Specialization in Professional Screenwriting for Film

How to watch a movie analytically

As future screenwriters, we're going to look at films analytically to extract their premise, their basic structure, and how the writer used their narrative tools.

The idea

We'll begin by searching for our film's idea to come up with a clear, concise, and workable definition. In this lesson, I'll show you how to find it.

16m

Characters

Finally, it's time to create interesting and effective characters. We'll also define the relationships between them.

In this lesson, we'll begin creating the basic structure of the story by focusing on character introduction, the story's plot point, and its first twist.

First act: the approach

Second act: develop midpoint and second turn

Next, I'm going to teach you how to write the second act of the film, the longest and most complex of all, in which we develop the conflicts outlined in the presentation.

Third act: climax and denouement

Finally, I'm going to show you the best way to write the third and final act of your movie, from creating a climax to designing a resolution that works.

Narrative elements: point of view, temporality and space

In this lesson I will reflect on the point of view and the notion of time and space in which we want our story to take place.

Now let's write. We'll give literary form to a brief synopsis that tells the film's plot in a clear and well-organized way.

The plot synopsis

Finally, I'll teach you how to define the creative universe that connects with each project. Visual and narrative references can help us both work on our film and deliver it to others.

Visual references

Singularize a project: style marks

In this lesson, I'll show you some resources that can make your project unique and give it a more personal feel.

How to sell the project

Finally, I'll explain what to do with the document once we've finished it. I'll explain the different options, from how to continue writing it to its possible commercial sale.

Module 3

Discover with Daniel Tubau an essential tool to keep your ideas from getting lost along the way. Using the step-by-step outline, you'll learn to shape your story step by step, with clarity and purpose. A simple yet powerful technique for turning your thoughts into scripts that really work.

12 lessons (1h 29m)

What is a step outline?

In this lesson, I'll explain what a script is and how a screenwriter works. We'll also cover the purpose of the step-by-step outline you'll learn to develop in this course.

Find a story to tell

To create a step-by-step outline, you first need to find something to tell. If you're stuck for ideas, don't worry; in this lesson, I'll teach you some tricks for finding them. I'll show you how I find an idea to start building the step-by-step outline.

Turn the story into a story

The same story can be told in many ways, which is why we must distinguish between a story and a narrative. The first thing we need to do is select what we want to tell. By the end of this lesson, your story will have become a first synopsis of your narrative, which you can use to outline the steps.

Develop the outline of steps

In this lesson, we'll begin creating the outline of the steps. Let's work quickly and without fear. Now, the important thing is to move forward and not worry about doing things right: making mistakes is allowed and, moreover, highly recommended.

Improve outline and overcome creative blocks

We're now starting to have a step-by-step outline. Now let's try to complete it from start to finish, even if we do it wrong, because now we're going to learn how to do things wrong. By the end of this lesson, you'll have your first step-by-step outline, even if it's a bad one!

Perfectionism in the early stages of creating a step outline (and even a script) can be our worst enemy. It's better to do it wrong. In this lesson, I'll explain how to do it wrong.

Do the wrong thing

Creating your outline from start to finish

It's very important that you complete your step outline from start to finish as quickly as possible, at least in an imperfect first draft. In this lesson, I'll explain why.

The viewer is the protagonist of your script

One of the biggest mistakes a screenwriter can make is not thinking about the viewer, focusing only on what happens to the characters and forgetting that the most important thing in a script is what happens to the viewer. In this lesson, I'll teach you how to put yourself in your audience's shoes and think about the impact you can have on them.

15m

Narrative tricks and techniques

In this lesson, we'll delve into narrative steps and understand how they can serve many purposes and fulfill all kinds of functions in the structure. Using them will make your story more interesting and complex.

A screenwriter has to think sequentially, that is, in blocks that connect to each other. That's why we need to change our way of storytelling and think not in a continuous way, but in segments. In this lesson, I'll tell you how.

Think sequentially

Think visually

Next, I'm going to talk about another characteristic of a good screenwriter: the ability to think audiovisually. You have to think in images (moving) and sound. Let's apply this way of thinking to the script.

