Screenplay Writing

The course begins by introducing the screenplay as a written form, explaining the main steps of a story, with examples, and looking at the various choices to be made when structuring your screenplay. We’ll look at how to develop well-rounded characters with strong backstories and believable presentation and explore dialogue, examining character speech and narration,  the function of dialogue in a movie, and how to use it.

From there, we will work towards writing the first draft of act one of a three-act screenplay. You’ll move onto writing act two, including the rising action of your movie and try/fail cycles of increasing challenge. It’s then onto the ending – act three – where you will learn to write the climax for your movie, the falling action and the ending. We will also explore some standards for writing tricky scenes, including love scenes, action scenes and adaptations.

The Screenplay Writing Diploma Course concludes with a look at editing and pitching, including how to edit the first draft into a more polished standard, how to gather useful feedback on your script and what to do with your script once it is finished.

By studying this course, you will:

• Understand the components of a successful screenplay
• Write your own screenplay, following step-by-step guidance
• Become familiar with the editing process
• Know how to pitch your screenplay

If you have a great idea for a film but don’t know how to formulate it into something that could one day reach millions of people, this course will help you get started and provide you with the skills and knowledge you need to develop your own screenplay or go on to further study.