Course Catalogue

Module Code and Title:        CMS204 Script Writing

Programme:                          BA in Communication Arts and Creative media

Credit:                                    12

Module Tutor:                        Nithil Dennis (Coordinator), New Tutor

General objective: This module is an introduction to, and overview of, the elements of theme, plot, character, and dialogue in dramatic writing for Television, OTT & cinema. Emphasis is placed on telling a story in terms of visuals, actions and characters. The difference between the literary and visual medium is explored through individual writing projects and group analysis. Development of synopsis, treatment and drafts for a short theatrical screenplay: theme, plot, character, mise-en-scène and utilisation of cinematic elements are explored.

Learning outcomes – On completion of this module, students will be able to:

  1. Recognize the dynamics of storytelling required for film, television, and new emerging media
  2. Identify stories and write scripts for multiple media platforms
  3. Develop story, characters and dialogues for scripts
  4. Apply three act structure through the writing of a short length screenplay
  5. Distinguish elements of screenplay formats
  6. Compare and contrast film scripts for different genre
  7. Develop and pitch stories for various formats
  8. Create a portfolio of screenplays with proper structure, character development, dialogue, tone and theme. 

Learning and Teaching Approach:

Type

Approach

Hours per week

Total credit hours

Contact

Lectures

2

60

Demonstration & Classroom practice

2

Independent study

Reading, Review of Class Material, Written assignments.

4

 

60

Total

120

Assessment Approach:

  1. Film script ideation & brainstorming-Individual: 15% 

Each individual student in their writer’s notebook, brainstorms one idea in each of the following categories.

TASK 1 - Students will recollect about an experience they had in their own life and write a paragraph explaining the sequences. 

TASK 2 - Students will be asked to take something from their own life or an issue that matters to them and place it in context to a new setting and write a narrative description of the same using simple free writing (writing without interruption or editing) for 15 minutes straight.

TASK 3 - After this exercise students will take up any film they have seen and work out what the overall story is and list all the little parts of the film that make up that story. 

The students will be marked on the following criteria stated below for each of the tasks and averaged for the overall mark.

4    Synopsis

4    Story

3    Organisation

4    Mechanics

  1. Screenplay analysis & reflection assignment-Pair : 15%

Students in pairs will choose a film of their choice which has been adapted from a book and write a reflective analysis paper on the cinematic elements, theatrical elements and the literary elements. They will compare and contrast the literary narrative and the cinematic narrative by studying both the book and how it is adapted as a screenplay. They will submit a written analysis of 500 words and present it in the class. 

4    Arguments 

3    Applications

4    Writing

4    Presentation

  1. Screenplay assignment-Individual: 30% 

Students will develop their own idea for a script. It can be an idea for a feature film, for an hour-long television show, for a longer television series, or for a short film. They can take ideas from the previous assignment (A). Students will be asked to write a premise statement (Film Synopsis) of 100 words and then write the entire script as per format. The script should have a minimum of 15 pages that roughly calculates to 15 minutes of screen time. 

6    Character Arc

4    Clarity

5    Direction & Format

6    Creativity

4    Characters

5    Dialogue 

  1. Documentary film script-Individual: 20%

Students will work individually to create a 2-3 min documentary script on a tutor-approved topic. The script should contain the following:

Rationale: One paragraph, hard copy, typed single-spaced in a 12-point Courier; should explain what the film is going for, what the film’s intentions are, and how the Director plans to accomplish it.

Outline Screenplay (Two column script): Typed hard-copy correctly formatted in two-column Documentary format with Visual column on the left and Audio on the right; must include a cover page that lists the title of the film, duration and target audience.

Production journal (Research note): Each student should write a 300 words entry into their production journal evaluating the pre-production/research process so far and explaining their role in it.

4    Research

4    Subject & Content

3    Script format or Structure

5    Sources & Information

4    Narrative

  1. TV commercial/PSA/Promo Script writing-Individual: 20% 

Students will create a 30 second TV commercial/PSA/ Promo script to tell the viewer about their product/service/company or CSO and convince them. The script will include an announcer reading 30 seconds of copy (the words of the script-VO) alongside synchronised video of the product/service/company/CSO/concept. The script will have the video (what will be shown on screen) and the audio (announcer’s voice, dialogue, sound f/music). They will keep the audio and video instructions side-by-side on a chart so it is easier to follow. The submission will also have a storyboard.

