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LinkedIn Learning

Learning Screenwriting

via LinkedIn Learning

Overview

Walks through the process of getting your screenplay idea out of your head and onto the printed page.

Syllabus

Introduction
  • Welcome
  • Overview of the course
1. You've Got an Idea, Now What?
  • Think like a screenwriter
  • Figuring out your story's scope
  • Understanding suspense, drama, and conflict
  • Basic character construction
  • Overcoming defensiveness
2. Laying the Foundations for Your Story
  • The end comes first: Your story's event
  • The beginning: What's the status quo?
  • The three-act structure
  • Locating your plot twists
3. Act One: The Buildup
  • Introducing your protagonist
  • Superpowers and kryptonite
  • Your characters's desires
  • Who are your supporting players?
  • The routine killer: Your first plot twist
  • Should I stay or should I go?
  • The act one plot twist: Saying goodbye to the comfort zone
4. Act Two: The Adventure
  • Why adventure?
  • Your plot thickeners: Adding two new twists
  • The need for obstacles
  • How high are your stakes?
  • Status shifts and reversals of fortune
  • The first plot thickener: This is getting serious
  • The halfway point
  • The second plot thickener: The crisis
  • Preparing your character for resolution
  • The act two plot twist: The great revelation
5. Act Three: The Resolution
  • How should act three open?
  • The decisive confrontation (AKA the climax)
  • Your story's event, in all its glory
  • Aftermaths, epilogues, and twist endings
6. Screenplay Fundamentals
  • One page = one minute of screen time
  • Screenplay page layout
  • Advanced formatting tips
  • Screen direction: What to include and what not to
7. Clearing the Legal Hurdles
  • Worry about the legalities now, not later
  • Has your movie been made already?
  • Adapting existing work
  • Public domain, fair use, and parody
  • Working with a cowriter
  • Being a work for hire
  • Registering for a copyright
Conclusion
  • Goodbye

Taught by

Mark Tapio Kines

Reviews

4.8 rating at LinkedIn Learning based on 272 ratings

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