Film Writing (Ultimate) for the Classroom

A full semester curriculum for teaching high school students the fundamentals of writing for the screen. Ultimate course includes Story Masters feedback on student assignments and 5 live Zoom sessions with a Story Master.

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Course curriculum

1. Welcome to Film Writing
2. Introducing the first exercise
3. Exercise: Exploring the reasons you connect to characters
4. A look at storytelling for the screen
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5. A story is...
6. Introducing "Tango Goes for Chips" assignment
7. Assignment: Your "Tango Goes for Chips" story
8. Quiz: What is a story?
1. Live Session #1
2. Reviewing your "Tango Goes for Chips" story
3. How and why to read scripts
4. Reading Assignment: Read the first 10 pages of "Bergman Manor"
5. More about heroes
6. More about goals
7. More about obstacles
8. Quiz: Heroes, goals and obstacles
9. Making us care
10. Introducing the "hero-goal" exercise
11. Exercise: Brainstorming five original hero-goal pairs
1. The Hero Questions
2. Exercise: Answering the Hero Questions for Clem
3. Exercise: Answering the Hero Questions for an original character
4. Dr. Showers' Eight Character Traits
5. Exercise: Finding Dr. Showers' Eight Character Traits for your original character
6. Character defining moments
7. Exercise: Discovering your character's defining moments
1. Brainstorming, part 1: Introduction to the creative discipline of brainstorming
2. Brainstorming, part 2: Unleashing your inner mad scientist
3. Exercise: Brainstorming from a prompt
4. Brainstorming, part 3: Unleashing your inner critic
5. Exercise: Selecting your best ideas
6. Brainstorming, part 4: Lego time
7. Exercise: Playing with your Legos
8. Writing log lines
9. Exercise: Write a log line
10. Brainstorming mad ideas
11. Exercise: Brainstorming mad ideas
12. Assignment: Write a "hero changes" story
1. Introduction to movie structure
2. Short Film: "The Raft"
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3. Tools for structuring movies
4. The structure of the short "The Raft"
5. How to structure a feature-length film
6. Exercise: Locating the first 5 of the Eight Essential Story Points for Bergman Manor
1. Understanding the story you're looking for, part 1
2. Short Film: "Black Hole"
3. Short Film: "Spin"
4. Short Film: "Table 7"
5. Short Film: "Father And Daughter"
6. Understanding the story you're looking for, part 2
7. Exercise: Brainstorm an idea for your short movie
8. Panning for gold
9. Exercise: Pan for gold
10. Bulking up your hero
11. Exercise: Bulk up your hero
12. Building your obstacle
13. Exercise: Build up your obstacle
14. Making it personal
15. Who else is in the room?
16. Find your ending
17. Find your beginning
18. Your movie in three sentences
19. Assignment: Telling your story in three sentences
1. Live Session #2
2. Finding your scenes
3. Exercise: Break your movie into scenes
4. Imagining your scenes, part 1
5. Exercise: Imagine each of your scenes
6. Imagining your scenes, part 2
7. Exercise: Fill out your vision of your scenes
8. Imagining your scenes, part 3
9. Assignment: Outline your script
10. Reading Assignment: Read the conclusion of "Bergman Manor"
1. Live Session #3
2. Describing a setting
3. Exercise: Write a description of a setting for one of your scenes
4. Introducing characters
5. Exercise: Introduce one of your characters
6. Describing actions
7. Exercise: Describe yourself as a character in action
8. Describing sounds
9. Exercise: Describe a sound
10. Formatting your script like a pro
11. Using screenwriting software to help you write your script
12. Review of the best free screenwriting software
1. Writing dialogue
2. Exercise: Writing a dialogue scene
3. Creating unique character voices
4. Exercise: Polishing your dialogue scene
5. Mixing direction with dialogue
6. Mixing direction with dialogue and emotion
7. Formatting dialogue
8. Exercise: Polishing your scene
1. Writing your first draft
2. Making sure your work doesn't disappear
3. Some tips while you're writing, part 1
4. Some tips while you're writing, part 2
5. Doing deep work
6. Assignment: Finishing the first draft of your script
1. Live Session #4
2. Why we need notes
3. Quiz: Why we need notes
4. The trouble with notes -- and how to survive them
5. How to gather notes
6. Exercise: Gathering three sets of notes
7. Review the notes
8. Make a rewrite plan
9. Exercise: Making a rewrite plan
1. Shaping an emotional experience for the audience
2. Connecting and disconnecting on "The Raft"
3. Expanding our emotional vocabulary
4. Crafting an emotional experience for the audience
5. Assignment: Writing your second draft
1. Putting the sparkle in your movie
2. Setups and payoffs
3. Rewriting
4. Reading Assignment: Read the first act of "The Detective's Secretary"
5. "The Detective's Secretary"
6. Gathering notes on your second draft
1. Exercise: Making a rewrite plan for your polish
2. What do stories mean... and how do they mean it?
3. Short Film: "The Raft"
4. How "The Raft" explores and communicates meaning
5. List your favorite films
6. Finding your own key themes
7. Charging symbols with meaning
8. Reading Assignment: Read the second act of "The Detective's Secretary"
1. Live Session #5
2. Formatting your title page
3. Reading Assignment: Read to the end of "The Detective's Secretary"
4. Reviewing all we've learned about writing for film
5. Exercise: Delivering your polish draft
6. What's next? The writer's road ahead

About this course

$1,185.00 / month with 10 day free trial
133 lessons
13.5 hours of video content

This course is eligible for college credit.

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Course materials

Downloadable electronic copies of Bergman Manor and The Detective's Secretary are included in the price of the course and will be provided to students after enrollment. Paperback copies may be purchased from Amazon or any other major retailer. The Hollywood Standard is not included in the price of the course and must be purchased separately.

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The Ultimate Classroom Bundle

Includes both Film Writing and Directing for the Classroom.

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