SPRING TUESDAYS AND THURSDAYS 9:00-10:50 p.m. (COMM 8) Office Hours: Monday & Wednesday - 3:00-6:00 p.m.

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1 UPDATED: 01/11/2013 CP / CP470W-001 ADVANCED TOPICS: WRITING THE SHORT FILM SPRING 2013 TUESDAYS AND THURSDAYS 9:00-10:50 p.m. (COMM 8) Instructor: Elisa Herrmann Office Phone: Office: 1121F elisash@siu.edu Office Hours: Monday & Wednesday - 3:00-6:00 p.m. Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself Chinese Proverb COURSE DESCRIPTION AND GOALS In this class, we will explore the world of the short narrative script. Through screenings, writing exercises and assignments, and workshopping we will develop your skill in talking about short films and scripts, and in creating sounds and images that enrich your dialogue and story. By the end of the semester, you will have developed two or more short scripts that will be complete enough to take into production. The structure of this class ensures that it is writing intensive. There will be weekly writing exercises and/or assignments. At the same time, it is a workshop environment: the exercises and assignments are designed to get you thinking and writing, every day, and to explore these ideas and experiments in class. The assignments and exercises are intended to allow you to experiment and explore, and to receive and give constructive criticism. We are beginning. A workshop is like a rehearsal: it is a place to experiment and fail. I cannot teach you to write. You learn to write by writing, thinking, experimenting, listening, and observing. I will provide you with an arena in which to practice and explore your writing. In this class, you may be exposed to images and ideas that you find disturbing; they are a part of the learning process of the class. Please decide early on if you are willing to open yourself to these images and ideas, and are prepared to experience and discuss them in class. ***This syllabus is subject to change by the Instructor, as needed.*** 1

2 COURSE REQUIREMENTS CLASS PARTICIPATION AND ATTENDANCE: As this is a writing workshop, active participation is extremely important. And to participate, you have to be present, and prepared. Attendance is mandatory. Arriving late or unprepared for scheduled classes, or missing classes, will be reflected in your final grade. Deadlines are crucial in this class. I do not accept late assignments for grade points; however, all assignments and exercises must be completed in order; each of the assignments and exercises in this class is designed to be incorporated into the following assignments and exercises. Until a late assignment is completed, turned in, graded and returned to the student, subsequent assignments will also be late, and will receive 0 points. All assignments and exercises are due at the beginning of class. Computer, disk, or printer problems are not a legitimate excuse for lateness; plan your work to allow for them. CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT: Active and constructive participation in class discussions is required. However, both listening and speaking are involved in successful participation, and this requires sensitivity to the ideas and methods of participation of others in the class. This is a workshop environment, and all ideas, thoughts and critiques are welcomed. You are beginning, and a workshop environment will allow and encourage you to take risks, to try out new ideas. PEER REVIEW (Narrative script): Students will be responsible for bringing 4 copies of their narrative scripts to class during Peer Review sessions; 3 will be given to the group reviewing the script and 1 to the instructor, as assigned. SHORT FILM OF THE DAY: To develop your skills in analyzing short scripts and your abilities to talk about short films and scripts, you will present an analysis of a short film to the class once during the semester. PLAGIARISM: All work must be original. Southern Illinois University forbids plagiarism, and any unauthorized use of someone else s work will be dealt with according to University policy. REQUIRED TEXT: Writing Short Films. Cowgirl, Linda J.,

