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3:30 PM -
5:30 PM
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Tuesday
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Fade In Address: "Tales from the Script"
SCSFe is proud to present "Tales from the Script," a brand new 105-minute documentary directed by Peter Hanson that includes 50 Hollywood screenwriters including William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Princess Bride, Marathon Man), Shane Black (Lethal Weapon), John Carpenter (Halloween), Nora Ephron (You've Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle, Julie & Julia), Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption), Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull), Gerald DiPego (Phenomenon, Message in a Bottle, The Forgotten), John August (Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), and many more who share their triumphs and hardships in this probing, insightful, and often hilarious odyssey through the world of movie storytelling.
These writers reveal the fascinating creative adventures that gave birth to beloved classics (and notorious flops). By analyzing their triumphs and recalling their failures, these writers explain how successful writers develop the skills necessary for toughing out careers in Hollywood.
Variety's Todd McCarthy called the film "a lively collection of war stories," and Film Threat's Chris Gore described it as "the best film about writing I've ever seen."
Following the screening there will be a brief Q&A with Director Peter Hanson.
All information provided by Peter Hanson.
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Peter Hanson
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10:00 AM -
5:00 PM
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Wednesday
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Ken Rotcop Day
An award winning writer and former Creative Head of four studios, Ken will cover the following:
* How to sell yourself and your ideas to Hollywood!
* Who runs Hollywood and how do I get to them?
* Secrets of the dreaded synopsis and how to get them to read it?
* Writing contests, real or phony?
* Books on screenwriting and how they screw you up!
* What happens to my screenplay AFTER it has been accepted?
* Do I need an agent, a manager and/or an attorney?
* And finally, practice your pitch with Rotcop. By utilizing several of the students in the seminar he will show them how to perfect the two minute or less pitch.
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Ken Rotcop
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7:00 AM -
8:30 AM
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Thursday
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Writing Warm-Up
Join Anne's early morning writing warm-ups to center yourself for the day. Bring pen and paper and keep the hand moving on the page. Write who you are and what you feel in a safe, encouraging environment. Anne's workshop creates a buzz at each year's conference. She is back by popular demand.
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Anne Randolph
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3:15 PM -
4:45 PM
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Thursday
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Screenplay Formatting: What's In? What's Out?
Nothing makes a producer discard a script faster than poor formatting. Whether you're a beginner, intermediate or advanced screenwriter, formatting rules change almost daily and all of us need to keep abreast of what's in, and what's out. In this workshop, we'll cover the latest changes in spec screenplay formatting including slug lines, secondary headers, narrative blocks, camera direction, parentheticals, margins, montages, and so much more.
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Darren Foster
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Organic Screenwriting
Screenplays require structure. But structure is there to serve the story, not enslave it. Learn how to approach your screenplay organically... to get of your own way and surrender to the innate wisdom of a story that knows itself better than you do. Come prepared to explore the stories you think you know... and to discover the stories waiting to get your attention. Come prepared to write.
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Mark David Gerson
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5:00 PM -
6:30 PM
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Thursday
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SCREENPLAYS THAT SELL -- Beyond the Three-Act Structure
Three-Act Structure is easy - beginning, middle, and end - we're done, right? WRONG! In this Seminar you'll discover how act structure really works, why it's important to know, and how it can improve your writing and your ability to discover what's not working. And you'll find out why many of the most popular films are in 4 acts, even 5, 6, and 7.
And then there are the rare 2-act films. Not a simplistic template, act structure is the heart and soul of quality film storytelling, and a deeper knowledge of it can be used to propel the story forward, deepen character development, make your story satisfying, and finally, help you sell your script.
Not for use in European art films, "Screenplays That Sell" is for those wanting to write compelling, provocative, audience-satisfying, sell-ready scripts.
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Jay Durrwachter
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Adaptation: Turning Source Material into a Screenplay
Have you found a good novel youd like to adapt? Where do you start? And what is an adaptation, really?
In this seminar you will learn about the differences between screenplays and other forms of source material. After all, not every good book makes a good movie. Sometimes books have to be bent, and sometimes outright changed beyond recognition, in order to translate to the silver screen. Mike and Pat will walk you through the process of turning that bestseller into a marketable screenplay.
