Spring 09 syllabus for SJSU

Screenwriting
Syllabus for RTVF 175, Sec. 3, SPRING 2009,
San Jose State University

Instructor: Barnaby Dallas
Contact information: 924-4573 Email: Barnaby.dallas@sjsu.edu (no emailed assignments but email contact preferred to phone).
Class meeting: Mon. 3:00 – 5:45, HGH 120
Office hours: Mon. 6:00-7:00 P.M. and by appointment.
Instructor’s Office location: Hugh Gillis Hall 137
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION: “Principles and practices in writing scripts for film and/or television. Prerequisite: RTVF 77, RTVF 91 and TA 100W. Repeatable for credit. 3 units.”
REQUIRED TEXTS: “All About Dad,” a screenplay by Mark Tran; and WRITING THE FIRST SCREENPLAY: THE RTVF 175 COURSE READER by Scott Sublett. Both texts will be available at the Associated Student Print Shop, across from the student union.

OPTIONAL READING: “Screenwriting” by Richard Walter.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE: To understand dramatic writing through learning to write dramatically for the screen.

ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING: your grade depends to a great degree on the quality of your final script. It should be well-written, full of dramatic conflict, creative, clear, artistic, intelligent, consonant with the rules of dramatic writing taught in this course, neat and professional-looking. You can and will create clear, properly formatted screen drama. You are expected to produce a document that at the very least looks professional. Failure to do so will result in a lower grade.

YOU MAY NOT MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ASSIGNMENT UNTIL YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE PREVIOUS ONE. IN OTHER WORDS, YOUR STEP OUTLINE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED UNTIL YOU HAVE TURNED IN YOUR STEP OUTLINE OF THE EXAMPLE SCREENPLAY.

Over the course of the semester you will turn in assignments which add up to 200 points. The grading scale is as follows: 185 points = A; 180 = A-; 175 = B+; 165 = B; 160 = B- 155 = C+; 145 = C; 140 = C-; 120 = D.

¸ A Spine Exercise (hook, hero, goal, central question, central conflict). You will NOT be permitted to proceed until your spine has been approved by the instructor. This assignment must be typed. 20 pts.
¸ A Scene List/Step Outline of the example script. 20 points.
¸ A Step Outline of the script you propose to write. Include a rewritten spine reflecting the feedback you have received from the instructor and a brief list of main characters and who they are to aid my understanding of the outline. You will not be permitted to proceed to the next phase until your step outline has been approved by the instructor. 20 pts.
¸ The first 17 pages of your script, properly formatted. 40 pts. You may not proceed to the writing of scenes until your spine and step outline have been approved by the instructor. Include with this assignment your rewritten spine and a rewritten step outline reflecting the feedback from the instructor.
¸ The first 60 pages of your proposed full-length screenplay for a feature film. No late final scripts will be accepted under any circumstances. If you have not completed 60 pages, turn in whatever you have. Please note that your script will be unfinished. A finished, feature-length screenplay runs anywhere from 90 to 130 pages. 100 points.
¸ Class participation can add up to 10 extra credit points. Apart from that there will be no extra credit accepted. Extra credit will not result merely from attendance or from talking in class. Good participation in class discussion consists of being “on point,” addressing very precisely the questions posed by the instructor – not in taking the class off onto tangents, or in offering irrelevant comments, opinions or anecdotes. Class discussion is not an invitation to spew whatever happens to pop into one’s head, but rather, an opportunity to participate in the group’s search for very specific answers to very specific questions as defined by the instructor.

No adaptations. All scripts must be original and not based on material from another medium. This includes prose works you yourself authored. Your idea must be approved by the instructor. You are not free to write any idea you please.

Work is due the week after it is assigned unless otherwise specified. Oral assignment in class takes precedence over the guidelines in the syllabus.

Late papers will be marked down 30 per cent off the top. That is to say, a late 20-point assignment will be docked 6 points. Writing 60 pages is a big job and it’s crucial for students to stay on schedule.

