Course Outline for Film 12
Screenwriting and Visual Storytelling

Effective: Fall 2020
SLO Rev: 05/07/2019
Catalog Description:

FILM 12 - Screenwriting and Visual Storytelling

3.00 Units

A course where students write for film and electronic media. Emphasis on preparing scripts in proper formats, including fundamental technical, conceptual and stylistic issues related to writing fiction and non-fiction scripts for informational and entertainment purposes in film and electronic media.
Strongly Recommended: FILM 14.
0612.20 - Film Production*
Letter Grade Only
Type Units Inside of Class Hours Outside of Class Hours Total Student Learning Hours
Lecture 3.00 54.00 108.00 162.00
Total 3.00 54.00 108.00 162.00
Measurable Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to:
  1. demonstrate competence in the mechanics of clear and concise writing;
  2. demonstrate an understanding of the technical and aesthetic issues related to writing for film and electronic media;
  3. demonstrate an understanding of the fundamental principles of narrative fiction screenwriting;
  4. demonstrate proficiency in creating a complete, short fictional narrative and writing it as a 20-30-page film script;
  5. demonstrate proficiency in writing in a variety of script formats, including the radio script, two-column video script, film script and sitcom script formats.
Course Content:
  1. Writing regardless of medium or format 
    1.  Clarity
    2. Economy
    3.  Grammar
    4.  Style 
  2. Issues specific to writing for audio
    1.  Writing for the ear
  3. Film and television 
    1. Writing for the eye   
  4. Multimedia 
    1. Writing for the ear, the eye, and interactivity 
  5. Script formats 
    1. Two-column video
    2. Film
    3. Sitcom 
    4. Introduction to content for the various media – e.g., 
      1. Commercials PSAs, 
      2. Corporate productions, 
      3. Documentaries, 
      4. Websites, 
      5. Fictional narratives (film, half-hour TV comedy, one-hour TV drama) 
  6. Fundamentals of dramatic structure
    1. Story structure 
    2. Conflict 
  7. Fundamentals of character deveplopment 
  8. Fundamentals of dialogue writing 
  9. Process and methodology of script-writing
    1.  Outlines
    2.  Treatments
    3.  Pitches
Methods of Instruction:
  1. Lecture/Discussion
  2. Oral and Written Analysis
  3. Group Presentations
  4. Written assignments
  5. Distance Education
Assignments and Methods of Evaluating Student Progress:
  1. After analyzing films and identifying character archetypes students will create their own Character Archetypes for their film, and present these archetypes.
  2. Create a Freytag Pyramid 3 Act Structure treatment as the foundation of your film script.
  3. Create a 20-30 Page film script using the Freytag Pyramid treatment, and then Character Archetypes developed for the treatment.
  4. Create a film storyboard that identifies the types of shots, and camera angles that will be used for your film based on your 15 page script. Present your film storyboard to the class.
  1. Class Participation
  2. Class Work
  3. Critique
  4. Oral Presentation
  5. Projects
  6. Written assignments
Upon the completion of this course, the student should be able to:
  1. Write scripts for various media industries using film industry standard tools enlisting artistic principles, story stucture production principles;
  2. critically analyze the story structure of film and animation using appropriate terminology in a critique environment;
  3. practice professional methods for production document creation, script revisions, file storage, presentation, and analysis.
Textbooks (Typical):
  1. Blake Snyder (2005). Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need (1). Michael Wiese Productions.
  1. Emmanuel Oberg. Screenwriting Unchained: Reclaim Your Creative Freedom and Master Story Structure. Screenplay Unlimited Publishing, .
  • Access to a computer for online scriptwriting software
Abbreviated Class Schedule Description:
Write your first short film with well crafted characters, a strong story, and prepared in the proper script format. Explore style and film concepts by storyboarding and pre-visualizing your completed script.
Strongly Recommended: FILM 14.