Intermediate Screenwriting: Adaptation and I.P

3 Credits.

Have you ever read a book or a news story, watched a play, or even heard a song, and thought to yourself, "This would make a GREAT movie!"? This course turns that impulse into action, revealing the strategy and process needed for developing a short screenplay from pre-existing "I.P." (intellectual property). By exploring several case studies — films and tv series and the source material that inspired them — students will identify the practical strategies employed by professional screenwriters with the goal of employing them with their own screenplay adaptations. The bulk of the class will focus on designing, writing, and rewriting a 20 to 30-page screenplay, and sharing multiple drafts with the class (and with the professor one-on-one) for critique over the course of the semester. Discussions from time to time will also touch on the business of screenwriting. Students are expected to have previously completed AS.061.205 or another lower-level screenwriting class, and to be using Final Draft software (free 18-week trial available, as well as a full license for $99).