American Film Institute

The Basics of Screenwriting

From such famous literary figures as F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner and Anita Loos churning out screenplays during Hollywood's Golden Age to today's scribes creating multi-million dollar blockbusters such as Gladiator and Titanic, screenwriters have developed the characters, dialogue and stories that continue to make such indelible impressions on movie audiences.Whether you're creating the script for the next mega-budget Hollywood movie or even a short digital film to stream on the Web, an understanding of the basics of screenwriting can help you develop a script that will effectively translate your ideas to the screen.

In this seminar from the American Film Institute, Amy Dunkleberger guides both novice and professional writers through the creation of an engaging screenplay.

The seminar clearly and concisely leads you through the creation of an effective premise, compelling characters and a structure for your work. Throughout the sessions, writing techniques, presentation do's and don'ts, screenplay terminology and film clips juxtaposed with their shooting scripts help you develop your initial whim into your final screenplay.

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