Screen and Play Writing - Florida State University

Screen and Play Writing from Florida State University is a Campus Master Film degree that prepares you for a Art and Design career. Highlights of Course of Study Only six graduate students are enrolled each year. Students learn in intensive workshops with accomplished industry writers. The majority of instruction is provided in one-on-one settings and in small groups. Students are trained in production fundamentals in both film and theater. Students spend two weeks in London during the first spring semester, working intensively with a British playwright and experiencing British theater. Students workshop their original material with actors, directors, and designers from the School of Theater. Student plays are produced as part of the regular season of the School of Theater. Students write, direct and edit a short film and serve as producer, cinematographer, and production designer on other short films. Students are given the opportunity to compete for the presentation of original work before industry professionals at the American College Theater Festival. Students are provided with industry mentors upon graduation. Students graduate with a portfolio of creative work that includes short and long-form plays, short and feature-length screenplays, and two full-length polished works (plays and/or screenplays) ready for submission to the film and theater industries. Description of Curriculum The curriculum in the first two semesters (fall and spring) is based on the philosophy that a successful writer's creative work is informed by, and benefits from, production knowledge and experience. During these semesters students engage in intensive film and theater production training while also taking coursework and workshops in screen and playwriting . Additionally, students are required to write, direct and screen a short film in the first semester, and write and stage a short play in the second semester. During the second semester, students engage in a two-week intensive in London, working with a British playwright and experiencing British theater. In the third semester (summer) students commit entirely to writing, taking courses in screenplay craft, story conceptualization, and adaptation of a novel for both stage and screen. During this semester students create and pitch more than 20 original ideas for screenplays, and complete a full-length play and a feature-length screenplay that are adaptations of a novel. The purpose of this semester is to provide students with the skills and techniques necessary to successfully craft scripts and plays in a manner that represents professional-quality work. In the fourth semester (fall) students work in daily intensive workshops with an industry writer who shepherds their original idea from concept to a completed stage play format. The goal of this semester is for each student to create a quality stage play that is ready for submission to the industry. Additionally, students take courses in dramaturgy and dramatic literature and theory. In the fifth semester (spring) students work in daily intensive workshops with a screenwriting professional from the industry who shepherds an original idea from concept to completed work. The goal of this semester is for each student to create a screenplay that is ready for submission to the industry. Additionally, students will develop the craft of fiction writing through a workshop in the Creative Writing Department. In the sixth and final semester (summer) students work with a professional writer in a one-on-one setting to write a final revision of one of the two works created in the fourth and fifth semesters. Additionally, students take coursework that prepares them for business practices associated with professional writing, including areas of intellectual property, agents and managers, development, distribution and exhibition. View more details on Florida State University . Ask your questions and apply online for this program or find other related Film courses.