From the outline of steps to the script

Now that you have an outline of the steps and have reviewed it with the viewer and the sequential and audiovisual language in mind, you can begin writing your script with confidence. This is how professional screenwriters do it, especially in television, where they have to face writing new scripts week after week.

Module 4

With Julio Rojas as your companion, you'll discover how to transform that idea floating around in your head into a solid, narratively powerful story. Using his "Script Folder" method, he'll guide you through giving structure and life to your stories with practical tools and a unique perspective on the creative process.

25 lessons (4h 45m)

Choosing what to tell

In this lesson, I'll talk about my method for discarding an idea, an anecdote, and a story with the potential to be told. I'll also show you how I apply this to the feature film project I'll be developing during the course.

I'll tell you about the importance of understanding the types and classifications of stories, so you'll understand the specific elements that need to be addressed in your narrative.

The types of stories

In this lesson I will teach you what the plot really is, how to extract it from within a story, and why it is so important.

The base argument

Narrator and point of view

In this lesson, I'll teach you the theory of narrators and points of view through a nomenclature I use to make writing a less confusing process. I'll also share some considerations for composing situations from a specific point of view.

Understanding the structure that forms the plot of a story is a valuable guide for designing the structural elements of a script. In this lesson, I'll describe some key elements that make up the structure, so they can be used to reshape a story.

The great drawing

20m

The script as a system

In this lesson, I'll tell you why a screenplay is like an organic system, and how each of its narrative elements interacts with each other in a functional and integrated way.

Physical universe

In this lesson, I'll teach you what the physical universe of a film is, and how important the environment is to storytelling.

I'll teach you the importance of objects in a script, and how these small, almost invisible elements are important carriers of narrative information.

Narrative objects

Characters are the most important element of the system, and I'll show you how they interact with it, and how each character fulfills multiple roles at once.

The Character I

In this lesson, we'll look at the importance of working on the types of emotional cores and how they shape a character.

The Character II

The broken arrow: Vectors

In this lesson I'll talk about —the most important dynamic in a screenplay. You also learn about like dramatic progression vectors and .

In this lesson I will describe the main narrative devices, such as time changes, the counterclock , the suspense , the surprise and the planting , among others.

Narrative devices

Time alteration

In this lesson, I will show you ways to modify the film time of a movie, using tools such as flashback , flashforward , mockups and flashSide .

Time trial and anecdote

In this lesson, I'll show you how to use time warp, anecdote, surprise, and suspense to alter the subjective perception of your story; and you'll see how they play with emotion.

In this lesson, I will tell you about the concept of dissociation and hacks to recombine elements, and thus generate memorable situations.

Harmonic dissociation

Narrative units

I will teach you what a narrative unit is and its different possibilities: scene , sequence , phase , act . I will show you its rules, its most common types and certain hacks for writing it.

The scene and its structure

In this lesson, I'll talk about the screenplay cell: the scene . I'll tell you what its anatomy is and why, like a cell, it's the structural building block of the system.

The sequence and its structure

I will teach you what a narrative is; its different possibilities, the most common , and for writing it.

Combining narrative units

In this lesson, I'll show you what happens when you combine narrative units , and how that choice alters the dynamics of the story and is associated with some specific genres.

Plot formats

In this lesson, I will teach you all the format expressions in which you can express your argument , so that you know how to use them in your writing process.

Logline, storyline and synopsis

In this lesson I will tell you the particularities of the logline , the storyline and the synopsis , and I will show you how I use them as a guide to define importance when writing.

The scale and the treatment

I will teach you what a script outline is and how to build it, and I will give you the keys to building what is perhaps the most important stage in development: the treatment .

In this lesson, I'll teach you what objective is; we'll look at the five parts of a script and the rules of .

The script format

In this lesson, I'll show you how to write a scene in screenwriting software like Final Draft , and what rules you shouldn't forget, no matter which program you use.

Writing tools

Managing the script folder

Now that we have the script folder complete, I'll show you how I manage the creative process with it. You'll see how useful it can be!

What story do we want to tell

Module 5

Imagine a story that grows like a tree: with strong roots and free branches. This is how Alejandra Moffat works, showing you how to create a solid outline for a short film, exploring conflicts, characters, themes, and structures that will allow you to write freely and deeply, without losing your way.