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Mike Farris
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Cardboard Characters: How to Avoid Creating One-Dimensional People
Character development is often the weakest part of most scripts. As writers, we spend so much time developing the concept and story structure that we often forget the characters; who truly are the story. In this workshop, we'll work with character archetypes, arcs, backstory, and flaws. We'll investigate useful tools like character biographies to help develop character interplay and make your characters jump off the page.
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Darren Foster
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Make it Sexy - Horizontal or Vertical?
How can we write scenes that explore sex and sensuality while revealing character? It's not just sex, it's the intimacy of the moment that reveals the private lives of our characters. In Ghost, Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore created one of the most memorable moments in movie history as sexual tension swelled throughout the scene where he helps her mold the clay and never says a word. Who can forget the steamy seduction scene in 9 1/2 Weeks? Love in Casablanca? Or the erotic yet disturbing sex scene in A History of Violence that actually reveals something about the characters? This seminar will explore how sex and sensuality can be used effectively rather than gratuitously in your scripts to deepen your characters and allow the audience to see them naked, vulnerable and exposed.
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Rich Henrich
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Writing Warm-Up
Join Anne's early morning writing warm-ups to center yourself for the day. Bring pen and paper and keep the hand moving on the page. Write who you are and what you feel in a safe, encouraging environment. Anne's workshop creates a buzz at each year's conference. She is back by popular demand.
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Anne Randolph
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MAKING PEOPLE OUT OF PAPER
There are two aspects to creating great characters: how they're imagined and how they're built. "Imagined" means what they have to do in the story, how they'll grow and change, inner vs. outer goals, etc. "Built" is how you write the character to instantly communicate who she is, what she is, and most important, how the reader/viewer is supposed to feel about her. Ian Abrams will discuss some basics for making your characters pop off the page and into the reader's imaginations.
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Ian Abrams
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BUILDING ONE-OF-A-KIND PROTAGONISTS
Unique, one-of-a-kind protagonists are a requirement if you're to sell your original screenplay. Think about the protagonists in JUNO, LARS AND THE REAL GIRL, PRECIOUS, A SERIOUS MAN, HALF NELSON: all are a result of thinking outside-of-the-box and throwing away the standard ideas Hollywood argues for in a protagonist. We'll take a look at approaches and techniques that will help you find an intriguing and memorable protagonist who will help drive your story and create a screenplay bound to get noticed!
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Terry Borst
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Harnessing the Power of Myth in the Movies
Archetypes are universal patterns of human behavior that we all consciously or unconsciously recognize. There is enormous power when a story taps into archetypal characters or situations because they enable the audience to identify with the story on the deepest possible levels. In particular, mythic stories have survived only because they are constantly revealing to every new generation the patterning of human life. This seminar focuses on helping writers access and utilize their own internal, creative vision to make stronger and more powerful story choices.
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Dara Marks
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HIGH CONCEPT HOLLYWOOD
How to find and develop ideas that Hollywood is looking for and you are passionate about. A great script with a dull idea is a dull script. Learn tools like Magnification, Flipping, Substitution, Cousins, Word Association, why High Concept is *Your* Concept, finding your personal themes in high concept ideas.
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William Martell
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DIALOGUE AND GENRE CASE STUDY: Romantic Comedy
The importance of genre can't be over-emphasized in screenwriting - knowing genre conventions is key to making your project work. And dialogue conventions -- the "kiss off" line in an action film, the "villain rationalization speech" in a thriller -- are as important as any other element in meeting or subverting audience expectations and in setting the tone.
In this 90-minute seminar, we'll look at the dialogue conventions of the Romantic Comedy, discussing specific ways to create the perfect misunderstanding of the "cute meet," hilarious fights and the kind of memorable, unique "I love you," that stops an audience's heart.
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Wendall Thomas
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Screenwriting Software: Beyond Script Formatting
Most screenwriters feel good when they finally figure out how to get Final Draft or Movie Magic to spit out something that resembles the classic scripts sitting well worn and dog-eared on the corner of their desk. But, script-formatting programs are just the tip of the digital iceberg when it comes to software-based tools available today to help writers throughout the scriptwriting process.
This seminar will cover the variety of software available to screenwriters, from the familiar to the obscure; across the many platforms they are available for ? PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, etc. By comparing and contrasting their capabilities and limitations, you will leave with a better understanding of what tools are out there that can help you write more efficiently and effectively as well as which ones will or won't work for your particular needs and writing style.