No late finals will be accepted except with evidence of university-approved excuses, which will be stringently enforced.

If you are not finished when the final is due, please simply turn in what you have. No incompletes will be given in this course unless compelled by university-approved conditions. To receive an "incomplete" a student must have completed at least 2/3 of the semester work and be passing the class.

Students are required to keep originals of all returned graded assignments.

All assignments will be typed in 12-point Courier or Courier New (the typeface in which this sentence is printed). No handwritten work will be accepted, including the spine. Electronic submissions are not acceptable.

If you miss class, get the notes and assignments from someone else in the class. Do not expect to miss class and have it later taught to you personally. The instructor reserves the right to modify the syllabus with proper notification.

The instructor will lecture extensively but students will also be questioned in the Socratic fashion and expected to respond.

This is a writing workshop. We are here to learn from each other. Your fellow students can solve your problems if you let them. Bring your writing problems to class.

Prerequisite: RTVF 77, RTVF 91 and TA 100W.

Dropping and Adding: Students are responsible for understanding the policies and procedures about add/drops, academic renewal, etc. Information on add/drops are available at http://info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/narr/soc-fall/rec-324.html . Information about late drop is available at http://www.sjsu.edu/sac/advising/latedrops/policy/ . Students should be aware of the current deadlines and penalties for adding and dropping classes.

The University’s Academic Integrity Policy is at http://www.sa.sjsu.edu/download/judicial_affairs/Academic_Integrity_Policy_S07-2.pdf. Your own commitment to learning, as evidenced by your enrollment at San Jose State University and the University’s integrity policy, require you to be honest in all your academic course work. Faculty members are required to report all infractions to the office of Student Conduct and Ethical Development. The website for Student Conduct and Ethical Development is available at http://www.sa.sjsu.edu/judicial_affairs/index.html.
Instances of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Cheating on exams or plagiarism (presenting the work of another as your own, or the use of another person’s ideas without giving proper credit) will result in a failing grade and sanctions by the University. For this class, all assignments are to be completed by the individual student unless otherwise specified. If you would like to include in your assignment any material you have submitted, or plan to submit for another class, please note that SJSU’s Academic Policy F06-1 requires approval of instructors.

Campus Policy in Compliance with the American Disabilities Act: If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, or if you need to make special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible, or see me during office hours. Presidential Directive 97-03 requires that students with disabilities requesting accommodations must register with the DRC (Disability Resource Center) to establish a record of their disability.

Special note to students retaking 175 to finish a script begun in a previous section. Your script is due on the day of the last class session. No late scripts will be accepted. Instructor permission is required to retake 175 for the purpose of finishing a script already begun.

PERTINENT DEPARTMENTAL STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES (Rev Spring 2005) Performance Outcomes, B.A. in Radio-Television-Film; students will:
• Tell meaningful stories through production of good narratives.
• Appreciate the art and aesthetics of media (radio, television, film).
• Communicate information and entertainment to diverse cultures using radio, television and film. Be sensitive to the ways and processes of, and the attitudes held by races, religions, political and social groups that are not their own.
• Understand how to write television and film/cinema projects.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF CLASS SESSIONS

According to University policy F69-24, “Students should attend all meetings of their classes, not only because they are responsible for material discussed therein, but because active participation is frequently essential to insure maximum benefit for all members of the class.”

(It should be noted that screenwriting is an organic and integrated process in which one does everything at once, and therefore any division or ordering of its elements becomes somewhat artificial and difficult to maintain. Moreover, every class is different and moves at a different rate. Therefore, dates are subject to change.)

1) Jan. 26. THE IDEA. Dramatic structure in a nutshell. Myths of screenwriting. The ease of writing what you know; your life is not boring. Summoning the courage to write. The dangers of genre. Assignment: come to class next time with your single best idea. Boil it down as far as it will boil.

