Course curriculum

    1. Introduction to The Art of Film Writing

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    2. Exploring the reasons you connect to characters

    3. Exercise: Exploring the reasons you connect to characters

    4. Storytelling for the screen

    5. What is a story?

    6. A story in one page

    7. Project Milestone: A one-page story

    1. Critiquing your own work

    2. How and why to read scripts

    3. Read the first 10 pages of the screenplay "Bergman Manor"

    4. Heroes

    5. Goals

    6. Obstacles

    7. Does it matter?

    8. Brainstorming heroes and goals

    9. Exercise: Brainstorming five original hero-goal pairs

    1. The Hero Questions

    2. Exercise: Answering the Hero Questions for an existing character

    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. The creative discipline of brainstorming

    2. Unleashing your inner mad scientist

    3. Exercise: Brainstorming from a prompt

    4. Unleashing your inner critic

    5. Exercise: Selecting your best ideas

    6. Lego time

    7. Exercise: Playing with your Legos

    8. Log lines

    9. Exercise: Write a log line

    10. Mad Ideas

    11. Exercise: Brainstorming Mad Ideas

    12. Project Milestone: A "hero changes" story

    1. Introduction to movie structure

    2. "The Raft," an animated short film

    3. Tools for structuring movies

    4. The Structure of the short "The Raft"

    5. The structure of a feature-length film

    6. Exercise: Locating the first 5 of the Eight Essential Story Points for Bergman Manor

    1. Understand 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. Understand the story you're looking for, part 2

    7. Exercise: Brainstorm an idea for a short film

    8. Pan for gold

    9. Exercise: Pan for gold

    10. Bulk up your hero

    11. Exercise: Bulk up your hero

    12. Build up your obstacles

    13. Exercise: Build up your obstacles

    14. Make it personal

    15. Who else is in the room?

    16. Find your ending first

    17. Then find your beginning

    18. Your movie in three sentences

    19. Project Milestone: Tell your story in three sentences

About this course

  • $350.00
  • 125 lessons
  • 13.5 hours of video content

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 learners 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.

Please note: As an Amazon Associate, Story Masters Film Academy earns from qualifying purchases.

Pricing options

Get full access to all the video lessons and writing exercises for $350. For an additional $150, you can receive professional feedback on your project milestones.

Mini Courses

Interested in a specific topic? Already know about movie structure but not sure how to format your script? Want to skip all the stuff on brainstorming original story ideas and jump straight to writing your first draft? Take one of our Mini Courses!

  • $60.00

    The Art of Film Writing: Telling Original Stories

    Learn the secret to brainstorming original story ideas.
    Buy Now

  • $60.00

    The Art of Film Writing: Heroes, Goals, and Obstacles

    Learn about every story's three most important elements: the hero, the goal, and the obstacles.
    Buy Now

  • $105.00

    The Art of Film Writing: Movie Structure

    Learn to structure your script to grab and hang onto your audience.
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  • $75.00

    The Art of Film Writing: Script Formatting

    Learn how to format your script from the man who wrote the book on script formatting and style.
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  • $30.00

    The Art of Film Writing: Emotion and Connection

    Learn how to craft an emotional experience for the audience.
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  • Free

    Film Writing: Exploring Meaning

    Learn what movies mean... and how they mean it.
    Take a mini-course for free!

  • $30.00

    The Art of Film Writing: The Language of Cinema

    Learn how to make your movie sparkle.
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  • $60.00

    The Art of Film Writing: The Writing Process

    Learn how to get your movie on the page, the secret to gathering solid notes, and how to make a rewrite plan that will help you turn in a professional, polish draft.
    Buy Now