Screenplay Writing Course

Training/Coaching/Tuition by Digital Academy Mumbai View Contact

Starting from: INR 84,269 Per Course (Plus 12.36% Tax) Request Info

The script of a film is quite like the blue print design of a building or an outline sketch made by a painter before making the painting itself. A film script is nothing but a verbal blue print of a proposed film which indicates the order of events in a story, its dialogues and also the visual treatment and style. While it is possible to start making a film without a script, it is impossible to complete a film without scripting it.

Over the years, Filmmakers across cultures and continents have realised and emphasized the importance of the script. In Hollywood, scripts are given utmost importance and the script writing profession there, is both glamorous and remunerative. The Hindi Film Industry too, is now waking up to the importance of good scripting and scriptwriters are in great demand.

The Screenwriting course at Digital Academy- The Film School firmly asserts that the screenplay is the basic backbone of all filmmaking. It emphasizes learning-by-doing and a deeper appreciation of film techniques and technologies, from which all good writing stems. In other words, though classes are held twice a week, students of the script writing course are encouraged to use the 'free’ time to explore their creativity, read relevant books, watch films from across the world and cultivate their writing skills.Our students have often declared that the course, though concise, has proved to be a turning point in their lives.

Instruction Module:

The Writing Process

At the outset, it is clarified that there are no rules in film writing but just a few general principles that hold good for any script. Students are encouraged to look into their own memory and experience in search of stories. Intuition is emphasized as much as the need to make the personal story universal.

Plot: Classical and Non-Classical Structures:
A deep understanding of plotting is at the heart of good story telling. A plot is the internal wire frame of a story that defines its structure. At Digital Academy we not only teach the classical three act structure, much used in Hollywood but also other structures like epic, lyric and non-plot structures. Through a detailed analysis of certain films from India as well as Hollywood, the classical three-act structure is clearly laid out and students are asked to identify story structure in all subsequent films screened in class. Films are carefully chosen to demonstrate different models of storytelling. The concepts of theme and premise, story and character are illustrated at the outset with multiple examples.

Characters: The Life Blood of Stories
Characters inhabit stories and characters make the story. So it is crucial that we create credible and unforgettable characters. Students learn about the relationship between the protagonist and the antagonist and how each of the main characters can have an identifiable social backdrop. In all films screened in class, the protagonist’s 'character arc’ is carefully traced to understand how the character changes through an experience. The use of dialogue is studied in order to understand how it helps to bring out character as well as give information about the story.

Development of an ‘Original’ Screenplay
The best way to learn and internalize the concepts elaborated in class is to do-it-yourself. Students are therefore required to develop a full-fledged screenplay based on their own ideas and not on any previously existing source. They are first asked to articulate the premise and then move to the synopsis and then the treatment, the step outline, and finally into the screenplay. They are also introduced to Final Draft, the screenwriting software which has become the industry standard worldwide.

Alternative dramatic structures
While the classical three-act structure is emphasized, students are also exposed to films that violate and even question the conventional storytelling format and yet have other principles that hold them together. Students are encouraged to see all kinds of Cinema that they have possibly never seen in their lives and then go out into the world to make the kind of film they want to write.

The Uniqueness of Indian cinema
Indian popular cinema definitely is unique for its storytelling conventions that have been influenced by several factors. The historical process of the evolution of this unique form is explained. Students are urged to make sure that all the storytelling elements including song and dance blend organically with each other and reinforce the overall theme.

Dramatic concepts: East and West
Students learn how the governing principles of today’s film drama are actually derived from the ideas of the ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle. They also learn about the lesser-known Indian tradition of dramatic theory (Natyashastra) that dates to Aristotle and still has a strong connection with the Indian popular cinema. They learn about the vast narrative tradition of India and why and how they need to rediscover them to revitalize their own creativity. All sorts of dramatic devices and concepts are explained.

Pitching, Narration and Industry issues
In order to strategize their careers, students need to clearly understand the inner functioning’s of the Film and Television Industry. Here they learn the importance of pitching and story narration in the film industry where, very few people actually read screenplays. Thus, 'narration’ may seem like a performance for which they are made to rehearse in a friendly classroom atmosphere. They also learn about how to register their screenplays or story-ideas and protect them from copyright infringement

Projects:

P1. Actuality Trip:
Students visit a specific public place for an hour, take notes and then write an 'Actuality Trip’ report. The aim of this exercise is to help students develop the 'cinematic eye’, which understands the difference between perception of reality by the brain and the limited record of actuality by the camera and the sound recording device. Students are made to realize that it requires special cinematic skill and creative intervention for audio-visual representation to come close to the representation of reality.

P2. One Character, One Space:
Students are asked to write a short scenario with only one character within a single space. The object is to learn how to depict the state-of-mind of a character by using audio-visual means.

P3. Writing a Scene:
Students are asked to write a scene not necessarily constricted to a single space and with any number of characters, but which subscribes to the three great unities of time, space and action. Emphasis is also given to the necessity of creating dramatic tension through the use of conflict. The aim of this exercise is to impart the skill of creating the smallest dramatic unit of a narrative-The Scene. It also helps students to identify what part of the larger narrative is worthy of being turned into a scene.

