NOVEMBER 2ND – 12:30-1:30PM PST
#1 – DEVELOPING YOUR IDEA – FREE
Sources of inspiration
Premise
Character
Brainstorming

NOVEMBER 9ND – 12:30-1:30PM PST
#2 – PITCHING YOUR PROJECT – $20
The big hook
The relatable hero
The “porn” of the movie
Major turning points
Character arc
Present tense verbs

NOVEMBER 16ND – 12:30-1:30PM PST
#3 – WRITING YOUR SCRIPT – $20
A writing schedule
Outlining
Sequences
Minidraft
Dialogue

NOVEMBER 23RD – 12:30-1:30PM PST
#4 – BREAKING IN – $20
Queries
Contests and fellowships
Getting an agent
Taking a meeting
Sending out scripts

8-week class

Our hero is initiated into adulthood through some life-changing experience, often by a process of disillusionment. Understanding comes after the dropping of preconceptions, a destruction of a false sense of security, or in some way the loss of innocence. The genre overlaps with a wide spectrum of other genres (romantic comedy, thriller, drama) and is not limited to teen characters. Any big “change of life” experience can be regarded as a coming-of-age. Each class will focus on a separate topic beginning with the premise of your movie and ending with dialogue. The goal is to outline the whole movie and to write the first ten pages. You will then submit both documents via email for feedback and finish the script on your own.

8-week class

Why do some TV shows run for ten years while others are cancelled after one episode? Why do people tune in week after week to their favorite show? A TV pilot must be carefully conceived to set all the balls in motion to generate an endless array of new episodes. If there isn’t enough tension or complexity in the world of the show, it can run out of steam. Are you writing a “premise pilot” that explains how the hero ends up where s/he is? Or are you writing a “third episode” pilot which gives us a sense of what each show will be like from week to week? If you’re developing a procedural show (police, lawyer, doctor, detective) – perhaps the draw is the clever way you turn the story and create a deeper problem or mystery to solve. If you’re creating a “soap” which will explore the personal lives of a group of people – your characters need to be compelling, complex, conflicted. We need to love them or love to hate them. If your show has a central lead, you need to construct the ensemble around them as spokes of a wheel – each of which draw out a different aspect of your hero. In this class, we will shape and sculpt your idea for a TV show. The end goal is a clear idea of genre. world, characters, story, structure, tone and format. Once you have completed a treatment for your pilot, you can choose to finish with either a verbal pitch (5-10 minutes) or the first act (5-15 pages) for feedback.