The Master of Screenwriting is designed for those who have a desire to write audience-engaged stories for a visual medium and for people wishing to work as professional screenwriters.
Semester one is classroom-intensive and is an introduction to the many facets of screenwriting. You take part in ‘Storytelling Workshops’ which analyse the universal essentials of storytelling. You also attend lectures, classes and screenings dedicated to the craft of screenwriting and undertake intensive modules focusing on feature film and television writing.
Semester two focuses on writing a first draft of your major project. You develop your script with the assistance of script tutorials, feedback from your lecturer and peers, and a unique script development hothouse. During this semester you also gain skills in giving and receiving creative feedback on your scripts. A first draft feature screenplay, or a TV Bible plus episode(s) of a script, are the expected outcomes after first year.
In semester three you are expected to implement skills you have learned to focus on redrafting your major project as you complete a second or third draft. Script tutorials plus lecturer and peer feedback is maintained throughout. In this semester, you also learn about the Australian and international screenwriting landscape.
The Master in International Screenwriting and Production is a graduate program that aims at creating professional scriptwriters, story editors and producers, providing them with a thorough understanding of the audiovisual industry and a strong knowledge of the storytelling techniques, which are the heart of every project of feature film and television series.
The MISP is a full-time intensive course, with a maximum enrollment of 42 students. The diploma, issued by Università Cattolica, is recognized as a first level Master’s degree by the Italian Government.
The MISP will allow students to acquire the required knowledge to work in the entertainment industry, both as writers and/or professionals working in production or distribution companies, TV networks, talent agencies or as production assistants.
Students will receive a comprehensive and high level training which effectively combines the academic expertise of university professors with the professional know-how of high-ranking professionals with international profiles.
Graduates from the MISP are exposed to a wide range of career opportunities. Graduates have both the theoretical knowledge and the methodological tools suited to pursue professional and managerial careers as:
● Screenwriters or creative producers of television series and feature films;
● Authors of TV entertainment programs and documentaries, copywriters, creators of video games and web series, writers of comic books and novels and fiction editors in publishing companies;
● Story editors and script consultants;
● Supervisors of evaluation, acquisition and programming of TV shows;
● Professionals working in different areas of the television and film industry (physical production, distribution, acquisition, product placement, etc.)
Here is a list of some Professors and Guest Lecturers:
● Eleonora Andreatta - Director TV series and TV dramas for Rai Fiction
● Luca Bernabei, CEO Lux vide, Rome
● Armando Fumagalli, Director of the Master, professor of Semiotics and History of Cinema, UCSC; script consultant for Lux vide
● Robin Lyons - Animation Writer and Producer – Calon (UK)
● Luca Manzi - Writer for novel, theatre and television, and co-founder of the Master Program
● Cristiana Nobili - Director, Original Live Action Production, Disney Europe, Middle East and Africa (London)
● Paolo Sigismondi, professor of Global Entertainment, Annenberg School of Communication, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
● John Truby - Screenwriter and script doctor for Disney, Universal, Sony Pictures, Fox, HBO, BBC
● Screenwriting theory (8 ECTS/ CFU)
● Script analysis and project evaluation (8 ECTS/ CFU)
● Writing techniques for audiovisual products (12 ECTS/ CFU)
- Screenwriting practice: treatments, scenes and dialogues, scripts, pitches.
- The writing of genres and adaptation.
- Writing for different formats: comic books, novels, documentaries, entertainment TV shows, advertising, the web, mobile media, and transmedia projects.
- Screenwriting and production of animation projects.
● The audiovisual industry (4 ECTS/ CFU)
- Industries and audiences.
- TV acquisition and programming and film distribution
- The physical production: pre-production, shooting, post-production, contracts and budgeting.
● Communication ethics (4 ECTS/ CFU)
Three months before the end of theoretical classes, the students will have to choose between one of the following careers: screenwriting or production. The students, who choose the screenwriting career, will have to write and deliver a final project from which the writing abilities developed during the program should emerge. Typically,the final project takes the form of a script for a feature film, which can either be an original idea or an adaptation.
