Elements of ScreenwritingSemester Credits
This course introduces students to the craft of screenwriting, establishing a foundation for all future writing. Through lectures and clips, the instructor will highlight a specific topic that students will then analyze in classroom discussion and practice through skill-building exercises. Topics include Classic Screenplay Structure, the Elements of the Scene, Developing the Character, Character Arcs, Antagonists, Dialogue, Writing the Visual Image, Introduction to Final Draft, Theme, Conflict, Flashbacks, Fantasy Sequences and Dream Sequences, Voice-Over, Text and Subtext, Developing Your Writing Style, Tone and Genre, Visualization, Revealing Exposition, Creating a Compelling Second Act, Climaxes and Resolutions, and the Beats of the Scene. Screenplay formatting will be a major focus, and students will learn how to write scene description, to describe characters and locations, and to develop action sequences. The course will also include script-to-screen analysis, comparing well-known films to their original screenplays.
Prerequisite: None
Screenplay Analysis3 Semester Credits
This course is designed to further students’ knowledge of the intricacies of feature-length screenwriting. Each week, students will be required to view a film (or read the script) prior to an in-class screening of that same film. The instructor will then critique the film as it is screened, offering minute-by-minute observations focusing on such topics as subplot development, visual storytelling, turning points, planting and pay-off, and character development.
Prerequisite: None
The Business of Screenwriting1 Semester Credit
There are many “angles” to understand when approaching "the deal," and they differ from film to television. It is crucially important for a writer to protect his or her work both through Copyright Registration and registration through the Writer's Guild of America. Next, the writer must strategize about how to get his or her script into the right hands, in the correct manner, and for the appropriate market. An overview of topics include: Agents, What Is Copyright?, How Do I Enforce My Copyright?, How to Register with the Writer's Guild of America?, Getting Your Script in the Right Hands, What To Do If You Don’t Have an Agent, If the Deal Goes Through What You Need to Know, Options, Pay for Rewrites , Writing on Spec or for Hire, How a Television Deal Differs from a Film Deal.
Prerequisite: None
Screenwriting Workshop I10 Semester Credits
Workshop sessions are student-driven classes in which student work is evaluated and critiqued. Deadlines will be established that guide students in the development of a feature-length screenplay from logline to treatment, then from outline to screenplay. Each student will be allocated one hour of workshop time a week in which his/her work will be critiqued. A constructive, creative and supportive atmosphere will be strongly encouraged.
Prerequisite: None
Cinema Studies1 Semester Credit
The Cinema Studies course introduces students to critical concepts in film history and culture, and allows students the opportunity to engage deeply with individual films. Consisting of lectures, screenings, and group discussions, each session will give students the chance to consider classic and provocative films within the context of a broader film culture. The course includes topics such as: film genre; film history; film style; film criticism and cinema-going practice; entertainment industry organization, and other topics in the culture of film.
Prerequisite: None
Acting for Writers1 Semester Credit
Acting for Writers introduces students to the theory and practice of the acting craft, using Stanislavski Method, improvisation, and scene and monologue work as starting points. By exploring how actors build characters and performances based upon the information provided in a film script, writers will learn how to write more powerful dialogue, develop more memorable characters, and create more effective dramatic actions. Upon completion of this course, writers will have a new understanding of how their words are translated into performance, and this knowledge will help students refine their craft.
Prerequisite: None
Special One-Week Seminar in Digital Filmmaking1 SemesterCredit
Similar to our AMC One Week filmmaking course, this intensive workshop trains students in the fundamentals of film directing, which in turn facilitates an understanding of the filmmaking process as it relates to screenwriting. It is our belief that a student who actually picks up a camera, blocks a scene and directs actors from a script is far better prepared to then write a screenplay. If a writer has been on the other side of the camera, if a writer has actually translated a shot on the page into a shot in the camera, then the writer has a much sharper perspective on the writing process.
Hands-on classes in directing, editing, cinematography, and production cover the creative and technical demands of telling a story with moving images. Then, working in crews of four, students will make a short film or shoot a scene from one of their screenplays using digital video cameras. Afterwards, they will edit their footage with digitized sound on Final Cut Pro. At the end of the one-week seminar, the final films are celebrated in a screening open to cast, crew, friends and family.
Prerequisite: None
Treatment Writing1 SemesterCredit
This course introduces students to the workhorse of the screenwriting business – treatments. On fast and furious deadlines, students will be expected to create two high concept screenplay ideas, flesh out characters, and organize their story structures. The end product will be two treatments, which can be used as the foundation for the second feature-length screenplay, the pitch to be developed in the fourth quarter, and/or in conjunction with a producing package for the One Year Producing class.
Prerequisite: None
Screenwriting Workshop II14 Semester Credits
The workshops continue, providing students an arena in which to complete the first draft of their first screenplay or begin work on a second feature length screenplay. This will be the perfect place for students to practice the art of discipline, as they will be expected to work at their own rates and to present scenes only every other week.
Prerequisite: Screenwriting Workshop #1
Revision Class1.25 Semester Credits
Having created three spec scripts during the course of the year, students are now ready to delve into the revision process. In this class, each student’s feature will be read, strengths and weaknesses will be identified and a strategy for revising the feature will be developed. Students will then rewrite the script. Workshop classes will provide students the opportunity to hear their work read aloud and to receive constructive criticism from fellow students and the instructor.
Prerequisite: Screenwriting Workshop #3
Pitching Class1.75 Semester Credits
Description: Pitching is crucial in the film and television business. Pitching is the ability to accurately and engagingly convey the basic outline of your story to another person, verbally, in a very short time. It is not as easy as one would imagine. Working with experienced professionals, students will actually practice pitching in a mock real-world session. They will come up with characters and storylines (or use one of the treatments they developed in the second quarter), practice verbally pitching them, and will then pitch to the instructor, gaining feedback and comments to further the student’s skills. The knowledge and skill the student attains will be of great value for their future screenwriting endeavors.
