Middle School: Screenwriting

If you dream of trying your hand at screenwriting, this course will show you the techniques you need for success, from structuring a script to creating compelling characters and dialogue.

 

We will dissect scripts from popular films to find out what makes a good story and an engaging screenplay. Using the free platform Writer’s Duet, students will learn the accepted way to format a script. They will also gain an understanding of how to structure a screenplay and construct scenes with compelling characters, settings, dialogue and conflict. Through a variety of writing activities, students will sharpen their screenwriting skills. Finally, they will bring together everything they have learned as they storyboard, write and edit their own scripts. 

What You Will Learn

Students in Middle School: Screenwriting will:

• Practice using proven techniques for crafting a successful script.
• Practice formatting a script using Writer’s Duet, a free formatting website.
• Discover how to use scene headings, subheadings, extensions, dual dialogue, slug lines, transitions and parentheticals.
• Learn to establish characters, settings, stakes and a central conflict.
• Explore how to structure a script by introducing an inciting incident, creating a confrontation and then resolving storylines.
• Gain an understanding of how to create compelling characters as protagonists and antagonists.
• Analyze how to structure an effective scene.
• Practice writing dialogue that feels natural, reveals character, and advances the story.
• Put this new knowledge to work by storyboarding, writing, and editing scripts

Return to the Sally Ride Science online professional website here. 

Note: Upon successful enrollment of a section, students will receive a confirmation email from our Student Services team. This email will include a link to an authorization form that is required to be completed within 72-hours of enrollment. 

Course Number: THEA-90009
Credit: 1.50 unit(s)