Some of the types of software we will cover include:
* Script editors/formatters
* Plot and Structure aids
* Character development tools
* Brainstorming tools
* Genre guides and templates
* Collaboration tools
* Pre-production / production tools
* Submission trackers
* Visualization / storyboarding tools
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Steve Carter
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SCREENPLAYS THAT SELL -- Beyond the Three-Act Structure
Three-Act Structure is easy - beginning, middle, and end - we're done, right? WRONG! In this Seminar you'll discover how act structure really works, why it's important to know, and how it can improve your writing and your ability to discover what's not working. And you'll find out why many of the most popular films are in 4 acts, even 5, 6, and 7.
And then there are the rare 2-act films. Not a simplistic template, act structure is the heart and soul of quality film storytelling, and a deeper knowledge of it can be used to propel the story forward, deepen character development, make your story satisfying, and finally, help you sell your script.
Not for use in European art films, "Screenplays That Sell" is for those wanting to write compelling, provocative, audience-satisfying, sell-ready scripts.
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Jay Durrwachter
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Free Your Characters, Free Your Story
Storytelling is about people living the same lives we live, experiencing the same emotions we experience, facing the same challenges we face. Storytelling is about fully embodied people who are more than characters. It's about audiences who experience their lives through our characters. Learn new ways to discover who your characters are and how they're living their stories. Learn to create rich, true-to-life characters and to give them the free will they need to propel your stories from the mundane to the magical, from the predictable to the unexpected. Come prepared to write.
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Mark David Gerson
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Writing with Emotion
We are often focused on coming up with the concept, moving the story forward, finding the beats and ultimately, the end of our little moment in time. As we emphasize the 'A' plot (a character has a need or desire and must take action) we tend to neglect the real reason we care about stories or watch movies which is the 'B' plot (a character makes choices based on their internal needs and desires). We watch wondering if the character will succeed. In A Beautiful Mind, John Nash wants to solve a great math problem to prove he matters but his unconscious desire is to express his heart. His "inner life" is revealed. In this seminar, we will look inside several Hollywood characters and examine the external vs. internal factors that drive story to an art form of transformation.
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Rich Henrich
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Using Archetypes to Ignite Your Creativity, Your Characters, and Your Screenplays
Do you ever struggle with flat, two-dimensional characters? Do your characters refuse to tell you what they must do to keep your story moving forward? The shadow and light aspects of the four survival archetypes are active in our own lives every day. These same archetypes can assist you in developing your most believable, compelling, and engaging characters.
Why study archetypes? Archetypes are an essential element in the creative process. Understanding archetypes gives you the tools to animate your characters and bring their energy to life. You?ll learn about yourself and your characters through the prism of archetypes while sharpening your ability to create captivating, gripping, and character-driven screenplays. This seminar will help you:
Identify and define the four survival archetypes: victim, child, prostitute, and saboteur.
Recognize other key archetypes: knight, damsel, queen, mentor, shape shifter, vampire, villain, hermit, hedonist, rebel, femme fatale and others.
Create a nuanced vision of your characters? light and shadow aspects, frequently the basis of character arc.
Learn how characters use their archetypes to announce who they are in the first 10 pages.
Recognize and use archetypal voices, vocabulary, and body language.
Use archetypal information to transform character development.
Identify archetypal characteristics and their stories in films such as "Erin Brokovich," "Cast Away," "The Wizard of Oz," and "Titanic."
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Jane Lee
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Art of the 5-Minute Pitch
In This Seminar you will learn how to relax as you make that first pitch or fine-tune the pitches you've already practiced.
To get you prepared for The Hollywood Connection, Steve will help to ensure that your delivery is smooth and your pitch is effective. It's all in knowing how.
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Steve Davis
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7:00 AM -
8:30 AM
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Saturday
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Writing Warm-Up
Join Anne's early morning writing warm-ups to center yourself for the day. Bring pen and paper and keep the hand moving on the page. Write who you are and what you feel in a safe, encouraging environment. Anne's workshop creates a buzz at each year's conference. She is back by popular demand.
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Anne Randolph
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10:00 AM -
12:00 PM
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Saturday
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Art of the 5-Minute Pitch
In This Seminar you will learn how to relax as you make that first pitch or fine-tune the pitches you've already practiced.
To get you prepared for The Hollywood Connection, Steve will help to ensure that your delivery is smooth and your pitch is effective. It's all in knowing how.
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Steve Davis
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This list of seminars
is based on the availability of the instructors
and is subject to change without notification.
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