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Film & TV · MS elective · 3 credit hours · 16 sessions

Screenwriting for Directors

A director must be the script’s best interpreter. This course is designed not just for writers, but for directors who need to deconstruct, fix, or write their own material. Students will study screenplay structure from a visual perspective, learning to write scenes that translate effortlessly to the screen. The focus is on “Visual Writing”—showing rather than telling—and understanding the mechanics of tension and character arcs.

§ 01 By the end you can
  1. Master standard screenplay formatting (Final Draft/Celtx)
  2. Apply the 3-Act Structure and "Beat Sheets" to organize narrative flow
  3. Write "Visual Subtext": Conveying emotion through action, not dialogue
  4. Create complex, three-dimensional characters with clear motivations
  5. Execute the "Director's Pass": Rewriting a script for production feasibility
§ 02 Sixteen sessions

The whole semester.

  1. 01Concept vs. Idea: The Logline
  2. 02Structure I: The 3-Act Paradigm
  3. 03Structure II: The Hero's Journey (Campbell)
  4. 04Character Development: Want vs. Need
  5. 05Formatting Standards & Software
  6. 06The Opening Image & Inciting Incident
  7. 07Plot Points & Turning Points
  8. 08 · MidtermMidterm Examination
  9. 09The Midpoint: Raising the Stakes
  10. 10Writing Authentic Dialogue
  11. 11Subtext: What is left unsaid
  12. 12Scene Construction: Enter Late, Leave Early
  13. 13The Revision Process: Killing Your Darlings
  14. 14Adaptation: Book to Screen
  15. 15Writing the Treatment & Synopsis
  16. 16Final Project: The Short Film Script

Midterm around session 8. Final project briefed at session 8 or 9 and developed in stages until the juries.

§ 03 Final project

Final Project: The Short Film Script

How it’s judged

Recommended reading
  1. Save The Cat! by Blake Snyder
  2. Story: Substance, Structure, Style by Robert McKee
  3. The Anatomy of Story by John Truby
  4. Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting by Syd Field
  5. On Directing Film (Writing Chapters) by David Mamet
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