| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | 30 minute script: This script will be based on the outline. | 70% |
| Semester Assessment | Outline 3,000 words: An outline original idea for a story. | 30% |
On completion of this module, students should be able:
Students will learn the skills necessary to select and apply structures suitable for various genres and styles of film and broadcast writing. The module introduces genre, which will be the primary focus of next semester's research, and provides students with skills they will need to outline and script their own creative projects in the third semester.
This module provides students with the rationale behind the use of an established story structure in creative scriptwriting, as well as an understanding of a range of structures used in the film and broadcast media. It tracks the cultural and social evolution of "Flexi-Narratives" and analyses their creative application today, primarily within soap, serial and comedy, but with an overview of other formats as well. The module will offer relevant guidance in writing to commonly established media formats, and explore where the opportunities lie for writers within the field. It will study the constraints placed upon the writer, and discuss the application of individual creativity within other people's guidelines. The lectures will examine different styles of story construction, and discuss the ways in which each serves the purposes of the genre to which it is applied.
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Communication | Communication and presentation skills will actively be developed in the seminars, as students discuss films and television programmes in the light of the structures we have studied, and present their own work to the module co-ordinator and each other. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | Students are expected to drive their own learning and to develop their own unique creative approaches. |
| Information Technology | Students will be required to make full use of the library facilities and master the computer-based script formats. |
| Problem solving | This element is not assessed directly, however all scriptwriting involves problem solving: what type of character will best convey a particular theme? What plot devices will most effectively propel the story to the next plot point? The effectiveness with which the author has solved problems is evident in the quality of the finished product. |
| Research skills | The outline and critical assessment will reflect the student's ability to read widely and to view television and cinema with a critical eye. They will have to apply this knowledge to make informed decisions about their own work. |
| Subject Specific Skills | Students who wish to pursue careers as scriptwriters have the chance to further develop work from this module in semester three of the degree scheme. The finished product will then form their first spec script to present to agents and producers. |
| Team work | Students will have the opportunity to access and give feedback on each other's work. |
This module is at CQFW Level 7