This module introduces you to character development, narrative structure, screenplay conventions, and film analysis. The fundamentals of character development and its centrality within the screenwriting process as a whole will be examined through critical, theoretical and practical work. You will critically engage with produced feature-length scripts, analysing how a screenwriter has brought a character to life and considering whether any of these methods may be appropriate for your own creative practice. You will also engage in critical debate around the interpretation of a writer’s character(s) by actors and directors, and if any inferences can be made, particularly in terms of what influence a writer may be able to have on the final film through the language and screenwriting methods s/he employs.

Concurrently, your character development work will be informed by the theoretical study of mise-en-scene, cinematography, sound, editing, narrative structure and other key dramaturgical concepts. This study will primarily take the form of close analysis of selected screenplays, films and film clips.

The critical engagement with scripts from the Foundations of Screenwriting: Character Development, Story Structure and Film Analysis module will inform your creative work developed over the course of the module. You will complete a portfolio of character development work, including biographies, profiles, monologues, speeches, character environment, and short script exercises. In addition, the film industry development process for fiction will be introduced, and across the module, you will write industry-standard development documents such as synopses, outlines, treatments, beat-sheets, step-outlines, premises and pitches.

You will develop your knowledge and understanding of how film genres evolve and of the debates surrounding genre classification. You will develop in-depth knowledge of three to four key film genres and the codes and conventions associated with them through the critical analysis of a number of feature-length films and/or scripts. The genres studied may include, for example, horror, thriller, romantic comedy, western, or science fiction.

The differences in script conventions and dramatic principles of television and radio drama will be introduced via the critical study of key radio and television texts. You will apply and develop your knowledge of storytelling to the differing media of radio and television, and to recognise the various career paths (outside of film) open to new screenwriters. Complementing and informing the screenwriting work within the module will be the introduction of Film History as an academic discipline, providing you with the opportunity to engage in historical and contextual enquiry through the study of a diverse range of films from around the world

This module reinforces and builds on key screenwriting knowledge and skills learnt in the Radio, Television and Film Genre and History module, further enhances your understanding of film genres and radio and television drama. You will consider how genre can be used to reach a specific target audience and develop a writer’s voice and style. The critical study of genre from the Radio, Television and Film Genre and History module will inform your creative work, developed through workshops on a range of screenwriting tasks and exercises. These exercises will be designed to enable you to master the codes and conventions appropriate to various genres. Concurrently, you will develop a 45- to 60-minute radio play or television pilot, receiving regular formative feedback across the module.

The module will underpin subsequent screenwriting projects you undertake by ensuring you have a working knowledge of radio and television drama and have mastered generic conventions. This will then allow them to experiment with sub-genres and genre hybridity, and to consider, on a case-by-case basis, whether it is appropriate to adhere to or subvert generic conventions.

In the first half of the module, the focus will be primarily on textual study of three key genres (drama, sitcom and soap opera) in contemporary television and a range of short films. Each of these televisual categories will be examined in terms of your format, generic conventions and narrative structures. This will underpin the practical television writing you will undertake across the second half of this module and the Writing Television Pilots and Film Shorts module.

A diverse range of short films will be studied to ensure you have a sound grasp of the form, its possibilities, and its limitations. You will engage in a critical analysis of short film structure and narrative beats, character development, theme, genre, style, and dialogue to inform the development of your own short film outlines and beat sheets.

The module is designed as two intensive writing workshops, where you will have the opportunity to write a ten-minute short film in one and develop work for a sitcom, soap, or drama series/serial in the other. You will learn industry-standard practices, techniques, and methods involved in writing for each of the forms and formats through your own creative work and the group critique of peers’ work.

By the end of the module, you will have produced a number of drafts of a short film script and an episode (or an extract from a longer episode) in your chosen television format (and genre) with a series bible or pitch deck and/or supporting research documents in the case of soap. You will have the opportunity to put your short film scripts forward for production in the Filmmaking Theory and Practice: Avant-garde and Drama Production and Post-Production module, while the television work you will have developed will provide you with the necessary knowledge, understanding and skills to undertake a longer television project as your final script project in level six if you so wish.

