Rewriting the Feature Length Screenplay
10 Week Syllabus
Writing is creating something out of nothing. Rewriting is creating something out of what is there.
Robert Towne, Writer/Director
Robert Towne, Writer/Director
Course Description:
The objective of the course is to learn the process on how to organize, approach, and execute the rewriting of a feature length screenplay. The class environment will be a workshop and all students are expected to give notes and be involved in discussions of each project. Rewriting one’s own material is probably the most challenging skill to master in the field of screenwriting. It is very difficult for writers to have perspective and insight toward their screenplays. Writers must learn to let go and embrace new ideas. In rewriting there are often several steps backward before moving forward. This can be a difficult and sometimes challenging experience, but a necessary process to go through to take their work to another level. Students must come to class with open minds, a willingness grow, and a desire to move their stories in new directions.
Each aspect of the screenplay will be analyzed and reconsidered. A review of screenwriting fundamentals is especially important in this course, since many script issues are due to fundamental errors. Where first drafts are about discovery, second and third drafts are about adding depth, dimension, and layers.
Objectives:
Required Reading:
Screenwriting is Rewriting by Jack Epps, Jr. Bloomsbury Academic, New York, London, 2016, ISBN: 9781628927405
The objective of the course is to learn the process on how to organize, approach, and execute the rewriting of a feature length screenplay. The class environment will be a workshop and all students are expected to give notes and be involved in discussions of each project. Rewriting one’s own material is probably the most challenging skill to master in the field of screenwriting. It is very difficult for writers to have perspective and insight toward their screenplays. Writers must learn to let go and embrace new ideas. In rewriting there are often several steps backward before moving forward. This can be a difficult and sometimes challenging experience, but a necessary process to go through to take their work to another level. Students must come to class with open minds, a willingness grow, and a desire to move their stories in new directions.
Each aspect of the screenplay will be analyzed and reconsidered. A review of screenwriting fundamentals is especially important in this course, since many script issues are due to fundamental errors. Where first drafts are about discovery, second and third drafts are about adding depth, dimension, and layers.
Objectives:
- Learn the process of rewriting
- Receive and organize notes
- Create a strategic game plan
- Execute the game plan through a series of focused passes
- Strengthen the main character’s story and arc
- Strengthen elements of conflict through relationships
- Add layers of complication and conflict
- Receive a last set of notes to revise after the class is completed
Required Reading:
Screenwriting is Rewriting by Jack Epps, Jr. Bloomsbury Academic, New York, London, 2016, ISBN: 9781628927405
10 WEEK COURSE SCHEDULE
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Exam Week
*Index card vs. outlines: As described on pages 102-104 in Screenwriting is Rewriting, index cards laid out across a table or taped to a wall gives students a great visual overview of their stories. It is easier to move scenes around with index cards than with an outline. In addition, using color coded cards also helps students see how their relationships and subplots are dispersed across the entire screenplay. Often students are surprised to see all the green cards or blue cards bunched together in the middle of the second act. They quickly realize they need to do a better job balancing their characters, relationships, and subplots throughout their entire screenplay.
Many writers find outlines to be too linear and they do not present a quick overview as well as index cards. But, use the method that works best for you and your students. In the end, index cards or outlines reach the same goal.
Week 1
- Discuss overview of the class and approach to rewriting. Critique half of the students’ screenplays.
- Assignment: Students whose work was critiqued create a Master Note List. As explained in Screenwriting is Rewriting, students should organize their notes into categories such as: theme, character development, story points, scene work, relationships. Have them bring their Master Note Lists to the next class.
- In Screenwriting is Rewriting read: How To Use This Book, Let’s Talk about Rewriting, The Pass Method, and Notes.
Week 2
- Critique the remaining screenplays.
- Assignment: Students critiqued this week will do last week’s assignment. Students who work was critiqued the first week will read and annotate their screenplays, add their notes to their Master Note Lists, and begin working on their Game Plans.
