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)

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7/10/2023 - 7/14/2023

$175

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• SECTION ID:

  171710

• CLASS TYPE:

  Synchronous web-based class meetings that are scheduled to meet online at published times (time/date).

• INSTRUCTOR:
  

  Turret, Samantha

  Samantha Turret is a transplant from New Jersey and New York City who found her way to sunny Los Angeles. She is an actress, voice actor and teacher best known for cohosting Nickelodeon's “Top Elf” alongside the one and only Santa Claus. She has also worked on shows on MTV, A&E, Discovery and Lifetime. As a voice actor, she can be heard on commercials and podcasts, and as the narrator of popular children's audiobooks such as “Pearl the Magical Unicorn” and “Rivals! Frenemies Who Changed the World.” Samantha loves live theater and has performed throughout the country in regional productions, off-Broadway and in schools with Story Pirates. She has taught theater and creative writing in New York, New Jersey and California for the past eight y...Read More

• TEXTBOOKS:

  No textbook required.

• POLICIES:

  Early enrollment advised.
  No UCSD parking permit required.
  No visitors permitted.
  Pre-enrollment required.
  No refunds after: 7/3/2023.
  

• NOTE:

  This is a live online course that does not use Canvas. Instructor will contact student 24-hours in advance of start date with Zoom information (please check email associated with STUDENT'S account - not parent's account). This course does not require any supplies. Contact srs@ucsd.edu with all questions.

DATE	DAY	START	END	LOCATION
7/10/2023	Mon	9:00 a.m.	12:00 p.m.
7/11/2023	Tue	9:00 a.m.	12:00 p.m.
7/12/2023	Wed	9:00 a.m.	12:00 p.m.
7/13/2023	Thu	9:00 a.m.	12:00 p.m.
7/14/2023	Fri	9:00 a.m.	12:00 p.m.