ScreenLab: Breaking The Rules

ScreenLab: Breaking The Rules

Scripts that stand out from the crowd have to break the rules.

In this inspiring and challenging one-day workshop for writers of all levels of experience we will take you through the essential rules of screenwriting for film and TV and then show you which rules you must keep to, and which you must break, for your individual script -

- and why.

With constructive analysis, clips, free scripts and advice to help you to produce a script which is truly exceptional.

The day

We begin with a useful overview of the basic rules of Three Act Structure, and then ask why Three Act Structure is so popular. And what does a writer do if the script does not fit into that shape? Many kinds of stories do not automatically fit into the cookie-cutter mould, from true stories and biopics through to scripts which seek to tell stories in fresh and innovative ways.

We see examples of successful films that work brilliantly in two acts, five acts, seven acts, no acts, twelve episodes and thirty two! However breaking the "rule" of Three Acts does not merely involve ignoring it. We provide you with a number of tools that will help you understand the structure of your film or TV series, and create the right structural shape for the story you are telling.

We will also examine the five types of flashback structure to see how they can be used (and sometimes misused) in the writing process. How do you keep a script coherent and involving when you are telling a story in non-linear time?

In the process you will develop a much stronger and insightful knowledge of the functioning of script structure, whether you break away from standard structure, or even decide that three acts is right for you after all.

From structure we move on to examine the other fundamental screenwriting rules. What are the rules that underpin the construction of strong scenes? What do expect to see in the best-written characters? What are the rules of dialogue and description?

Here too, we investigate not just what the rules are, but why the rules exist, why might we need to break them - and how? What if you need a scene that is constructed in an unusual way? How do you cope with unusual characters - unattractive, or unmotivated, or unconventional in other ways? What about dual or multiple protagonists? When should you use unconventional dialogue? Voice-over? What if you want to write long speeches? Or very short ones? And what if you want to script a movie or TV show with a very unusual visual look?

Throughout the day, we will be looking at the rules through a succession of examples of successful rule-breakers - in fact we will find that every successful film or TV production has to keep some of the rules and break others. We will also be giving you direct feedback on your own work if you wish, helping you deal with your particular script problems and see what rules are relevant to you and why.

You will leave with an intelligent and solid grounding in the fundamental rules of writing screenplays and an advanced understanding of how you can make them work for you to create fresh and exciting new works.

Includes

• Three Act Structure
• Multi-Act Structure
• Episodic Structure
• No-scene scenes
• Unconventional characters
• Unusual dialogue