2) Feb 2. CHOOSING AND SHAPING THE DRAMATIC IDEA: THE SPINE. Reading ideas aloud and making your initial decisions. Where is the story? What’s it about? Hook, hero, goal, central question, central conflict. Reading: Course Reader, chapters 1 and 2.

3) Feb. 9 THE DRAMATIC IDEA AND SPINE CONTINUED. Assignment: Your spine.

4) Feb 16. PLOT STRUCTURE AND THE SCENE. Dialogue and character you’re born with, the rest can be learned. What is a scene? Models of structure: graphing the hero’s fortunes, moving the story forward conflict by conflict. Revealing character in action. Exposition is conflict. Spines due. Reading: Course Reader, chapters 3 through 6.

5) Feb. 23 PLOT STRUCTURE AND THE SCENE. Turning a foundation into a step outline. Outlining a student idea. Return spines. Unfocused scenes. Writer’s goals versus characters’ goals. Length of scenes. Real conflict versus “trumped up” conflict. Writing in master scenes. Return spine. Reading: Course reader, chapter 7 through the end of the book. Homework: step outline example screenplay.

6) March 2. THE STEP OUTLINE. Turning an idea into a step outline. How to step outline. Step outlining a student idea. Homework: step outline for the script you intend to write. Example script step outline due.

7) March 9. IDEA TO STEP OUTLINE TO SCENE: FLESHING THE BONES. Script step outlines due. Return example script outlines due.

8) March 16. FORMATTING. Assembling a professional-looking package. The importance of brevity. Describing the room exercise. Return step outlines. Homework: first 17 pages due class session after next.

9) March 30. STYLE: DIALOGUE, DESCRIPTION AND VERBOSITY. On the nose dialogue. Announcement-style dialogue. Over-formality. Preachiness. Interrupted lines. Verbosity. The “don’ts” of lean screenwriting. Grammar and spelling. First 17 pages due next week.

10) April 6. GENERAL PRINCIPLES. Unity and integration. Integrating plot, theme, character and style under the rule of one. Making elements do double duty. Creating and fulfilling expectations. Symbols. Also: STYLE, TEXTURE, TONE AND GENRE. First 17 pages due. Assignment: step outline GENERIC THRILLER.

11) April 13. READINGS OF STUDENT SCRIPTS. Return 17 pages.

12) April 20. More readings of student scripts.

13) April 27. THEME. Plot and “active” theme. Big themes, e.g. KANE. Exercise: discover and articulate the theme of a film you love. Also: CHARACTER. Motivation. Introducing characters. Pet the dog scene. Too many characters. Comic characters. The confidant. The central relationship. Unity in conflict. Depicting minorities.

14) May 4. Also: COMEDY. Signaling comedy. Situation versus character. Farce requires complications. Obsession. Attitude. Inappropriate behavior. Incongruity. Mistaken identity. Collapse of dignity .

15) May 11. THE REWRITE. Also: REVIEW. Last day of class.

FINAL:
• Your 60 page final assignment must be turned in to HGH 100, the departmental office, by at 2:30 P.M, on Wednesday, May. 20 (the day of the final examination as stated in the course catalogue).

• No late final assignments will be accepted under any circumstances except excuses officially sanctioned and required by the university.

• If the office is closed, your script may be slipped through the mail slot, with the instructor’s name clearly marked on it. A self-addressed stamped envelope should accompany your final assignment if you expect extensive notes. The marked script will be mailed back to you. The envelope should be large enough to contain the script and bearing sufficient postage to get it where it's going. Padded envelopes are unprofessional. Inclusion of the SASE signals to the reader that you are serious about receiving comments on your script.

• Any student wishing to take 175 over again for credit may do so, once, if he or she begins a new script. However, to retake 175 and finish a script begun a previous semester in the second taking of 175, the student must secure special instructor permission. Graduate students taking RTVF 175 for the second time are required to complete their scripts in one semester.