12 lessons (2h 46m)

First, I'll explain how observation can help us find characters and actions that interest us. Then, by reviewing your brainstorming, we'll begin to define the story you want to develop. I'll explain how writing is about connecting ideas and how structuring is about creating a universe that sustains that connection.

Distinguish the nature of an idea

Before moving forward with the development of our stories, we need to know whether they correspond to a short film or a feature-length idea. To do this, I'll explain the difference between a plot and a subplot, and how to develop ideas that can comfortably live in the short film format.

The first ingredients - Part 1

I'll explain what a conflict is and the types of conflicts we can encounter for characters. I'll explain the difference between starting a structure from the beginning, middle, or end. I'll also explain the types of endings we can encounter in relation to the internal journeys the characters experience. I'll show you how to apply this theory to the development of your project.

The First Ingredients - Part 2

Plot Design - Part 1

You'll learn to narrow down a theme to a premise that becomes a navigational compass that will transform and deepen the action, outlining the path to follow. You'll also learn to describe your characters, both main and supporting, ensuring that this description is useful for the development of the action.

Plot Design - Part 2

Construction from start to finish

Now that you've defined your character's journey, you'll begin working with a timeline, that is, designing what happens first and what happens next in our story. This will be the beginning of our outline: generating an order of events: Beginning - Middle - End. This order will progress the action, change our character, and develop the conflict we want to explore.

The art of creating a structure with images and sounds

In this lesson, I'll show you how to design an audiovisual scene: image and sound. What instructions are necessary and what types of descriptions are unnecessary. How scenes create a rhythm that can be easily graphed and altered for optimal performance. To do this, we'll begin developing some scenes from our outline.

In this lesson, I'll explain how dialogue works in film. We'll also cover when to start and when to cut the action in a scene, how ellipsis works, how sequences are generated, and how we achieve good pacing. All of this applies to our storyboard.

The cut of the scenes

19m

The details of rewriting an outline - Part 1

Writing is always about revising and correcting. As many times as necessary. To revise, we can ask ourselves some very basic questions and see how easily we answer them after all the work we've done: Who? What? How? When? Why?

The details of rewriting an outline - Part 2

We continue the revision and rewriting process. By the end of this lesson, we'll have our outline on paper to review and add any necessary scenes.

Write for a production team

The script will serve as a guide for the entire production team, so it's essential that it reflects the film's tone and the relationship we want to establish with the viewer. We'll review our outline, delving into the tone we want for our script and the relationship we want to establish with a future viewer.

19m

Module 6

Sometimes the most powerful part of a story isn't its entirety, but its individual parts. Julio Rojas will show you how to write scenes and sequences that not only build a narrative, but also excite, move, and propel the plot forward. Learn to create bite-sized pieces full of life and meaning.

18 lessons (4h 15m)

Narrative units

A story is endless. It could take years to tell an everyday story because there are so many points of view, situations, and details. You unconsciously select fragments, and the sum of those fragments gives us the complete idea of the story. In short, you select narrative units. In this lesson, I'll teach you the two types of narrative units that exist: the autonomous narrative unit, also known as the scene; and the composite narrative unit, or sequence.

What to tell and what not? Ellipsis

It's impossible to write a scene or sequence without deciding what to leave in and what to leave out. In this lesson, I'll teach you ellipsis as a narrative device.

Not all scenes are the same, and not all serve the same purpose. Now I'll show you the five basic types of scenes: emotional scenes, informational scenes, movement scenes, informational scenes, and transition scenes. You'll see what elements they comprise and what subjective reaction they generate in the viewer.

Scene types

I'll teach you the basic types of sequences, also called compound narrative units, and you'll see how they're used to narrate most of the circumstances present in stories.

Specific sequences

The scene notebook

I'll show you one of the tools I use in my work as a screenwriter and writer: the scene notebook, a document that will help you design and compose each scene.

Scene elements: the character

The character's journey within the scene could be represented as a journey; one that can be represented as a line of action that crosses time and space. In this lesson, I'll delve into this fundamental element and teach you how to combine it with one of the tools I use: the conflict matrix, which will help you gradually shape the final project for the course.

