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

Writing for Screen and Media

Every great film, game, or series starts as a blank page. This core writing course teaches the structural foundations of visual storytelling. Students will move beyond “having an idea” to mastering the craft of the screenplay. The curriculum covers the three-act structure, character arcs, authentic dialogue, and the specific formatting standards required for film, television, and new media scripts.

§ 01 By the end you can
  1. Master industry-standard screenplay formatting (Sluglines, Transitions, Parentheticals)
  2. Apply the "Three-Act Structure" and the "Hero's Journey" to original stories
  3. Develop multidimensional characters with clear goals and flaws
  4. Write subtext-rich dialogue that advances the plot without exposition dumping
  5. Create professional documents: Loglines, Treatments, and Show Bibles
§ 02 Sixteen sessions

The whole semester.

  1. 01The Writer's Mindset: Idea Generation
  2. 02Formatting: The Language of the Screenplay
  3. 03Structure I: The Paradigm (Field)
  4. 04Structure II: The Sequence Approach
  5. 05Character Biography & Arc
  6. 06The Inciting Incident & Plot Points
  7. 07Scene Construction: Enter Late, Leave Early
  8. 08 · MidtermMidterm Examination
  9. 09The Midpoint: Raising the Stakes
  10. 10Dialogue I: Voice & Rhythm
  11. 11Dialogue II: Subtext
  12. 12Writing for TV: The Teaser & Cold Open
  13. 13Writing for Games: Branching Narratives
  14. 14The Rewrite: Killing Your Darlings
  15. 15The Pitch: Selling Your Script
  16. 16Final Project: The First Act / Short 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 First Act / Short Script

How it’s judged

Recommended reading
  1. Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting by Syd Field
  2. Save The Cat! by Blake Snyder
  3. Story by Robert McKee
  4. The Screenwriter's Bible by David Trottier
  5. Writing for Emotional Impact by Karl Iglesias
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