2.Main Content
Training
Truth & Fiction
Based on real lives - The Duchess
Wednesday 24 February 2010, 10am - 5pm
Soho Theatre, 21 Dean Street, London W1
Most new screenwriters are working on original story ideas which they hope will one day be realised on the big screen, but the reality is that the majority of feature films are adaptations of existing stories. The source may be a novel (Slumdog Millionaire, The Reader), a play (Doubt) or real people and events (The Duchess, Hunger). Whilst it might seem premature to dream of being given the latest Booker prize winning tome to adapt, the skills involved in re-crafting an existing work to suit the requirements of cinema are essential for any serious screenwriter. This new one-day workshop examines the problems of creating a screenplay from material that has been written for a different medium and simultaneously uncovers the principles of good screenwriting that the process of adaptation can teach us.
HungerInterpreting the Real
Truth is stranger than fiction because fiction gives form and meaning to events. When working with true stories, how much freedom does the screenwriter have in interpreting the events that form the basis of the screenplay? This session examines different approaches to constructing the real in a range of recent films, from Steven Spielberg's Munich to Steve McQueen's Hunger.
Creating Character
A practical exercise in developing a dramatic story from a real historical event. The exercise illustrates how decisions about character and point-of-view ultimately determine the structure of story.
The ReaderLost in Translation
Adapting short stories or novels involves translating narratives intended for one medium into dramas that work on the big screen. How do you simplify and compress a novel without losing it's essential meaning? At what point does "based on" become "inspired by"?
Picturing Emotion
Whether the source material is a true story or novel, a screenplay needs to develop visual images and metaphors to have impact. This session examines how identifying a controlling image for the story can provide the basis for structuring the screenplay.
Course Tutor
The workshop is taught by Rob Ritchie an experienced screenwriting tutor, writer and script consultant.
Friendly Producers
Writers who complete this course will also be invited to apply to our Friendly Producers scheme. Applicants will have approximately one month to submit a 2 page treatment and the first ten pages of a screenplay. We will then select writers from this and the other participating programmes who will benefit from the chance to discuss their film idea at a one-to-one meeting with a prominent UK producer.
Booking Information
Attendance on this workshop costs £120 + VAT Total £141). Script Factory Members are entitled to a 10% discount, making the fee £108 + VAT (Total £126.90). Click here if you'd like to find out more about Membership.
To make your booking please call us on weekdays between 10am-6pm on 020 7851 4890 with your credit or debit card details.
Preparatory Viewing
Various films will be referred to during the day, some of which you will inevitably be more familiar with than others. To ensure that we have shared references to consider in more detail we would ask all course attendees to watch the following films:
The Duchess 2008
Capote 2005
Munich 2005
No Country for Old Men 2007