The final project can be written in English, Italian, French or Spanish. The students, who choose the production career, will have the opportunity to undertake an internship within an established production or distribution company, a TV network, an advertising agency or on a film set.
The MISP aims at providing its stu- dents with the adequate knowledge, wide-ranging skills and contacts to meet the requests of an increasingly global and varied audiovisual industry.
In previous years, alumni from MISP (which, until 2015, was taught in Italian: Master in Scrittura e produzione per la fiction e il cinema) have been working as writers and producers for top rating TV series and highly successful feature films, or as writers of best selling novels, published in many countries; many of them have been working in high-ranking audiovisual companies such as Cattleya, Disney, Endemol, Focus Features, Freman- tle, Lux Vide, Mediaset, RAI, SKY, among others. They work not only in Italy, but also in London, Los Angeles, Madrid, New York, Paris, etc.
Graduates from the MISP are exposed to a wide range of career opportunities. Graduates have both the theoretical knowledge and the methodological tools suited to pursue professional and managerial careers as:
All scholarships are assigned on a merit basis and will be mostly given to students who apply by the priority deadline. Some scholarships may also target specific geographic regions.
Scholarship value: €4500
Application closing date: August 10, 2018.
The only course of its kind offered by a Russell Group University, our MA in Screenwriting is an intensive one-year training programme designed to professionalise writers and present a genuine gateway into the film and television industries. Over the course of the year, students will work with leading industry practitioners to develop their screenwriting, pitching and story-breaking skills. By the end of the programme, each student will have developed a full length feature film screenplay, a pilot TV episode and two short films. Like all courses at the Centre for New Writing, this programme is taught by practitioners and as such it is vocationally-oriented and industry-focused. Students will have access to individual career guidance and training in how to navigate entry-level work in both the television and film industries.
The course includes regular speakers from the industry which last year included Beth Pattinson BBC Films ( Brooklyn, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Philomena ), Chris Chibnall (writer and creator of Broadchurch) and Pete Czernin, producer of In Bruges and Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (1 and 2).
The course runs across two twelve week long semesters, during which students will attend weekly writing workshops in which they will study the very best of contemporary screenwriting, including shows such as Breaking Bad, True Detective, The Killing, Broadchurch, This is England, Rev, Transparency and The Sopranos. They will also cover British and American examples of charismatic film screenwriting from Goodfellas to The King's Speech via Alien .
In the second semester there will be a London industry day based at BAFTA with talks from agents, producers, and writers as well as a meeting with the BFI.
Students will study story design, visual story-telling and character arcs in both long-running television series and feature films. They will develop the tools to be able to analyse and critique screenwriting craft, and learn how to disseminate their own work. There will be weekly film screenings, and students will have access to an excellent lending library of films to watch at home. Through the duration of the course students will develop a broad and eclectic knowledge of cinema and television.
We intend to keep learning as specific to individual study as possible and study groups will be intentionally small in scale. The course capacity is limited to twelve students each year and you will be taught through a mixture of screenings, lectures and group discussion. Our `writers' room' ethos ensures an environment that encourages collaboration, sharing and creative risk-taking.
Importantly, each summer, we offer students a two week `hands-on' industry placement at a renowned film or TV production company either in London or the North West. Current partners include Film4 ( Room. Ex_Machina, The Lobster) , Wildgaze (Brooklyn) , Number 9 Films (Carol) , Left Bank (The Crown), Warp (This is England) , Red Productions ( Happy Valley, Scott and Bailey ), and Hammer Films ( The Woman in Black , Let Me In ). These placements are an excellent opportunity for students to make useful contacts, and to develop a practical and direct understanding of the professional context within which screenwriters ply their trade.
To complete the MA, students are required to take 180 credits in total. They will take two semesters of courses consisting of workshops/tutorials and seminars. There are 60 credits in the first semester and 30 in the second with 90 for the dissertation.
Over the summer students complete a 'dissertation' which consists of a final revised version of a full-length screenplay. This is worth 60 credits.
