FILS’s Profile

This course fo­cuses on writ­ing fun­da­men­tals for vi­sual media and specif­i­cally fo­cuses on the short form. Stu­dents study sto­ry­telling ba­sics such as pro­tag­o­nist, want, ob­sta­cles, an­tag­o­nist, com­pli­ca­tion / ris­ing ac­tion, cli­max, along with three-act struc­ture, which is com­mon to screen­plays. With as­sign­ments in both fic­tion and non-fic­tion scriptwrit­ing, the class cov­ers such areas as: Basic re­search meth­ods How to cre­ate char­ac­ter and story How to SHOW ac­tion, rather than TELL it How to write out­lines and treat­ments How to for­mat both Non­fic­tion A/V scripts and Fic­tion screen­plays Learn­ing how writ­ing is rewrit­ing. De­signed as a work­shop in which stu­dents will de­velop mul­ti­ple drafts for the fic­tion and non­fic­tion scripts, the course also teaches how to give and re­ceive good crit­i­cism on peers’ work. The aim of the course is to help stu­dents de­velop basic skills nec­es­sary to write and re­vise scripts for up­per-level VAT pro­duc­tion classes and be­yond.

This course focuses on writing fundamentals for visual media and specifically focuses on the short form. Students study storytelling basics such as protagonist, want, obstacles, antagonist, complication / rising action, climax, along with three-act structure, which is common to screenplays. With assignments in both fiction and non-fiction scriptwriting, the class covers such areas as: Basic research methods How to create character and story How to SHOW action, rather than TELL it How to write outlines and treatments How to format both Nonfiction A/V scripts and Fiction screenplays Learning how writing is rewriting. Designed as a workshop in which students will develop multiple drafts for the fiction and nonfiction scripts, the course also teaches how to give and receive good criticism on peers’ work. The aim of the course is to help students develop basic skills necessary to write and revise scripts for upper-level VAT production classes and beyond.