Screenwriting for Television and Film

This is an innovative course, taught over four, week-long residential retreats over one year (full time) and will commence in September - some of these are in Central London, others in beautiful Egham Campus near Windsor.

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, for instance freelancers and those in the film and TV industries, to take time out to attend. We have a wide variety of students on the course including established actors, comedy writers, editors, producers, novelists and many others.

During the MASTFiR course (MA in Screenwriting for Televion and Film - 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. You will be immersed in a creative atmosphere conducive to concentrated learning and group interaction; a core unit is the Development Lab, where you will present your work in progress to the group for criticism and feedback, and experiment with co-writing.

You will also meet and work with industry and independent producers, directors, agents, writers and actors to provide a production context. We have recently had guests from Working Title, Channel Four, the BBC, Script Factory, Blake Friedmann Agency and many others.

This is an innovative course, taught over four, week-long residential retreats over one year (full time) and will commence in September - some of these are in Central London, others in beautiful Egham Campus near Windsor.

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, for instance freelancers and those in the film and TV industries, to take time out to attend. We have a wide variety of students on the course including established actors, comedy writers, editors, producers, novelists and many others.

During the MASTFiR course (MA in Screenwriting for Televion and Film - 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. You will be immersed in a creative atmosphere conducive to concentrated learning and group interaction; a core unit is the Development Lab, where you will present your work in progress to the group for criticism and feedback, and experiment with co-writing.

You will also meet and work with industry and independent producers, directors, agents, writers and actors to provide a production context. We have recently had guests from Working Title, Channel Four, the BBC, Script Factory, Blake Friedmann Agency and many others.

Department: Media Arts

Qualification:

MA

Qualification Level:

RQF Level 7

Requirements:

UK upper 2nd Class Honours degree (2.1) or equivalent, in literature, theatre, media or a related discipline. Students with degrees in other subjects will also be considered, as will those with relevant professional or creative experience in fiction writing, the film and TV media, theatre, radio or journalism. Applicants whose first language is not English require IELTS 6.5 overall with 6.5 in writing and a minimum of 5.5 in all other subscores. You will also be required to submit up to 50 pages of creative writing, preferaby pieces intended for film or television and in film/TV format, though other forms of creative writing such as short stories or plays will also be acceptable.

Assessment Methods:

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.

Modules:

Mandatory modules include:
Script Craft;
Story and Theme;
Development Lab;

A choice between the following:
Contexts: Current British Film and Television Practice
Contexts: Current British Film and Television Practice (Placement)

Source: the courses data has been supplied by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service.