This module is designed to develop your knowledge and understanding of theoretical and critical approaches to the study of film texts and consolidate your dramaturgical knowledge and screenwriting skills, particularly in relation to writing in the longer form. The module prepares you for more rigorous independent research for your level-six dissertation and for developing longer-form film ideas for your final projects.

Focusing on a range of film theories, approaches and methods that have been influential in the development of Film as an academic field, this module will enable you to examine various ideas, assumptions and procedures and try them out on a diverse range of films. Links between criticism, theory, practice, and creative work will be stressed throughout, with the overall aim of developing your critical abilities through close analysis of texts, drawing on appropriate theoretical and critical perspectives. Examining and trying out different approaches will further develop your capacities as independent learners and prepare you to make your own critical approach explicit when formulating your research proposal for the Level 6 Dissertation.

This module builds on the Research Methods, Advanced Screenwriting Skills, and Developing Feature Films module and is designed as an intensive writing workshop to introduce you to writing in the longer form and advance your page-writing skills. You will turn (the first act) of your feature-film outlines and treatments from the Research Methods, Advanced Screenwriting Skills, and Developing Feature Films module into script pages. Although you will not take these ideas through to fruition during this module, you will write longer scenes and sequences, focusing on scene objectives and turning points, setups and payoffs, emotional transitions, and scene, sequence and act climaxes. Through the drafting and redrafting of scenes and sequences, you should also begin to develop your own voice and style. The increased page count will also help build up your ‘writing muscles’ to ensure you can meet the challenges of producing a full-length film or multiple episodes of TV in the third year.

This module builds on the contextual and critical studies undertaken at levels four and five and provides your with the opportunity to explore a chosen area of Film Studies while continuing to develop your creative and conceptual research and development skills.

You will design and carry out a sustained and coherent piece of independent research in an area of scholarship that you wish to pursue. While every effort will be made to accommodate your choices, it is anticipated that the topics chosen will generally relate to work undertaken in previous modules or possibly in other level six modules. In each case, the work will draw on the appropriate methodological approaches introduced at levels four and five.

While undertaking a Film dissertation will initially work as a group with the Module Leader to formulate preliminary research proposals, consider the feasibility of the chosen research area, and propose an appropriate methodological approach. As well as meeting as a group to consider common research issues, you will then work independently, guided by specialist subject supervisors who will be assigned once proposals have been formulated. You will be encouraged to keep a reflective journal of your research activities, viewing and thought processes during the year, in order to discuss them within group and individual tutorials.

This module prepares you for the level six block three and four Final Project and Professional Practice module. You will be provided with the knowledge and skills to create a professional practice portfolio specific to your career aspirations. The module will support you in transitioning from higher education into the screen and creative industries and will also provide an opportunity for you to evaluate the transferable skills you have acquired across the degree course and how these can be applied across a variety of roles, sectors and industries.

This module builds on your knowledge of the development, story design, and outlining processes in screenwriting and is fundamentally concerned with generating ideas and the creative and practical processes involved in your realisation.

You will build on the initial development work undertaken in the Development and Research module to develop an idea for film, television, and/or radio. This idea will be for an extended screenwriting project, such as a feature film, television drama series, sitcom, or radio drama. Intensive weekly workshop and feedback sessions will be provided, during which you will submit development documents such as premises, outlines, treatments, step-outlines, synopses, and draft script pages for critique by their peers and the module tutor. By the end of the module, you should have a solid basis for the final project, which you will undertake in the level six block three and four final project modules. This evaluation of this project will form part of the class discussion and the summative assessment for this module.

This module builds on the development work from the level six block two module and represents the culmination of your creative and self-reflexive development in screenwriting. It provides an opportunity for you to write the original feature-length film script or the initial episodes and series outline for a television drama, sitcom, or radio drama you developed in the Autumn. On completion, you will be able to use this extended piece of work as a ‘calling card’ screenplay.

Regarding your final project work, you will work independently, meeting at set intervals with the group and module tutor to review and provide constructive criticism on one another’s work. You will work in ‘script buddy’ pairs or small groups and be assigned a supervisor from within the Film Team who will provide tutorial support. Script buddies will provide constructive feedback in the form of a professional-style script report as part of a formal assessment process, and will also work informally to support one another. You will also have the opportunity to receive feedback via a professional reader and/or script editor, who will provide an industry-standard reader’s report on your work.