19m

Scene elements: the implant

An implant is a physical object that a character typically desires or rejects, with which they come into conflict, or that becomes an ally in the scene. In this lesson, you'll learn to analyze the role of this element.

Scene elements: physical universe

You'll see how the character can not only confront another character or interact with an implant, but can also fight or be in harmony with the physical universe, which is the environment or supporting field through which the action in the scene unfolds.

The conflict on the scene

A narrative unit usually presents one of three elements (characters, implants, physical universe) in a clash of forces. "Something versus something" seems to be the DNA of every scene. In this lesson, I'll teach you the importance of developing conflict and show you some examples of how to work with it.

Assembling the scene notebook 1

You already know how to complete the scene notebook, so in this lesson I'll show you my process for completing what you need to design the five scenes and a sequence for your final project.

Assembling the scene notebook 2

I will continue teaching you how to work with your scene notebook so you can create your own.

Working the modulators of the scene

You'll learn how to review some elements that can alter scenes to create effects for the viewer, such as emotion, movement, resistance, circulation, and time signatures. If you're building scenes, you'll want to know these!

Working harmonic dissociation

We're used to scene elements having a coherent relationship between characters, plots, and the dramatic universe. However, a harmonious dissociation can always be generated by combining seemingly unrelated elements to create memorable scenes. In this lesson, I'll show you how to use one of my tools: the harmonic dissociation matrix.

15m

Writing format rules

In this lesson, I'll teach you the rules of script formatting, including script formatting areas such as headings, character names, dialogue, action, and transitions. I'll also explain the main technical tools of one of the leading professional screenwriting programs: Final Draft.

For many, the image of a blank page can be daunting, and that's why the tools I showed you exist! Now I'll share with you my creative and technical process for writing the scenes you've been working on in the course.

Writing scenes

I'll show you how to write a specific sequence, always referring to your scene notebook to find the most originality possible.

Script writing

Rewriting and final considerations 1

You're almost done with the project, but the details are always crucial. It's time to take your scenes and your written sequence and begin the rewriting process.

Rewriting and final considerations 2

You'll learn how to complete the final details to get your script ready.

Telling Without Intermediaries

Module 7

Words can be knives, caresses, or silences that speak volumes. With Jimena Eme Vázquez, you'll learn to shape dialogues that reveal, move, and advance the story without forcing it. You'll explore the rhythm, intention, and unique voice of each character to create scenes that resonate long after they've been read.

14 lessons (1h 51m)

In this lesson, we'll look at the characteristics that differentiate dialogue from narrative according to Aristotle's Poetics, and I'll also tell you about the elements that make up drama.

Dosing Information

In this lesson, I'll talk about the differences in dialogue based on the amount of information it contains, and the qualities that scenes can acquire through this dosage.

Character Systems

In this lesson, I'll talk about the systems I design to establish relationships and dynamics between characters, which can help you identify conflicts.

Story Design Based on the Character System

In this lesson, I'm going to decide which system I want to use to create my story and begin to build and inquire from it.

Definition of the Story

In this lesson, we'll answer some questions that arise from the proposed character system and create a timeline to make it easier to pinpoint the moments in which our dialogues will occur.

Collection of Lines and References

In this lesson I'm going to characterize and prepare the voices of my characters so they can begin to speak.

Types of Hierarchies in a Dialog (Dialog 1)

In this lesson, I'm going to start putting the characters into dialogue, and I'll talk to you about the hierarchy established between them and how we can use it in constructing a dialogue.

The Environment in a Dialogue (Dialogue 2)

In this lesson we will see how to describe the characters' physical surroundings through what they say.

More Than Two Characters Speaking Simultaneously (Dialogue 3)

In this lesson we will see how to manage simultaneous conversations within the dialog.

Monologue (Dialogue 4)

In this lesson, I'll talk about monologues, their possibilities, and the differences between them and other types of narratives.

Dialogue Reformulation

In this lesson, I will explain how I revise dialogues and how I reword certain sentences or entire lines to make them more complex.

Listening to Your Characters

In this lesson, we'll listen to one of the scenes in other people's voices to correct it and distinguish some things that may have escaped our attention.