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DRAM40520

Academic Year 2024/2025

Writing for Screen (DRAM40520)

Subject:
Drama Studies
College:
Arts & Humanities
School:
English, Drama & Film
Level:
4 (Masters)
Credits:
10
Module Coordinator:
Dr Nicolas Pillai
Trimester:
Autumn
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

This module equips writers with the specialized skills for script development across a variety of genres. Over twelve weeks, our intention will be to lift ideas from the page into the material world. Collaborative in-class exercises and portfolio assignments will explore how voice, gesture, movement and space contribute to meaning within the frame of the screen. 

Weekly reading will develop students’ ability to analyse and evaluate the practical guides and scholarship related to screenwriting. Each student will have the opportunity to share their ongoing progress and to contribute as co-writers and participating editors in the work of their peers.

Attention to the current industry landscape will identify pathways for writers beginning their careers. External speakers will join us in selected workshops, engaging students with their professional experience.

This module is designed to be responsive to the group – as such, this descriptor is provisional and subject to change.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the module students will have:

- Mastered ideation techniques through self-reflection, improvisation and collaborative work;
- Developed their own methods for integrating the formal qualities of screen media within their own writing;
- Engaged with diverse theoretical and critical writing regarding the process of writing for screen;
- Surveyed opportunities in the current Irish and global markets for writers;
- Generated professional standard script, pre-production documents and pitch for future development.

Indicative Module Content:

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Seminar (or Webinar)

24
Autonomous Student Learning

176
Total

200

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
This is a seminar led module, which will take place in the Trapdoor Theatre. The primary focus is on student writing – we will use the space to read work aloud and to comment on and discuss this process. Screenings of existing short films will provide students with benchmarks against which to measure their own writing. Guest speakers from the film industry will come into class to provide anecdotal knowledge on career progression and helping with skills such as writing one-pagers. As well as developing their own screenwriting practice, students will reflect on their own process through engagement with scholarly writing. Skills workshops will acquaint students with the film-making equipment held in the Creative Arts Research Laboratory.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Assignment(Including Essay): Short Film Screenplay. Students will complete an original screenplay for a 10-minute short film. The work will be developed across the module, with input from the teaching team and student peers. Week 12 Graded No

60

 No
Assignment(Including Essay): Reflection, 3000 words. Students will detail the process of creating their screenplay, with particular attention to the discipline of writing and the context of the film industry. Week 12 Graded No

40

 No

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Ongoing feedback on work-in-progress and feedback on assessments after grading

Name Role
Dr Ashley Taggart Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
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