The students will time their script to ensure it is 30 seconds in length (can be 28.5 seconds to allow for fade-in/fade-out of commercials but cannot be longer than 30 seconds, or shorter than 28.5 seconds) and that it is appropriate for the target audience.

4    Content

5    Originality/ Creativity

5    Creative visualisation

6    Impact – Message effectiveness

Overview of assessment approaches and weighting

Areas of assignments

Quantity

Weighting
  1. Film script Ideation & Reflection- Individual

1

15%
  1. Screen play analysis & reflection assignment-Pair

1

15%
  1. Screenplay assignment- Individual

1

30%
  1. Documentary film script-Individual 

1

20% 
  1. TV commercial Script writing - Individual

1

20% 

Total Continuous Assessment (CA)

 

 100% 

Pre-requisites: None

Subject matter:

  1. Unit I: Screenplay - Introduction
    1. Developing Ideas (Movie Outline)
    2. Fiction - Choosing Your Film
    3. Screenplay - definition and meanings
    4. The subject - Story and the world, writing from the heart, revealing the theme
    5. Contrast and Irony 
    6. World and exposition
    7. Research and consistency
    8. The creation of character – Building characters
    9. Building a Character – Character and context, character elements, Character arc vs. Catalytic character
    10. Types of Characters
      1. The main (Protagonist)
      2. The Heavy (Antagonist)
      3. Right Hand (Supporting roles)
      4. Others (Minor and background characters)
  2. Unit II: Screenplay – Setting up the story
    1. The story
    2. Three Act Structure 
      1. Act 1 – The situation (Opening balance, opening event, The disturbance, the dramatic question)
      2. Act 2 – The Complications (Conflict, crisis, obstacles, complications, the rising action, the dark moment)
      3. Act 3 – The conclusion (Enlightenment, Climax, Catharsis)
    3. Story Development
    4. Power and conflict – The orchestration of power and conflict
    5. Different types of conflict
    6. The Hero’s journey – The Star Wars
      1. The ordinary world
      2. The call to adventure
      3. The reluctant Hero
      4. The wise old man
      5. Into the special world
      6. Test, Allies and enemies
      7. The inmost cave
      8. The supreme ordeal
      9. Seizing the world
      10. The road back
      11. Resurrection
      12. Return with the elixir
    7. The scene
    8. The sequence
    9. Building the storyline
    10. Screenplay format
    11. Screenplay writing software
  3. Unit III: Screenplay - Writing
    1. Writing what we can only see or hear
    2. Describing character
      1. The Blade runner (Roy Battey)
      2. Silence of the Lambs (Hannibal Lector)
      3. The Terminator (Terminator)
      4. Forrest Gump (Forrest)
    3. Describing locations
      1. The living room
      2. The sports arena
      3. The fantasy world
    4. Dialogue – you don’t say
    5. The role of Dialogue 
      1. Establishing tone and atmosphere
      2. Revealing Character
      3. Advancing storyline
    6. Dialogue Techniques – Functions & Form
    7. Exposition 
    8. Technical Do’s and Don’ts
    9. Rewriting
  4. Unit IV: Script writing - Documentaries
    1. Introduction
    2. Background
    3. Types of Documentaries
      1. Poetic - Leni Riefenstahl’s Olympia (1938)
      2. Expository - Ken Burns, The Dust Bowl (2012)
      3. Participatory -Michael Moore’s, Bowling for Columbine (2001)
      4. Observational – Arun Bhattarai, The Last Guardian
      5. Reflexive - Dziga Vertov’s, Man With a Movie Camera (1929)
      6. Performative – Morgan Spurlock, Supersize Me (2004)
    4. Script and production patterns
      1. Pre-Shooting Scripts
      2. Post Shooting Script
      3. Post Shooting Script outline
      4. Single Line script
      5. Two Column Script
    5. Docudramas
    6. Documentary Pre- Production
      1. Research – Archival, Academic & Field 
      2. Importance, advantages and disadvantages of Research in Documentary films
      3. Interviews – In person
      4. Surveys 
      5. Permissions
    7. Documentary Formats
      1. Short Forms
      2. Long Forms
    8. Writing a documentary
      1. Defining the argument
      2. Research and Footage
      3. The Voice of your documentary – Point of View
      4. VO Driven or People driven 
  5. Unit V: Script Writing – Advertisement/PSA/Promos
    1. Types of Advertising for TV & Web
      1. Public Service Announcements
      2. Promotional Announcements (Programmes and events)
      3. Commercial Announcements (Product, Company, service)
    2. Audience Analysis
      1. Audience Research
      2. Target Demographic 
    3. Ethics & Law
      1. Deceptive Advertising
      2. Obscenity
      3. Defamation
      4. Privacy
      5. Copyrights
    4. Writing an Advertisement
      1. Systems and placement
      2. Spot timing
      3. Copy length by time or word count
      4. Techniques of copywriting
      5. Writing traps
      6. Copy formatting
      7. Dual column format script
      8. Single column format script
    5. Essentials of Storyboarding
      1. Aspect Ratio
      2. Continuity
      3. Screen direction
      4. The camera
      5. Angles and Shot sizes
      6. Transitions

