FILM-100: Understanding Screenplays

"I don't expect directors to know how to write, but I do expect them to know how to read." - Billy Wilder. "You call yourself a writer?" -- Arne Sultan, sitcom show runner and former roomate of Lenny Bruce, to Ron Osborn This required seminar for all film majors will familiarize students with the industry-standard form and function of motion picture and television single-camera screenplays. We will cover how story, character, tone, and emotion are articulated on the page using a very specific format designed to communicate visually, with a unique shorthand descriptive style. Writing a script in proper format is essential for writers; understanding how and why screenplays look and read as they do is equally essential for all filmmakers.