This module introduces you to character development, narrative structure, screenplay conventions, and film analysis. The fundamentals of character development and its centrality within the screenwriting process as a whole will be examined through critical, theoretical and practical work. You will critically engage with produced feature-length scripts, analysing how a screenwriter has brought a character to life and considering whether any of these methods may be appropriate for your own creative practice. You will also engage in critical debate around the interpretation of a writer’s character(s) by actors and directors, and if any inferences can be made, particularly in terms of what influence a writer may be able to have on the final film through the language and screenwriting methods s/he employs.

Concurrently, your character development work will be informed by the theoretical study of mise-en-scene, cinematography, sound, editing, narrative structure and other key dramaturgical concepts. This study will primarily take the form of close analysis of selected screenplays, films and film clips.

The critical engagement with scripts from the Foundations of Screenwriting: Character Development, Story Structure and Film Analysis module will inform your creative work developed over the course of the module. You will complete a portfolio of character development work, including biographies, profiles, monologues, speeches, character environment, and short script exercises. In addition, the film industry development process for fiction will be introduced, and across the module, you will write industry-standard development documents such as synopses, outlines, treatments, beat-sheets, step-outlines, premises and pitches.

You will develop your knowledge and understanding of how film genres evolve and of the debates surrounding genre classification. You will develop in-depth knowledge of three to four key film genres and the codes and conventions associated with them through the critical analysis of a number of feature-length films and/or scripts. The genres studied may include, for example, horror, thriller, romantic comedy, western, or science fiction.

The differences in script conventions and dramatic principles of television and radio drama will be introduced via the critical study of key radio and television texts. You will apply and develop your knowledge of storytelling to the differing media of radio and television, and to recognise the various career paths (outside of film) open to new screenwriters. Complementing and informing the screenwriting work within the module will be the introduction of Film History as an academic discipline, providing you with the opportunity to engage in historical and contextual enquiry through the study of a diverse range of films from around the world

This module reinforces and builds on key screenwriting knowledge and skills learnt in the Radio, Television and Film Genre and History module, further enhances your understanding of film genres and radio and television drama. You will consider how genre can be used to reach a specific target audience and develop a writer’s voice and style. The critical study of genre from the Radio, Television and Film Genre and History module will inform your creative work, developed through workshops on a range of screenwriting tasks and exercises. These exercises will be designed to enable you to master the codes and conventions appropriate to various genres. Concurrently, you will develop a 45- to 60-minute radio play or television pilot, receiving regular formative feedback across the module.

The module will underpin subsequent screenwriting projects you undertake by ensuring you have a working knowledge of radio and television drama and have mastered generic conventions. This will then allow them to experiment with sub-genres and genre hybridity, and to consider, on a case-by-case basis, whether it is appropriate to adhere to or subvert generic conventions.

In the first half of the module, the focus will be primarily on textual study of three key genres (drama, sitcom and soap opera) in contemporary television and a range of short films. Each of these televisual categories will be examined in terms of your format, generic conventions and narrative structures. This will underpin the practical television writing you will undertake across the second half of this module and the Writing Television Pilots and Film Shorts module.

A diverse range of short films will be studied to ensure you have a sound grasp of the form, its possibilities, and its limitations. You will engage in a critical analysis of short film structure and narrative beats, character development, theme, genre, style, and dialogue to inform the development of your own short film outlines and beat sheets.

The module is designed as two intensive writing workshops, where you will have the opportunity to write a ten-minute short film in one and develop work for a sitcom, soap, or drama series/serial in the other. You will learn industry-standard practices, techniques, and methods involved in writing for each of the forms and formats through your own creative work and the group critique of peers’ work.

By the end of the module, you will have produced a number of drafts of a short film script and an episode (or an extract from a longer episode) in your chosen television format (and genre) with a series bible or pitch deck and/or supporting research documents in the case of soap. You will have the opportunity to put your short film scripts forward for production in the Filmmaking Theory and Practice: Avant-garde and Drama Production and Post-Production module, while the television work you will have developed will provide you with the necessary knowledge, understanding and skills to undertake a longer television project as your final script project in level six if you so wish.

