
Advanced Development Workshop
This internationally acclaimed workshop, based on Emmanuel Oberg's bestselling book "Screenwriting Unchained", is currently delivered online to closed groups of five to forty-nine participants. A larger audience is technically possible, at the expense of interactivity. We're using advanced presentation tools to deliver an interactive, engaging experience, including live online Q&A sessions, hands-on group work and optional one-to-one meetings on projects.
The first part of this workshop is also available to individuals as a self-led online course, "Screenwriting Unchained - Introduction to the Story-Type Method", without a live element. The full course should be available by the end of 2021.
What's in it for You?
Based on the innovative Story-Type Method, this workshop leaves aside rigid rules that lead to predictable screenplays. It also steers clear of supposed formulas for commercial success, which simply don't exist (or we'd know!).
The aim of the workshop is to equip filmmakers with a set of storytelling tools that help develop each project as effectively as possible. It details how filmmakers can identify the story-type of their projects as early as possible and adjust the development process accordingly, making it easier, faster and hopefully leading to stronger screenplays.
The workshop puts a strong emphasis on each project reaching the widest possible audience, both at home and abroad, without limiting the filmmakers' creative freedom. During and after the workshop, extensive course materials are made available online. They include all the slides shown during the workshop, recommended reading and detailed case studies from both classics and recent movies.
The workshop is usually fine-tuned to the specific needs of a production company / regional agency / development funding body or studio. For example, it can be followed by one or more optional extra day(s) of one to one meetings for project work with the participants (see details below).
Film Clips
Dozens of clips are screened over the three days to illustrate each storytelling tool and case study, from films such as: Two Days, One Night (L. & J.P. Dardenne), Frenzy (A. Hitchcock), Silver Linings Playbook (D.O. Russell), Cloud Atlas (T. Tykwer and the Wachovskis), The Lives of Others (F.H. Von Donnersmark), Misery (R. Reiner), Ridicule (P. Leconte), Birdman (A.G. Inarritu), The Bourne Supremacy (P. Greengrass), As Good as it Gets (J. L. Brooks), Gravity (A. Cuaron), The Apartment (B. Wilder), A Quiet Place (J. Krasinski), Rio Bravo (H. Hughes), Billy Elliot (S. Daldry), There’s Something About Mary (Farelli brothers), Cyrano de Bergerac (J.P. Rappeneau), City Lights (C. Chaplin), Parenthood (R. Howard), Crash (P. Haggis), Dunkirk (C. Nolan), Taken (P. Morel), Groundhog Day (H. Ramis) and more...
Advanced Development Workshop:
Fees on January 1st, 2021
Excl. 20% UK VAT where applicable
INDEPENDANT PRODUCTION COMPANY
£4,995
5-9 participants
- Includes preparation and delivery
- Travel & accommodation costs on top
- A/V equipment / Meeting room not included
Would you like to bring your script development skills to the next level and give your film or TV project a total makeover?
This package will train creative producers, development execs, story editors and writer/directors working for the same independent production company, making sure that everyone in the team is on the same page and equipped with the best tools when discussing screenplays. A separate slate assessment service can be arranged (fee to be defined depending on the number of projects in development).
One or more extra day(s) for project work can also be booked alongside the workshop to allow meetings on individual projects immediately after the last day. See the next column for more details.
OPTIONAL ONE-ON-ONE DAY
£1,995 (4 projects)
For project work meetings
- Includes preparation and delivery
- Up to four projects per day (90mn meetings)
- Actual fee varies, written notes optional
While the Advanced Development Workshop is very practical and allows the participants to focus on a specific project if they want to, there is no time during the workshop to discuss individual projects.
A number of extra days can therefore be booked along with the workshop to make time for specific projects to be read in advance and discussed with the creative team (producer, writer, director) immediately after the last day.
We'll focus on the strengths and weaknesses of each project, as well as the way forward.
This fee includes preparation work for up to four projects. It varies depending on the exact number of projects and the actual amount of work requested.
REGIONAL/NATIONAL FUND OR STUDIO
From £5,995
for 10-20 participants
- Includes preparation and delivery
- Travel and accommodation costs on top
- A/V equipment / Meeting room not included
- £295 for each additional participant
This version of the workshop is aimed at regional / national funds or organisations who would like to train a larger number of participants (up to 49). It's also the option a studio would go for to train their development team and the writers working with them in development.
The content of the workshop can be fine-tuned to a specific audience (for example producers, story editors and development execs, or writers and directors).
While the tools are the same, the approach can be different depending on the participants' role in development. This being said, the workshop works equally well with a mixed audience as long as participants have roughly the same level of experience.
Who might want to attend a Story-Type Method workshop?
As the title suggests, this is an Advanced Development Workshop, so it's not for beginners.
The minimum level of experience would be film students with a master's degree. Most of our alumni are working professionals.
How is the workshop delivered?
Currently, all our workshops are delivered online, using our webinar platform for interactive lectures and Zoom for Q&A sessions and group work.
We are also in the process of converting our workshops into self-led online courses accessible to individuals. The first part of this workshop, Introduction to the Story-Type Method, is already available. The full course should be available by the end of 2021.
Are there prerequisites or language requirements?
All our courses are delivered in English, so a good verbal understanding of the language is necessary.
Otherwise, you're expected to have an intermediate to advanced understanding and practice of screenwriting / script development.
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