course C [ ] ‘Scriptwriting 1: Mechanics’

1. What Does A Script Do?

•	show not tell
•	the suspension of disbelief: virtual realities and why people buy tickets
•	engagement and identification - who said these were passive mediums?

2. Theme

•	is it a message is it an intent, and how does it glue the whole thing together?
•	commercial considerations - why there are trends and why they should be for accounted for

3. Characterisation

•	real people don't just talk about it: how to show character through action
•	the character who learns versus the character who's static: what do audiences expect of these personals and why?

4. Subtext

•	in "show" mode you can stack up any motives: entertainment through the planned leading of audiences expectations
•	why life rarely seems messy on the screen
•	in any dynamic scene, what creates interpersonal tension?

5. Mis-En-Scene/Action-Reaction

•	why should characters move through their world, what does it reveal about them, how does this create structure and why does this increase our level of engagement?

6. Act Structure

•	moving a story line to define plot points
•	balance and weighting of movement and character: how to determine it there is a need to shift focus
•	sequencing and their styles; exposition, interaction and ambience

7. The Scripting Process

•	the single line grab/a complete 1 page synopsis/plot point scene by scene/act structure. Why bother to go through all this and why does it protect the writer from grief.

8. The Dialogue Draft

•	interaction, subtext, inference: why do characters open their mouths in the first place.

9. Editing

•	cutting for pace, cutting for suspense, cutting for groove - the ins and outs of the ins and outs of any scene.

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