• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Film Oxford

Film Oxford

Creative Media Charity & Video Production

  • About
    • About us
    • Our team
    • Our trustees
    • Archive
    • FO Privacy Policy
    • FAQ
  • Contact
    • Contact us
    • Join our mailing list
    • FO Twitter
    • FO Facebook
  • Community
    • PROJECTS
      • iCreative Platform
      • Shadowlight Artists
      • BFI FILM ACADEMY 2022
      • Flux Moving Image
    • NETWORK
      • BFI NETWORK FUNDING
      • Open Screen
      • Screenwriters
    • CINEMA
      • Cinema Anywhere
      • Poppadom Pictures
      • Music Festivals
  • Training
    • Adult Courses
      • Online courses
      • Classroom courses
      • Beginners’ courses
      • Intermediate courses
      • Basket
    • YOUTH TRAINING
      • Holiday Activities
      • BFI FILM ACADEMY
      • iCreative
    • Training for Organisations
  • Production
    • VIDEO PRODUCTION
    • Streaming Services
    • Training for Organisations
  • News

Introduction to Screenwriting

Sale!

£116.00 – £134.00

Introduction to Screenwriting is a beginners’ course for up to 10 participants with a professional screenwriter held at Film Oxford.

Starts: 29 October 2022 Ends: 30 October 2022
Classroom based course Weekend, 10am - 4pm - Places available

Clear
Categories: Beginners' courses, Classroom courses Tags: beginners course, film, film oxford, film script, film training, filmakers networking, filmmaking, online course, online courses, online traning, screenplay, screenwriter, screenwriting, screenwriting course, screenwriting course oxford, screenwriting oxford, screenwriting training, script, scriptwriter, short film course, short filmmaking courses, short films, tv script, video production, write a screenplay
  • Description

Description

Introduction to Screenwriting – is a classroom-based beginners’ course for Adults (18+) planning their first screenplay or wanting to improve their screenwriting skills. It will arm you with the concepts and practices you need to be aware of, before diving in. The course runs 10am-4pm, for a maximum of 10 learners.

This intensive online course focuses on short film, however many of the skills learned are transferable to longer screenplays, and there will be many pointers for those who want to continue their study of feature screenplay writing beyond the scope of this beginners’ course.

This Classroom based course will:

  • Develop your understanding of the basics of the craft and art of screenwriting
  • Give you everything you need to start writing your first script
  • Help you to understand “what makes a good script”!
  • Encourage you to develop a critical self-awareness and an enquiring, analytical and creative approach to your work
  • Give you a framework to develop your screenwriting practice

Who is Introduction to Screenwriting weekend course aimed at?

This course is aimed at writers who want to learn the art of screenwriting and filmmakers who want to develop their writing skills (or skills for collaborating with writers). If you haven’t done any creative writing whatsoever (whether amateur or professional), or don’t have any filmmaking skills, then you are unlikely to be able to fully benefit from this course. (See below for what you can do next).

Once you have taken this beginners course you can take our follow-up New Screenwriters – Interactive online workshop.

Your tutor – Michelle Duffy

Michelle Duffy, Screenwriting Tutor - Film Oxford
Introduction to Screenwriting Online is a ten-week interactive beginners’ course for up to 10 participants

Michelle Duffy is a screenwriter, comedy creator, soap storyliner and author. She is currently developing projects with production companies in the UK and Ireland and is a regular storyliner on the Irish soap Fair City.

Introduction to Screenwriting outline:

Saturday: 10am – 4pm (with lunch and breaks)

Developing Ideas

  • Where do ideas and inspiration come from?
  • Why is it important to keep generating new ideas?
  • How do you decide which idea is a Short Film idea?

Theme, Story, Plot & Narrative

  • How to define the Premise of the film (what it’s about) from the Theme (what it’s really about)
  • Cleaving Story, Plot and Narrative apart and examining how they inform choices in a scene
  • Identifying POV, non-linear structure and other narrative devices

Genre

  • Writing from and for Genre
  • Audience expectations
  • Short Film Genre

Film Story Structures

  • Classical 3-act Structure and other theories
  • Freedom within structure
  • Alternative short film structures

Sunday: 10am – 4pm (with lunch and breaks)

Form, Formatting and Software

  • Professional formatting conventions and why they exist
  • Software options (including some free ones)
  • Evolving industry conventions

Character & Characterisation

  • Character development
  • The Character Arc – internal and external
  • How do you reveal character in film?

