

DANGEROUS PERSON INSIDE THE CLASSROOM

• Call 911 on your cell phone or campus security anytime you feel threatened.
• If you feel threatened, you may leave the room at any time.
• You do not need your instructor's permission to leave the room if you feel threatened.
• You can call 911 at any time.
• We may need to act as a team to protect ourselves from the threat.

 

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

• In an emergency evacuation, wheelchair-assisted students will be taken to a safe location and shelter in place.
• Safety personnel will be notified of your location, and you will be given top priority.
• You will be safely removed from the building as soon as safety personnel secure the elevators.
• Anytime you feel threatened you have the right to leave this classroom, block the door from an intruder, call 911 from your cell phone or call Campus Security by dialing 333 from the classroom desk phone.
• A student with a disability, who would like to request an academic accommodation, is responsible for identifying herself/himself to the instructor and to the Disabled Student Programs and Services (DSPS). To make arrangements for academic accommodations, student should contact the Disabled Student Office in Johnson Center, U-103, or on the first floor of Russell Hall; phone (714) 564-6264 or TYY (714) 564-6284 for a referral to the DSPS dept.