This module is designed to develop your knowledge and understanding of theoretical and critical approaches to the study of film texts and consolidate your dramaturgical knowledge and screenwriting skills, particularly in relation to writing in the longer form. The module prepares you for more rigorous independent research for your level-six dissertation and for developing longer-form film ideas for your final projects.

Focusing on a range of film theories, approaches and methods that have been influential in the development of Film as an academic field, this module will enable you to examine various ideas, assumptions and procedures and try them out on a diverse range of films. Links between criticism, theory, practice, and creative work will be stressed throughout, with the overall aim of developing your critical abilities through close analysis of texts, drawing on appropriate theoretical and critical perspectives. Examining and trying out different approaches will further develop your capacities as independent learners and prepare you to make your own critical approach explicit when formulating your research proposal for the Level 6 Dissertation.

This module builds on the Research Methods, Advanced Screenwriting Skills, and Developing Feature Films module and is designed as an intensive writing workshop to introduce you to writing in the longer form and advance your page-writing skills. You will turn (the first act) of your feature-film outlines and treatments from the Research Methods, Advanced Screenwriting Skills, and Developing Feature Films module into script pages. Although you will not take these ideas through to fruition during this module, you will write longer scenes and sequences, focusing on scene objectives and turning points, setups and payoffs, emotional transitions, and scene, sequence and act climaxes. Through the drafting and redrafting of scenes and sequences, you should also begin to develop your own voice and style. The increased page count will also help build up your ‘writing muscles’ to ensure you can meet the challenges of producing a full-length film or multiple episodes of TV in the third year.

This module builds on the contextual and critical studies undertaken at levels four and five and provides your with the opportunity to explore a chosen area of Film Studies while continuing to develop your creative and conceptual research and development skills.

You will design and carry out a sustained and coherent piece of independent research in an area of scholarship that you wish to pursue. While every effort will be made to accommodate your choices, it is anticipated that the topics chosen will generally relate to work undertaken in previous modules or possibly in other level six modules. In each case, the work will draw on the appropriate methodological approaches introduced at levels four and five.

While undertaking a Film dissertation will initially work as a group with the Module Leader to formulate preliminary research proposals, consider the feasibility of the chosen research area, and propose an appropriate methodological approach. As well as meeting as a group to consider common research issues, you will then work independently, guided by specialist subject supervisors who will be assigned once proposals have been formulated. You will be encouraged to keep a reflective journal of your research activities, viewing and thought processes during the year, in order to discuss them within group and individual tutorials.

This module prepares you for the level six block three and four Final Project and Professional Practice module. You will be provided with the knowledge and skills to create a professional practice portfolio specific to your career aspirations. The module will support you in transitioning from higher education into the screen and creative industries and will also provide an opportunity for you to evaluate the transferable skills you have acquired across the degree course and how these can be applied across a variety of roles, sectors and industries.

This module builds on your knowledge of the development, story design, and outlining processes in screenwriting and is fundamentally concerned with generating ideas and the creative and practical processes involved in your realisation.

You will build on the initial development work undertaken in the Development and Research module to develop an idea for film, television, and/or radio. This idea will be for an extended screenwriting project, such as a feature film, television drama series, sitcom, or radio drama. Intensive weekly workshop and feedback sessions will be provided, during which you will submit development documents such as premises, outlines, treatments, step-outlines, synopses, and draft script pages for critique by their peers and the module tutor. By the end of the module, you should have a solid basis for the final project, which you will undertake in the level six block three and four final project modules. This evaluation of this project will form part of the class discussion and the summative assessment for this module.

This module builds on the development work from the level six block two module and represents the culmination of your creative and self-reflexive development in screenwriting. It provides an opportunity for you to write the original feature-length film script or the initial episodes and series outline for a television drama, sitcom, or radio drama you developed in the Autumn. On completion, you will be able to use this extended piece of work as a ‘calling card’ screenplay.

Regarding your final project work, you will work independently, meeting at set intervals with the group and module tutor to review and provide constructive criticism on one another’s work. You will work in ‘script buddy’ pairs or small groups and be assigned a supervisor from within the Film Team who will provide tutorial support. Script buddies will provide constructive feedback in the form of a professional-style script report as part of a formal assessment process, and will also work informally to support one another. You will also have the opportunity to receive feedback via a professional reader and/or script editor, who will provide an industry-standard reader’s report on your work.