Evocative Style

  • What do you write when you’re not writing dialogue?
  • Developing your own Evocative Style
  • Binning Screenwriting ‘Rules’

Pitching and Feedback

  • How and Why to verbally pitch your screenplay
  • Giving and receiving constructive feedback
  • Developing pitching documents

Dialogue

  • Creating authentic character voice
  • Dialogue dos and don’ts.
  • Subtext in dialogue

Round up and next steps

  • Opportunities, Networking and Next Steps
  • The rest of this session will be planned around the requests and needs of the class

Early booking discount & concessions

Early Booking – Book early to get 10% reduction on the full price course fee (usually two weeks before the course start date, but may vary).

Concessions eligibility for online courses – UK based Students, NHS workers and people on some means-tested benefits. Evidence is required, such as a student card, NHS staff card or benefits letter.

Means-tested benefits: JSA, Income Support; Working Tax Credit (not child tax credit); Council Tax Benefit (not student/single person/reduction due to disability); Housing Benefit; Pension Credit (guarantee); Unwaged Dependent of these benefits & Universal Credit.

All Film Oxford classroom-based courses are subsidised by Oxfordshire Adult Learning and are for Adults (18+).

If you like Introduction to Screenwriting you may also like:

Follow-up to this Introductory courses is New Screenwriters – Interactive online workshop

Introduction to Documentary Filmmaking – online course

 

Free Screenwriting software link

Additional information

Pricing

Concession, Full price

Return to course list

Related products

  • Sale! DSLR Cinematography Course at Film Oxford

    DSLR Cinematography (incl. Mirrorless cameras)

    £83.00 – £91.00

    Learn to shoot the best “cinematic look” using DSLR cameras on this short course – explore all the lenses and equipment needed for DSLR cinematography.

    Starts: 12 November 2022 Ends: 12 November 2022 Classroom-based course Saturday 10am-5pm - Places available

    More info & book
  • Sale! Introduction to Digital Video weekend course at Film Oxford

    Introduction to Digital Video

    £120.00 – £139.00

    This Introduction to Digital Video short course, is a fun hands-on introduction to using digital video cameras and editing for beginners.

    Starts: 22 October 2022 Ends: 23 October 2022 Classroom-based Saturday & Sunday 10am-4.30pm - Places available

    More info & book
  • Sale! 3 Day Video Prodution classroom-based course at Film Oxford

    3 Day Video Production Course

    £137.00 – £157.00

    3 Day Video Production course is an introduction to video-making, covering the whole process of video production from the initial idea to a finished film.

    Starts: 12 October 2022 Ends: 14 October 2022 Classroom-based Beginners' weekday course 9.30am - 3.30pm- places available

    More info & book
  • Sale!

    Introduction to Filmmaking – online course

    £113.00 – £130.00

    Introduction to Filmmaking – online course is a fun and flexible, hands-on introduction to using Smartphones, Camcorders, DSLR, Video Cameras and editing for beginners.

    Starts: 20 February 2023 Ends: 3 April 2023 Online course seven Mondays 7.30-9.00pm - Places available

    More info & book

Footer

Supported by:

  • Arts Council of England logo
  • Here for Culture logo
  • BFI Film Academy UK Network
  • Heritage Fund
  • Education and Skills Funding Agency
  • Oxfordshire Adult Learning - provided by Abingdon and Witney college
  • Oxford City Council

54 Catherine St, Oxford, OX4 3AH
Tel: 01865 792731 Email: office@filmoxford.org

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Registered Charity Number: 1041014
Film Oxford is supported by Oxford City Council

Oxford Film & Video Makers Ltd, trading as Film Oxford, is a company limited by guarantee.
Registered in England No 02022892

Privacy policy

Other Film Oxford websites:

Shadowlight Artists

iCreative

Sign up to our newsletter

Subscribe me to:

Tweets by FILMOXFORD