In both semesters all students take a weekly writing workshop and a parallel seminar on craft. Both are 3 hours long. All teaching takes place on Monday or Tuesday.
This programme is designed to train its graduates to work in the UK film and television industries. Some will work as professional screenwriters, others may take up other, related, positions.
MA Screenwriting London College of Communication is one of the UK’s leading film and TV scripting courses with a strong reputation in the industry.
Graduates of MA Screenwriting have gone on to win numerous UK and international awards, work on major film projects in active development, and are writing for a wide range of programmes currently being screened on UK television.
Leading the field, this industry-focused screenwriting course is aimed at developing writers for film, television and/or radio industries. The course will provide you with the opportunity to develop the abilities, knowledge and skills you will need for a career in scriptwriting.
What can you expect?
MA Screenwriting introduces you to the foundations of contemporary scriptwriting practice in a theoretical context. You will develop research methodologies that will become the basis for future practice and analysis.
The course offers you the opportunity to study feature film, television and radio narrative and the development of a script from a short story and research, which lays the foundation for your Major Project.
You will also complete a Collaborative Unit that reflects your specialist interests in scriptwriting and related topics, whilst engaging with the need to understand and communicate with the industry you wish to work in.
In the final term you will undertake a Major Project that allows you to focus on a specialist area of interest that you identified during your development on the course. You will write several drafts of an original screenplay for film or TV, or a TV pilot episode(s) with format documents. In addition, you will engage in peer-to-peer review and the writing of reader reports.
View the course page on the UAL website.
Our Creative Writing programme is suitable for writers who want to develop their practice and complete a full length piece of work, or for experienced playwrights who wish to gain a familiarity with writing for the screen, or experienced screenwriters who wish to gain a grounding in theatre writing. It is also suitable for writers who while continuing with their own practice, will work in development roles in the film, TV, theatre and related industries such as literary agencies.
Our programme has been designed, with input from a range of playwrights and screenwriters, to provide the optimum environment for students to complete a full length play or feature film script to a high standard.
As the programme is taught in the evening, we welcome applications from mature students with work and family commitments who are committed to writing a full length play or screenplay over two years.
Creatively stimulating, challenging and above all practical, this innovative two-year Creative Writing programme taught during the evening, provides a supportive and thought-provoking environment for playwrights and screenwriters to explore their ideas, develop their craft and finish a full-length work to a high standard.
You will develop as a writer and sharpen your understanding of what's working and what isn't. No single style or genre is prescribed; the ethos of the programme is excellence and diversity.
You will get to understand writing choices in the work of leading playwrights and screenwriters. You will work with actors and directors from London's new writing theatres, and receive guest talks from agents, producers and artistic directors.
By the end of the course, you will have taken a full-length play, screenplay or television pilot through a number of drafts, working as professional writers do. This play or screenplay will be your calling card. You will receive a performed reading of an extract of your work and a professional script report.
The Creative Writing (Playwriting and Screenwriting) MA is accredited by Skillset, the Creative Industries’ Sector Skills Council which means that students are eligible for the BAFTA Scholarship programme – successful applicants receive a bursary of up to £10,000, a BAFTA mentor, access to BAFTA events, plus a paid work placement at Warner Bros UK.
The course has strong ties with leading playwrights and screenwriters. Recent visiting speakers include:
Richard Bean, Alan Bennett, Ronan Bennett, J Blakeson, Adam Brace, Laurence Coriat, Rib Davies, David Edgar, Martha Fiennes, Andrea Gibb, Tony Grisoni, Stuart Hazeldine, Dennis Kelly, Mike Leigh, Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Patrick Marber, Paul Mayeda Berges, Nicholas McInerny, Anthony Neilson, Diane Samuels, Paul Sirett, Ali Taylor, Sue Teddern, Colin Teevan, Timberlake Wertenbaker, and Roy Williams.