Reading List:

Essential reading

Argentini, P. (1998). Elements of style for screenwriters. Lone Eagle.

Argentini, P. (1998). Elements of Style for ScreenWriters. Lone Eagle Publishing Company.

Aumont, J., Alain Bergala, Marie, M., & Vernet, M. (1993). Aesthetics of Film.

Benigni, R. (Director, Writer, Producer, & Actor). (1997). Life is Beautiful [Film]. Italy: Melampo.

Bernard, S. C. (2023). Documentary storytelling: Creative nonfiction on screen. Routledge.

Bong Joon-ho (Director). (2019). Parasite [Film]. South Korea: Barunson E&A. Cinematografica.

Coppola, F. F. (Director). (1972). The Godfather – Part 1 [Film]. United States: Paramount Pictures.

De Sica, V. (Director). (1948). Bicycle Thieves [Film]. Italy: Produzioni De Sica.

Demme, J. (Director). (1991). The Silence of the Lambs [Film]. United States: Orion Pictures.

Engel, J. (2002). Oscar-Winning Screenwriters On Screenwriting. Hyperion Books.

Engel, J. (2002). Oscar-winning screenwriters on screenwriting: The award-winning best in the business discuss their craft. Hyperion.

Field, S. (2005). Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting. National Geographic Books.

Fincher, D. (Director). (2010). The Social Network [Film]. United States: Columbia Pictures.

Foster, C. (Director). (2020). My Octopus Teacher [Film]. United Kingdom: Passion Planet.

Laursen, M. (Director). (2010). The Birds of Paradise [Film]. Denmark: Final Cut for Real.

Nolan, C. (Director). (2000). Memento [Film]. United States: Newmarket Films.

Polley, S. (Director). (2012). Stories We Tell [Film]. Canada: National Film Board of Canada.

Rosenthal, A. (2007). Writing, directing, and producing documentary films and videos. Southern Illinois University Press.

Rosenthal, A. (2007). Writing, directing, and producing documentary films and videos. SIU Press.

Tarantino, Q. (Director). (1994). Pulp Fiction [Film]. United States: A Band Apart.

Zana, R. (Director) & Briski, B. (Director). (2004). Born into Brothels [Film]. United States: HBO Documentary Films.

Additional reading

Bidwell, D. R. (2001). “Let's Get Into Character”: A Narrative/Constructionist Psychology of Conversion in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. Pastoral Psychology, 49(5), 327-340.

Mitry, J. (2000). The Aesthetic and Psychology of the Cinema. trans. King, Ch.

Mitry, J. (2000). The aesthetics and psychology of the cinema. Indiana University Press. 

Press, S. (2004). Complete Idiot's Guide to Screenwriting. Penguin.

Tarantino, Quentin. Pulp Fiction. Hyperion: New York, 1994

Date: March 2023
Royal Thimphu College