There are no pre-requisites for this module to be added

In this module you are guided through a professional development process from idea to polished first draft script. You will have the option to go through this process once, for a single 30min script, or twice, with a swifter development process, for two 30min scripts (one in Trimester 1 and a second in Trimester 2). You will make a Learning Agreement near the beginning of the module committing to whichever option you choose. Whichever you choose, you will only be assessed on one 30min script, submitted at the end of Trimester 2—the option to complete and submit a 30min script by the end of Trimester 1 creates the opportunity for additional formative feedback and a more rapid turnover of creative work, which many creatives find the most effective way to learn their craft. Alternatively, you are free to choose a slower pace with less opportunity to learn through doing but less pressure to produce work rapidly. In this way, you are granted greater power and agency over your learning process. The module runs tri-weekly throughout the first and second trimesters of the second year of the programme, meaning that it runs concurrently alongside The Business of Screen Project Development and From Script to Screen. Issues explored within those modules, particularly related to project viability, marketability and sociopolitical implications, will guide and impact the creative work you do in this module. You will be set creative tasks to complete prior to the tri-weekly workshops (e.g. writing and rewriting scenes, creating character outlines, outlining script concepts). ‘Creative play’ activities will be utilized, to maintain a low pressure, high-creativity atmosphere. By the end of the module you will have completed a variety of creative writing exercises and experimentations, resulting, depending on your choice at the beginning of the module, in either one or two carefully developed polished draft scripts of approximately 30 pages. If you chose to write two scripts, you will select one to submit for assessment.This process prepares you for the feature-length script which you must submit for your Major Project, and provides you with a substantive script or scripts to continue filling out your professional portfolio.Your written work is circulated and workshopped in small groups: this process develops and enhances the projects, stimulates team-working and collaboration and helps develop not only your own writing but also your story-, script-editing and inter-personal skills. There is a research element in which you are encouraged to engage in original research (to generate material for your scripts) but also to critically appraise and assess the various types of research that a writer might undertake as part of their process.

Upon completion of this module you will be able to

LO1: Produce creative work which displays comprehensive knowledge and understanding of screenwriting techniques in relation to a particular specialism.

LO2: Critically evaluate and select ideas suitable for development.

LO3: Plan and undertake advanced creative project development, including research, to a professional standard.

LO4: Identify and resolve story issues in original screenplays as part of a professional-level development and rewriting process.

LO5: Critically reflect on the writing and development process.