You will have the opportunity to meet agents, producers, directors, and authors on screenwriting. Recent guests have included:
Linda Aronson, Katie Battcock, Matthew Bates, Paul Basset Davies, Camilla Bray, Ruth Caleb, Julian Friedmann, Tony Garnett, Lisa Goldman, Fin Kennedy, Kate Leys, Nick Marston, Margaret Matheson, Jeremy Mortimer, George Perrin, Simon Shaps, David Thompson, Neil Quinn, Mervyn Watson and Katie Williams.
Our Creative Writing masters course is taught and run by professional working writers and you will be mentored by a professional working playwright or screenwriter for the whole of year two.
You will be taught intensively for six hours per week in year one and in the second year you choose to write either a full length play, or screenplay, or a pilot for an original television series.
This playwriting and screenwriting course is based around a mix of practical workshops, seminars and lectures. All this is supported by one-to-one tutorials and by independent study: notably reading and preparing presentations on set texts and performing set writing exercises. As the course progresses, the emphasis shifts to independent study and is supported by workshops and one-to-one tutorials.
Central to this Creative Writing masters course is the requirement to finish a full-length play or screenplay. The course culminates in a showcase of your work to an audience of industry professionals and other interested parties.
Assessment includes participation in lectures, seminars and workshops; of work on presentations; set exercises and own play or screen script proposal.
Many of our Creative Writing graduates from play and screenwriting go on to have their work performed professionally and have won many awards and nominations. Since the beginning of 2015 over 40 students and alumni have had plays performed.
Some recent examples include
Our graduates have had plays performed in London at the Old Vic, Arcola, Old Red Lion, Southwark Playhouse, Globe and White Bear theatres; as well as in Australia, New York, the Netherlands and Afghanistan.
During the MA in Screenwriting for Television and Film (in Retreat) you will cover writing for feature film and television as well as new developments such as web drama. You will develop a range of ideas, then go on to write film and television outlines, and several drafts of a feature film screenplay, a TV single drama, or a TV series or serial bible and sample episodes.
Commencing in September, you will be taught through a mixture of intensive writing retreats and distance learning techniques, including Skype and our dedicated online learning environment, Moodle. The course includes four week-long residential retreats throughout one year (full time), with some taking place in Central London and others at our beautiful Egham Campus, near Windsor. This structure immerses you in a creative atmosphere conducive to concentrated learning and group interaction, with Development Lab as a core module, where you will present your work in progress to the group for criticism and feedback, and experiment with co-writing.
Between retreats the course is run via distance-learning with a website, chat room and e-tutorials. This makes it possible for those living outside the UK, and those with busy working lives, such as freelancers and those in full-time employment, to take time out to attend. The course attracts a wide variety of students including those wishing to make a career change from other sectors through to established actors, comedy writers, editors, producers, novelists and many others.
You will also meet and work with industry and independent producers, directors, agents, writers and actors to provide a production context.
Assessment is carried out by a variety of methods including script outlines and scenes, a completed feature film screenplay and/or TV series episode and ‘bible’, and marketing and pitch documents.
You'll be set for a career in television and feature film screenwriting and script development. Graduates with work in film and TV include:
Other students from our department have gone on to work in independent television and film production, for broadcasters like the BBC and ITV, and for distributors, exhibitors, talent agencies and entertainment lawyers.
The MLitt in Playwriting and Screenwriting is a one-year taught programme run by the School of English. The course consists of two semesters with taught components followed by an individual creative writing project taking place over the whole year, but with particular focus during the last three months.
The MLitt will provide you with technically-oriented tuition by leading contemporary playwrights and world-class academics, with an emphasis on best practice in recent and contemporary writing.
Those interested in writing prose or poetry may instead wish to consider taking the Creative Writing MLitt.
Teaching methods include seminars, workshops and individual tutorials. Class sizes typically range from three to ten students, ensuring high levels of individual attention. Modules are assessed through sample scenes, play scripts, screenplays and essays.
Students will participate in a number of theatre visits and will be required to meet additional costs of approximately £200.
Further particulars regarding curriculum development.
The modules in this programme have varying methods of delivery and assessment. For more details of each module, including weekly contact hours, teaching methods and assessment, please see the latest module catalogue which is for the 2017–2018 academic year; some elements may be subject to change for 2018 entry.