P4. Understanding Structure:
Students of Digital Academy - The Film School are taught how to write down the step outline of a designated film, analyze its structure and rearrange the scenes and sequences to make a new structure. The aim of this exercise is to develop the structural imagination of the students. Understanding the structural syntax will help students to come up with screenplays that are structurally optimized for the telling of a particular story.

P5. Writing Character Sketches and Character Arcs:
Having understood plot and plotting devices, this exercise helps in understanding the other important aspect of a screenplay-The Character. Students are asked to write detailed character sketches of the main characters of any story keeping their physiology, sociology and psychology in mind. They are asked to imagine the back-stories of the characters and also the arc of character change and growth through the film.

P6. Writing synopsis, Treatment Note and Step Outline:
In this exercise, students are asked to write a synoptic description of the story in a coherent manner so that the essence of the storyline is conveyed along with its dramatic import. They are then asked to write a treatment note, which talks about how the story is going to be treated in terms of visual style, cutting patterns and sound design. And finally, they are asked to write each scene of the film in a descriptive and abstract manner, which then becomes the step outline.

P7. The Full Script:
In this final exercise, students are asked to write the full and complete script including dialogues and detailed descriptions of actions as well as indications of camera movement and shot breakdown etc. The duration of the film is left to the student’s discretion, but it should at least be of a 10-minute duration.

The Digital Academy Student Benefit

• Hands-on writing experience with constant guidance and feedback from the teacher.

• Comprehensive understanding of Dramatic Concepts.

• No prior qualification required except a passionate desire to express oneself.

• Important tips about preparing oneself for the writing profession.

Note :- Curriculum subject to change

Faculty

We have professionals teaching our course – some of whom are mentioned below.
Any one or more of the experienced faculty can be assigned to a course batch.

Mr. Sidharth Sinha

Graduated from the FTII as a Direction student. His final Diploma Film “Udedhbun” won the Silver Bear award in the Short Film Category at the 58th Berlin International Film Festival in Berlin in 2008, a prestige that has in the past been conferred on Indian Luminaries like V.Shantaram, Satayajit Ray, Mrinal Sen. The Film just won the Award for the best short film in the National Awards 2009. It gained a lot more recognition in festivals in both Indian and abroad. He was invited as a jury member to various international film festivals. He is also appointed as a member in selection committee for Mumbai Film Festival (MAMI) 2009. Currently he is planning to direct his first feature film.

Mr. Ranjan Das

Mr. Ranjan Das has done his Diploma in Film Editing from FTII, Pune. After passing of FTII he has been involved as a Director, Writer, Editor and Consultant in Cinema, Television, corporate and Ad Films in Mumbai, Kolkata and Jakarta, Indonesia. He has written various Screenplays and stories for Hindi serials like Rihayee (Sony), Crime Petrol (Sony), Sidhhant (Star One) and a couple of episodes of Karamchand (Sony). He has Edited more than 200 documentary films for National and local Doordarshan Kendras. He has also been amongst the panel of scriptwriters of Black Magic Motion Pictures. He has taught as a Guest lecturer at Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, Kolkata. Currently he is working on Feature Film projects.

Career

A career in scriptwriting is not a sedentary desk job, as most would imagine. Although the seed of the film is planted in the script, the Scriptwriter, like a gardener, tends to the germination and eventually the full flowering of the plant. She becomes a dynamic member of the filmmaking team and is often required for consultation in preproduction, production and postproduction.

Scriptwriters nowadays need to be savvy about the latest digital developments, be they in the area of compositing, keying or frame blending. They also need to know new transition techniques like motion interval shooting, morphing and ramping.

This along with the good old principles of correct screenplay writing makes a heady brew of a career, which gives you a chance to fully exercise your imagination, express your socio-political concerns, create riveting drama and tell immortal tales.

The money is good too. While internationally Scriptwriters have been demanding and receiving handsome remuneration, the scene looks quite bright in India as well. In short, a career in Film and Television Scriptwriting is a thrilling career that could make you rich and famous.

Fees

Fees for Indian Citizens Inclusive 12.36% service tax

INR:Rs 84,269/-
10,000/-On admission
15,000/- Before batch starts
15,000/-Within 1 month (PDC)
15,000/-Within 2 months (PDC)
15,000/-Within 3 months (PDC)
14,269/-Within 4 months (PDC)
Scholarship Fee Plan for Indian Citizens Inclusive 12.36% service tax

INR:Rs 67,415/-
10,000/-On admission
11,500/- Before batch starts
11,500/-Within 1 month (PDC)
11,500/-Within 2 months (PDC)
11,500/-Within 3 months (PDC)
11,415/-Within 4 months (PDC)

Fees for International Students Inclusive 12.36% service tax

USD: 1405
Full Fees to be paid on Admission

Digital Academy

Digital Academy was the result of a simple thought; to introduce the art and craft of cinema to passionate minds.

We firmly believe in going the extra mile for all our students and hence placements are an integral part of our program. Our well-placed network has enabled us to set our students in ace film and television production houses. And it is pure pride that we wear seeing their success.

At Digital Academy we compete with ourselves to set new standards. And because we believe we can, we always achieve, for a goal is only unattainable when you give up trying. So if you have a dream, come to us and we will make it real.