LEARN THE BASICS

Ever wanted to write your own screenplay, but don’t know where to start? This beginners course will teach you how. Learn how to structure and format your story ideas for the screen medium. Explore techniques of visual storytelling using action, character and dialogue. You don't need any prior experience for this engaging and wide ranging introduction to the screenwriting process.

ALAN WOODRUFF is an award winning screenwriter and filmmaker with many years experience in the film industry and teaching in universities.

Sessions run from  7:00 - 9:00PM on Wednesday Nights

DEVELOPING A FEATURE SCREENPLAY

This course is designed to help turn your idea for a film into a working screenplay. The sessions will focus on different aspects of the screenwriting process using your ideas and scripts as examples. The workshopping of these ideas and scenes allows you improve your scripts through feedback and gain inspiration from others. This course will help you create a strong structure and purpose to your script.

ALAN WOODRUFF is an award winning screenwriter and filmmaker with many years experience in the film industry and teaching in universities.

Sessions run from 2:00 — 4:30PM Saturday Afternoons

DEVELOPING A SCREENPLAY FROM ANOTHER SOURCE

Whether you want to adapt a rights free classic or simply envisage adapting your favourite book or game as a screenwriting exercise, this enjoyable course focuses on the art of screenwriting rather than writing original stories. Learn when and when not to remain faithful to the source material as you identify the important story themes and ideas. Analyse how screen conventions can dictate story pacing and structure and develop your adapted screenplay with feedback and suggestions in this collaborative environment.

This is ideal for intermediate screenwriters who want to develop their skills.

ALAN WOODRUFF is an award winning screenwriter and filmmaker with many years experience in the film industry and teaching in universities.

DEVELOP A TV SERIES AND PILOT EPISODE

Throughout this course you will plan out your own idea for a TV show with a pitch, character breakdowns and proposed story arcs to accompany your pilot episode. In this golden age of television, with streaming and binge watching, the rules are changing. Learn how to develop your story concept to be engaging for both single and multiple episode story arcs. There will be a focus on creating well-drawn characters and structuring your screenplays to have both a resolution and reasons for audiences to want more.

This course is ideal for people with some screenwriting experience who want the challenge of multifaceted storytelling over an extended timeframe.

LEARN TO REWORK A SCRIPT TO IMPROVE IT.

This course is for anyone who already has a completed draft that they want to improve. One of the hardest parts of writing is cutting your own ideas when editing. These sessions are designed to help you overcome that hurdle by first analysing, deconstructing and rebuilding an example screenplay, and then using the strategies you learn in this process to workshop your screenplays. In this collaborative environment you will learn approaches to avoid clichés and plot holes while improving your characters, pacing and structure.

Clarify your ideas

The Pitch workshop provides an enjoyable way to refine what your story is really about. Telling a story and pitching an idea for a screenplay require different strategies. In this workshop you will learn, and practice, how to sell the important and relevant story information to potential clients and collaborators, without getting bogged down in plot details. Be creatively energised in exercises consisting of bouncing new ideas of each other. This workshop will help you to identify the important aspects of a story and will also clarify what strengths and weaknesses need to be emphasised or refined for a screenplay.

Suitable for all experience levels.

Writing memorable characters

This workshop is a great way to change the way you think about creating characters. Explore what makes a three dimensional character. Participate in exercises that progress your screenwriting skills and learn strategies that will help you develop original and engaging characters that avoid clichés. This workshop is an enjoyable way to trial screenwriting, but can also be suitable for writers and performers looking for ways to bring their characters to life.