Screenwriting school training courses in Burlington, VT (public, in-house or online)

During the studio era screenplays were written by professional screenwriters in the employ of the studios. Today, scripts for major movies originate from many sources, including the work of non-professionals. But the screenplay is a unique form, with its own technical language and its own rules of composition, and writing for the screen is different in many ways than other types of creative writing. The goal of the certificate program in screenwriting is to provide students with the knowledge of...

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Class discussion will focus on a variety of films in terms of character, structure, etc. Discussion will include Casablanca, Tootsie, Chinatown, Vertigo, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Godfather Part One. Students that complete screenplays will not be judged on the quality itself without strong consideration of the process which led to it, whether the process began with a strong premise, whether characters are well-developed and motivated, etc. Effort will be heavily weighted in determining stud...

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Intensive study and practice in various forms and approaches of screenwriting, including workshop discussion of individual student screenwriting.

This course for the beginning screenwriter introduces the tools, vocabulary, and techniques used to tell a screen story and take an original idea to outline form. Assignments illustrate basic three-act structure, the economic use of dialogue, visual storytelling elements, the development of complex characters, the revelation of background information, and the effective use of dramatic tension. Students become familiar with screenwriting terminology as scenes from well-known films are analyzed on...

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