Become a better advocate for your own film through in-depth character and theme-based story structure analysis of Sunset Boulevard, Network, Parasite, The Farewell and Joker.
Re-inspire your own screenwriting through in-depth study of masterworks:
Sunset Boulevard, Network, Parasite, The Farewell and Joker
See how these five films utilize conventional structure and then go way beyond to make their unique mark on the world. Here’s your opportunity to:
This method of analysis is for writers, directors and producers interested in doing deep character exploration and/or making an impactful statement about the state of our world. It’s for creatives who want to hone their craft while expanding their artistic freedom.
Registration closes on Tuesday, May 16th, 11:59 pm Pacific Time.
The course begins with an introductory call on Wednesday, May 17th, at 1:00 pm Pacific Time.
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Full refund up to 14 days into the course, no questions asked.
I am a screenwriting instructor of over 20 years with a specialty in script analysis. I have lectured at The New School and School of Visual Arts in New York and Pixar and Lucasfilm in the San Francisco Bay Area, and with the Sundance Institute online. I studied at Columbia University under Frank Daniel with additional coursework in the history of drama at NYU. Previously, I was a journalist reporting on American independent film for Filmmaker, Premiere, The Village Voice, Screen International, Sight and Sound and Ms. Magazine. You can learn more about my approach to teaching screenwriting at www.screentakes.com.
Here are Jennine’s answers to some questions you may be wondering about:
When I work with students and clients helping them develop their screenplays, I do my best to explain why this or that choice will better serve a particular scene or the overall structure. Then I hope they will carry that story principle forward into the rest of their work. But I often see them struggling to do so. Overtime I have come to understand the reason why: They have not yet developed their narrative instincts.
If I explain a story principle to you, you will have an intellectual knowledge of it. But when you go to apply it, you have to think about it. If, on the other hand, I can help you have an instinctual knowledge of that story principle, you don’t have to think about it. You do it automatically. You make a good choice because it feels right. Then you might think about why it feels right and how it could be made better. This is the conscious/unconscious dance that is the creative process. We have all been taught to value our intellectual capacities. But, in the creative process, what is more important is your ability to make a good choice because it feels right. That capacity is determined by your narrative instincts.
It’s a long and complicated road to writing a good screenplay. It takes many drafts, a lot of trial and error and much putting it in front of people to see how they respond. But you can help yourself on that journey by cultivating your own inner compass to help guide you. With well-developed narrative instincts, you will know on a gut level whether a new idea bubbling up from your unconscious is worthy of pursuit. You will know your story needs to speed up here, slow down there, take a new turn or cut to the chase. You will still need to put it in front of people for feedback, but when you hear their responses, you are more likely to have an instinctive idea how to solve the problems.
It is widely held that by watching many, many movies or reading stacks and stacks of scripts, the art and craft of those works will seep into your unconscious and inform your work. To some degree, that’s true. But passively watching and reading will only get you so far. The more effective way to inform your work with art and craft is to engage in active study of the masterful films. In an odd twist, it takes conscious effort to enrich your unconscious knowledge so your effort need no longer be entirely conscious.
