SCREENWRITING SUMMER CAMP July 5th-11th, 2009

Session I: Script Craft - Building Your Fire (July 5-8)

(4 days - limited to 16 participants)

Attendees submit pages for immediate feedback, rewriting daily. Writers can choose to rework an existing script or outline a new project.

Activities include:

• Small groups (3-4 people) workshop pages each morning
• Unparalleled mentor commentary on your use of structure, character, plot, flow, and tone
• Large-group meetings for orientation and feedback
• One-on-one meetings with your mentor and other scheduled discussions
• An individualized outline of revisions to guide the writer's work post-camp

Benefits:

• Raise the level of your craft to write more effective screenplays
• Hone your ability to personalize scripts, including discovering your own voice and the heart of your work
• Benefit from a hands-on tackling of all issues for writing your projects, including multiple approaches to solving craft and structural problems
• Personal relationship-building time with mentors and fellow writers

Session II: Faster Than a Speeding Bullet - Targeting the Idea That Can Catapult Your Career (July 9-11)

(3 days - limited to 20 participants)

As George Lucas says, "A movie is a success or failure from the minute you solidify the concept." Because of this, Session II focuses on the most important aspect of a screenplay: its core concept.

In this session writers learn to develop compelling, cinematic story ideas as well as mastering the art of pitching. Whether your goal is to win contests, get representation, attract producers, directors and actors, find financing or have the big next spec sale - a powerful idea is needed to get you there.

Activities include:

• Evaluating a current project from a new perspective
• Discovering where to focus your time, energy and talent for maximum career impact
• Participating in simulated professional pitch meetings
• Pitching and re-pitching a story/script idea based on feedback from mentors and peers
• Developing your own set of screenwriting skills and tools that will help you navigate the film business
• Targeting an idea based on the marketplace, as well as your strengths and passions as a writer
• Finding the heart and strength of your story, developing its three act structure

Benefits for Participants:

• Gaining insight into your strengths and skills as a writer
• Learning new and realistic ways to evaluate your own craft and determine what stories and ideas have the most promise
• Finding the heart of the story as you practice/pitch it
• Understanding the industry's viewpoint of a project's quality in terms of financing/producing/representation
• Clarifying the steps needed to hone individual projects
• Learning general career and craft strategies to guide you in the coming weeks, months and years
• Accessing real-world information from practicing film/TV professionals
• Working on pitching and story ideas with real industry pros
• Walking away with a fully envisioned project that can take your career to the next level, as well as a new focus for the scripts you'll develop in the future

General Information

Camp is generally held around the Fourth of July weekend. Contact pampierce@cinestory.org for more details.

Requirements: Prior to camp, Session I writers will submit a work-in-progress, as well as bios and a summary of their writing experience. Session II writers will bring pitchable ideas to camp, as well as submitting bios and a summary of their writing experience.

Tuition

Session I $785
Session II $630
Both Sessions $1250

Lab Fee: $20 per session

Info & Registration: