Miami Screenwriting School 1-Year Program

REVIEW OF THE SOUTH BEACH, MIAMI, SCREENWRITING PROGRAM

The New York Film Academy recognizes the critical role writers play in the creation of every film and television show. Screenwriting is a learned craft, which relies on more than talent alone. A script writer must write every day to train for the demands of this field, and to truly understand the elements that make a screenplay or teleplay functional and engaging.

In addition to teaching the conventions of script writing craft, NYFA Screenwriting School's one-year conservatory program gives you the support and structure you need to write and meet deadlines. Students write intensively throughout the course and complete several projects, with the assistance of constructive critique from instructors as well as peers.

WHAT MAKES OUR SCREENWRITING PROGRAMS UNIQUE?

In the program, students write two feature-length screenplays and one television "spec" script, along with a number of treatments. The craft of screenwriting is explored through courses in both screenplay/script analysis and film studies. Students are assigned several writing projects, and their work is subject to critique from instructors and peers during in-class writing workshops. As part of this fully integrated program, students also delve into related areas of filmmaking that help to improve their screenplays, such as: putting them into a real-world context, studying film craft, acting, pitching, and cinema studies -- all while continuing in-depth writing classes. Screenwriting students also write, direct, and edit a short digital film or a scene from a feature script.

Upon completion of the screenwriting program, students not only understand story structure, character, conflict, and dialogue, but also leave NYFA’s Screenwriting School with finished products that they can pitch, produce, and sell.

MIAMI SCREENWRITING PROGRAM - SEMESTER ONE OVERVIEW

Screenwriters are cinematic storytellers. The genesis of any film project is an idea or concept that must be fleshed out into a fully formed screenplay deemed worthy of production. During semester one, conservatory students are introduced to the screenwriter's tools, and develop the skills necessary for script writing. Standard formatting and industry expectations are studied and analyzed during writing workshops and lectures. Students are encouraged to be creative and to think of the screenplay as the definitive industry tool used to articulate an idea or concept to a production team - including producers, financiers, directors, and actors.

SEMESTER ONE OBJECTIVES

LEARNING GOALS

• WGA format and copyright law.
• In-depth study of classic screenplay structure, character arcs, theme, conflict, flashbacks, voiceover, subtext, style, tone, visualization, discipline, and genre.
• Critical concepts in film history.
• Theory and practice of acting to understand good dialogue and appropriate behavior.

WRITING GOALS

• Write a treatment for a feature length film.
• Write an outline for a feature length film.
• Write a first draft of a speculative ("spec") feature length screenplay.

MIAMI SCREENWRITING PROGRAM - SEMESTER TWO OVERVIEW

The second semester of the one-year screenwriting program challenges students to develop their craft artistically and technically, and to go beyond their earlier experiments with the feature length screenplay. In an advanced workshop, students may choose between revising the screenplay draft written in the first semester or beginning work on a new feature length screenplay. Students are expected to share revised or newly written material in workshops. Semester two, script writing courses broaden their understanding of the medium and develop additional material for television writing.

SEMESTER TWO OBJECTIVES

LEARNING GOALS

• Fundamentals of film directing.
• In-depth look at treatment writing.
• In-depth study of the pitch.
• Standard conventions of TV writing.

WRITING GOALS

• Revise draft of "spec" - or write a new "spec" script.
• Direct a short film or scene.
• Write and perform a pitch.