Prerequisite: None
TV Writing: Sitcoms and One-Hour Dramas1 Semester Credit
Even in these days of reality TV shows, Sitcoms and One-Hour dramas are still top ten hits. In this course, students will choose to break into different classes and specialize in either writing the sitcom or writing the one-hour drama. Each class will cover standard conventions, proper formatting, expected running times, styles of dialogue, and seasonal character and plot development. As part of this training, students will then conceive, write and polish their own television spec script based on a show that is currently running on television, which can later be used as a writing sample.
Prerequisite: None
Short Script Workshop1 Semester Credit
Students will write short scripts to be used in later production workshops. By developing a film without dialogue (silent film) students will learn the value and strength of images within the medium. Emphasis is put on maintaining structure and incorporating all elements of visual storytelling within the short form.
Prerequisite: None
Short Script Production Workshop 1 Semester Credit
Using short scripts written in Short Script Workshop, students will produce their own short films thus broadening their perspective of the filmmaking process as a whole. Teaming with students in the NYFA filmmaking program, MFA in Screenwriting students will act as a crewmember on the set of films they have written.
Prerequisite: Short Script Workshop
ELECTIVE: Adaptation Workshop2 Semester Credits
Popular and fascinating stories will always be in high demand for screen adaptation. Studios often buy the rights to “stories” whether in the form of a play, magazine article, newspaper article or book with the intention of hiring a screenwriter to adapt it for the screen. With this in mind, master students will learn how to adapt a story from another medium into the highly structured visual form: the screenplay. Often this means that crucial moments of the story must be identified while others eliminating. In all instances, imagination must be employed for the successful execution of rearranging one form for the sake of another. Students will share their work with fellow students during in class critiques.
Prerequisite: None
Advanced Thesis Workshop I14 Semester Credits
In this Seminar/Discussion series, master students will structure, develop, outline, and write a first draft of their thesis projects. These projects will be approved by the Thesis Committee and overseen by the Committee and appointed student advisors throughout the semester. Students may choose between Thesis Option A) Feature Film or Thesis Option B) Episodic Television. Working inside the classroom, in consultation with their instructor, and through extensive writing outside of the classroom, students will develop drafts that will be polished and finished in Advanced Thesis Workshop 2 in the fourth semester.
Prerequisite: Screenwriting Workshop #2
Advanced TV Writing I1 Semester Credit
This is an intensive screenwriting seminar that will teach students the art of creating situational comedy. This course will teach and assess the aesthetic elements of writing sitcoms, including both the formal requirements of the genre as well as the basics of technique. Students will write their own sitcom and have their work critiqued during in class workshops.
Prerequisite: None
Cinema Studies II2 Semester Credits
In this course, master students will expand upon the concepts of Cinema Studies I and explore the principal theories of film through advanced critical reading of texts and a close examination of films. The texts to be pursued comprise several groups. Classical film theory includes Eisenstein, and Godard. The critique of classical film theory includes Burch, Perkins, and Henderson. The course will also explore semiotics, psychoanalysis, and poststructuralism, feminist film theory, avant-garde theory, Soviet editing and antirealism.
The Business of Screenwriting II: The Studio System1 Semester Credit
This course introduces students to the moviemaking machine know as the Studio System: the players, the relationships, and the deals. A survey of the studio system history starting in the 1920s with vertical integration and the major players of today will be discussed. Topics include writing on spec versus a contract job, re-writes, WGA law governing authorship, the open writing log used by agents and managers to identify screenwriting jobs for clients, distribution, and production. Similar topics with regard to television will also be examined.
Prerequisite: The Business of Screenwriting I
ELECTIVE: Advanced Scene Writing Workshop2 Semester Credits
The scene is the fundamental building block of any screenplay. Each scene must be essential, reveal vital information, and ultimately push the story forward. This workshop gives students the opportunity to put their scenes under a microscope. During in class exercises, students will hone their scene writing skills through experimentation and establish the most effective way to accomplish a particular “goal” of a scene. Through in class feedback, students can discover what “works” in terms of emotional and/or comedic impact.
Prerequisite: None
Advanced Thesis Workshop #214 Semester Credits
In this Seminar/Discussion series, master students will re-write, revise, polish, and learn to pitch their thesis projects. A continuation of Advanced Thesis Workshop 1, students will work inside the classroom, in consultation with their instructor, and through extensive writing outside of the classroom, as they finish their thesis projects for delivery to the Thesis Committee for final review.
Prerequisite: Screenwriting Workshop #3
Master’s Seminar: Industry Perspectives1 Semester Credit
On a week-to-week basis, industry professionals will address New York Film Academy master students following a screening of their recent work. A broad cross-section of the film community will be represented in this lecture series, including directors, producers, directors of photography, editors, screenwriters, production designers, post production coordinators, and casting directors. Students will be exposed to multiple avenues for potential employment in the film industry. All lectures will be followed by an extensive Q&A session.
Prerequisite: Critical Film Studies 1
The Business of Screenwriting III: Independent Cinema 1 Semester Credit
This course introduces the challenges of writing and producing an independent film. Topics include, how to write with a specific budget in mind, how to secure financing, film festivals, options, distribution, and how to deal with legal issues without the help of an agent.
Prerequisite: The Business of Screenwriting I
Advanced TV Writing II1 Semester Credit
In continuation of TV Writing I, in this advanced writing workshop students will examine the genre while revising and creating original work. In class critique provides an opportunity for students to receive constructive criticism of their writing.
Prerequisite: TV Writing I
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