NOBODY KNOWS ANYTHING:TEACHING SCREENWRITING 2009

Saturday 30th May – 10am – 7pm

A one day conference on teaching screenwriting that aims to share examples of good practice and allow dialogue between industry and the Skillset Screen academies on how best to train and support emerging talent

Key topics to be addressed will include:

  • Who are we teaching and what are we teaching?
  • Examples of different course structures
  • Transferrable good practices
  • What does “ talent” mean to you and how does it relate to craft and technical skill?
  • Can you identify what excites you about a writer and a script?
  • What related skills or qualities do you look for in a screenwriter?
  • What kind of training do you think is going to draw out and develop these qualities?

Keynotes will be given by industry practitioners. Sessions will be chaired by Ben Gibson or Kate Leys

The Programme

Cinema A – London Film School

Saturday 30th May 2009

10.00 – 10.30 Coffee and networking
10.30 – 11.15 Theory
11.15 - 12.00 Filmmaking
12.00 - 12.15 Break
12.15 - 13.00 Innovation
13.00 - 14.30 Lunch
14.30 - 15.30 Jobs
15.30 - 15.45 Break
15.45 - 17.30 Plenary
17.30 - 19.00 Drinks and Networking

The Sessions

Theory

Key question: Can theory have any place in teaching writing for the screen or in the writing of better screenplays?

  • How do we teach theory?
  • What are the most interesting and useful theoretical approaches to screenwriting?
  • How is theory related to practice?
  • What screenwriting books are the most helpful and harmful?

Filmmaking

Key question: Can you teach people to write screenplays without teaching them to make films?

  • Is screenwriting a part of filmmaking rather than a literary activity in itself
  • Are directors the best writers or the worst?
  • Is screenwriting in the UK too cut off from the process of making films?
  • How can screenwriting programmes better integrate the process for writers?

Innovation

Key question: Should film schools transform film or conform to industry practice?

  • At what point and in what ways do you bring the “market” into a course?
  • Should the market dictate what writers write in school?
  • Are screenwriting courses bringing new voices into UK screenwriting?
  • How are they doing that?

Jobs

Key question: How well do screenwriting courses prepare their students for a career in film and tv?

  • Are screenwriters in touch with what commissioning editors are looking for?
  • Does the MA help you get a job?
  • What kind of job?
  • How do you build a career and how can a course help?

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Skillset Screen Academy