SIX MONTHS COURSE ON SCREENWRITING AND FILMMAKING

Course Objectives

The MINDSCREEN Screenwriting and Filmmaking Course is a vocational program of study designed to groom students for the position of Assistant Director. The course features an entirely practical approach equipping students with a keen understanding of storytelling and enough hands on experience in character development and actor direction to become a valuable asset to the Director's team. Students will learn how to generate ideas within a dramatic framework and how best to apply them from initial concept through to story structure, scriptwriting, dialogue and their successful reproduction on screen.

Academic Term : February 2010 – July 2010

Subjects covered

FILM MAKING
Aesthetics & Authorship

• Indian vs. Western Aesthetics
• Philosophy & Film
• History of Cinema
• Psychoanalysis

Finance

• Films as Business
• Producers & Distributors
• Making a Business Plan

Preproduction

• Acting & Directing Actors
• Scene Preparation
• Production Design
• Scouting Locations

Production

• From Screenplay to Shooting Script
• Camera & Sound Essentials
• Continuity
• Project Management

Postproduction

• Key principles of Editing
• From First Assembly to Fine Cut
• Working with Music

Writing

• Mechanics of story telling
• Why do we tell stories?
• Character & Story
• Story Structure
• Story Types, Mythology & the Epic Form

Screenplay beginnings

• Writing to Genre
• Character Development
• Setting & Morality
• Theme; Concept Unity
• Story Types, Mythology & the Epic Form

Screenplay development

• Story Outline
• Character Arc
• Plot & Subplots
• Step Outline
• Story Types, Mythology & the Epic Form

Scripting

• Cinematic Description
• Dialogue
• Scene Analysis
• Redrafting Processes
• Formatting with Final Draft & Movie Magic

Course Requirements

• The Prospective student should have already had their writing published be it at any level a school literary prize, student newspaper or commercial publication
• They should demonstrate a prior knowledge of international as well as local cinema
• Candidates should posses a high level of communication skills irrespective of language, an enthusiasm to convey ideas and an ability to absorb and to respond to information quickly

Application Process

• Prospective students will be required to submit a book report of a contemporary novel chosen by MINDSCREEN. The report should demonstrate the ability to succinctly summaries the story, identify major themes, characters and plot devices and also should provide an insightful personal response.


• Prospective students will be required to submit a film report of an international film chosen by MINDSCREEN before the interview. The prospective student should place the film in the context of its genre, discuss its points of originality as well as identify its formulaic elements.


• Prospective students will be required to submit a character portrait of a living individual. The chosen subject must be an example of the 'everyman', a traffic policeman, an auto-rickshaw driver, a tea shop owner, a farm worker. Prospective students are expected to interview a person that they have never met before, determine their subject's history, personality and beliefs then write and submit a character profile of that person..


• Based on a newspaper clipping provided during their MINDSCREEN Interview the candidate will be asked to write a 500 word short story demonstrating their grasp of dramatic structure and their ability to write under pressure.

Top