- Alternating assignments for each group will continue until the students begin rewriting. From that point, the students will be working on the same weekly assignments.
- In Screenwriting is Rewriting read: Interpreting Notes, Annotated Draft, and Game Plan. Examples of Student Notes can be found in Part 4 Examples, Student Notes, and Game Plans.
Week 3
- Review and discuss premise, story, and character fundamentals. Review the Master Note Lists and Game Plans in class. Discuss prioritizing notes.
- Using each student’s Master Note List and Game Plan, review which pass from Screenwriting is Rewriting each student should use for their rewrite. Once the instructor and the student have determined which pass to use, assign the student to read the appropriate chapter in Screenwriting is Rewriting. Passes to consider using are: Foundation Pass, Character Pass, Story and Theme Pass, Structure Pass, and Plot Pass.
- Assignment: Students begin to re-outline their screenplays. Encourage students to use the Index Card Method of outlining to help them get a sense of the whole. Instructions on how to use the Index Card Method can be found in Screenwriting is Rewriting on pages 102-104. (*Index cards vs. outline – see below.)
- In addition, in Screenwriting is Rewriting read: Character and The Set-Up.
Week 4
- Review and give notes on outlines.
- Assignment: Using the notes the students received in class, they should send their revised outlines electronically to the instructor before the next class with their changes bolded. Once approved, students can commence rewriting.
- Those students who have not presented should continue to work on their outlines or index card outlines.
- In Screenwriting is Rewriting read: Structure.
Week 5
- Complete review of outlines.
- Assignment: Rewrite the first act. Establish and set up the main character’s story as well as the main plot problem. Emphasize establishing the main character and the key relationship. The end of the first act should create a strong point of no return. Establish supporting characters, relationships, and stakes.
- In Screenwriting is Rewriting read: Plot and Relationships
Week 6
- Read and critique pages. Give notes going forward. Discuss each student’s set-up in first half of the screenplays.
- Assignment: Rewrite 30 pages. Reach the mid-point. Discuss the Mid-Point Plot Turn. Explore character development and relationship complications throughout the second act.
- In Screenwriting is Rewriting read: Opposition Characters
Week 8
- Read and critique pages. Talk about second act obstacles and complications.
- Assignment: Rewrite 25 pages. What are the obstacles the main character must overcome?
- In Screenwriting is Rewriting read: Complications, Obstacles, Reveals and Reversals.
Week 9
- Read and critique pages. Discuss the importance of reaching a high-point/low-point at the end of the second act where the main character must be in the highest point of jeopardy both emotionally and physically.
- Assignment: Rewrite 25 pages.
- In Screenwriting is Rewriting read the one of the interviews.
Week 10
- Read and critique pages. How does the resolution of the screenplay fulfill the main character’s arc, as well as his or her growth and transformation?
- Assignment: Rewrite 25 pages. Those students finished with their pass should create a revised game plan for a quick polish pass.
- In Screenwriting is Rewriting read: Feedback on Your Interim Draft.
Exam Week
- Read and critique all screenplays. Discuss the progress the students have made since the first class and give notes to work on in their next pass. Discuss the major areas each student should concentrate on in their next pass. Encourage students to create a revised game plan.
- In Screenwriting is Rewriting suggest they read: Scene Pass, Dialogue Pass, Consistency Pass, and Polish Pass.
*Index card vs. outlines: As described on pages 102-104 in Screenwriting is Rewriting, index cards laid out across a table or taped to a wall gives students a great visual overview of their stories. It is easier to move scenes around with index cards than with an outline. In addition, using color coded cards also helps students see how their relationships and subplots are dispersed across the entire screenplay. Often students are surprised to see all the green cards or blue cards bunched together in the middle of the second act. They quickly realize they need to do a better job balancing their characters, relationships, and subplots throughout their entire screenplay.
Many writers find outlines to be too linear and they do not present a quick overview as well as index cards. But, use the method that works best for you and your students. In the end, index cards or outlines reach the same goal.