DSM5173 - Advanced Story to Script

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

1 - Plan, outline and pitch a creative writing project relevant to their programme;
2 - Evaluate a wide-variety of stories and storytelling techniques;
3 - Produce a creative piece of writing that demonstrates an understanding of relevant storytelling techniques; and,
4 - Utilise appropriate software to produce and layout a script following industry conventions.

Content:

You will develop the understanding of storytelling that you gained in the first year of your undergraduate degree. In this module, you will advance these debates by considering forms of scriptwriting specific to your programme in Film or Digital Media Production and consider their intersections at a more advanced level.

In your lectures, you will study a wide selection of stories and examine what makes them effective. As well as recontextualising your understanding of fundamental debates such as character, premise and plot, you will be expected to analyse the practicalities of tools such as pacing, genre and narration to gain a finer knowledge of pertinent storytelling skills.

The module connects with the rest of your degree programme by building upon the knowledges and skills gained in Level 4, while preparing you for the larger creative projects that you will deliver within Level 6. Storytelling is a fundamental component of the creative media industries and it is essential that you can present, produce and advocate for the narratives that will make up your eventual career path.

Learning and Teaching Information:

You will be taught in one three-hour block that will comprise both a lecture and workshop. Each of these sessions will introduce a new debate and allow you to discuss the subject and apply your understanding to your own projects. The sessions will also include relevant audio-visual material to help develop your understanding of each topic.

You are expected to use the guided independent study time to work on your projects and feedback on a weekly basis on your progress.

Lectures
Hours: 30
Intended Group Size: 20-45

Workshops
Hours: 30
Intended Group Size: 20-45

Guided independent study
Hours: 240



Further Details Relating to Assessment

In Semester 1 you will work towards the production of a project pitch and outline where you will produce a creative writing project of interest to you. You will need to present your story in the format relevant to your chosen media, outline, series bible, pitch, etc. and showcase your awareness of the professional expectations in its relevant media.

In Semester 2 you will produce the creative writing project itself, which will take the form of a final script. This script will act as the culmination of both semesters’ work and showcase your ability to produce creative writing to a more advanced standard and utilise the tools considered within the module. This piece of work will be equivalent to 2,500 words, or ten pages of script. This presentation of work must be produced in line with the format expected for your chosen media: i.e. series bible for TV show, outline for feature film, pitch for podcast, etc.

There will be a formative assessment within the first four weeks of the module. You will receive feedback on this piece of work and full details will be published in the Module Handbook on this and the other assessments.

Assessment:

Fact File

Module Coordinator - PRS_CODE=
Level - 5
Credit Value - 30
Pre-Requisites - NONE
Semester(s) Offered -

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