3 UPDATED: 01/11/2013 ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING: Short Film of the Day: 100 points Creative notebook: 100 points Participation: 50 points (Reading the Assigned Chapters is fundamental for this grade, as it will allow you to understand the content and participate in the discussions). A B C D E F Below 500 Attendance: 50 points (each student is allowed 3 unexcused absences, after that, each absence will cost the student 5 points of the Attendance grade). 2-page verbal script: 100 points First Narrative Script (pitch, treatment, character bios, outline, first draft): 300 points Revised First Narrative Script: 100 points Final narrative script (2 nd script): 200 points Extra Credit Opportunities: TBA University s Emergency Procedure Clause: BUILDING EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROTOCOLS: Southern Illinois University Carbondale is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for study and work. Because some health and safety circumstances are beyond our control, we ask that you become familiar with the SIUC Emergency Response Plan and Building Emergency Response Team (BERT) program. Emergency response information is available on posters in buildings on campus, available on BERT s website at Department of Public Safety s website (disaster drop down) and in the Emergency Response Guideline pamphlet. Know how to respond to each type of emergency. Instructors will provide guidance and direction to students in the classroom in the event of an emergency affecting your location. It is important that you follow these instructions and stay with your instructor during an evacuation or sheltering emergency. The Building Emergency Response Team will provide assistance to your instructor in evacuating the building or sheltering within the facility. Students With a Disability: Instructors and students in the class will work together as a team to assist students with a disability safely out of the building. Students with a disability will stay with the instructor and communicate with the instructor what is the safest way to assist them. Tornado: During the spring semester we have a Storm Drill. ***This syllabus is subject to change by the Instructor, as needed.*** 3

4 Pick up your belongings and your instructor will lead you to a safe area of the basement. No one will be allowed to stay upstairs. Stay away from windows. The drill should not last more than 10 minutes. You must stay with your instructor so he/she can take roll. Students need to be quiet in the basement as the BERT members are listening to emergency instructions on handheld radios and cannot hear well in the basement. Fire: During the fall semester we have a Fire Drill. Pick up your belongings and your instructor will lead you to either the North or South parking lot depending on what part of the building your class is in. You must stay with your instructor so he/she can take roll. As soon as the building is all clear, you will be allowed to return to class. These drills are to train instructors and the Building Emergency Response Team to get everyone to a safe place during an emergency. Bomb Threat: If someone calls in a bomb threat, class will be suspended and students will be asked to pick up their belongings, evacuate the building and leave the premises. Do not leave anything that is yours behind. We will not allow anyone back into the building until the police and bomb squad give us an all clear. DO NOT USE YOUR CELL PHONES. Some bombs are triggered by a cell phone signal. Shooter in the Building: This spring semester we are in the planning stages of a Shooter in the Building Drill. When it is safe to leave, move to a safe area far from the building away from where the shooter is located. If anyone has any information about the shooter, please contact the police after you are a safe distance away. If someone cannot leave, go into a room, lock the door, turn out the lights, and if possible, cover the glass on the door. Students chair desks should be piled in front of the glass and door as a barricade and the teacher's desk, podium and anything movable can be pushed against the door. This is intended to slow down any attempts to enter or look into the classroom. If it looks like the shooter is persistent and able to enter, make a lot of noise and use everything in your backpacks to throw at the shooter to distract him. Silence all cell phones after one person in the room calls the police and informs them of their location and how many people are in the room. Be quiet and wait for the police to arrive. The police are looking for one or more shooters, and they have no way of knowing if the shooter is in the room people are hiding in. For this reason, when the police enter the room, no one should have anything in his/her hands and each person MUST raise his/her hands above his/her head. Earthquake: In the event of an earthquake you are advised to take cover quickly under heavy furniture or near an interior wall, or a corner, to avoid falling debris. Outside the building are trees, power lines and debris from the building itself that you will need to stay away from. In the building, large open areas like auditoriums are the most dangerous. Do not try to escape on a stairway or elevator. Do not hide under a stairway. We do not recommend that you stand in a doorway because the door could shut from the vibrations and crush your fingers trapping you there. 4

5 UPDATED: 01/11/2013 SCHEDULE OF CLASSES TUESDAY THURSDAY Week 1 01/15 01/17 - Introduction Discussion: - The Idea - The Pitch Reading: - Chapter 1 Before We Start - Chapter 2 Starting Out Assign: (Due: 04/25) - Short Film of the Day (Due: Weekly) - The Treatment Critique/Due: - Narrative Pitches #1 Assign: - Treatments (Due: 1/30) - Narrative Pitches (Due: 1/17, 1/24, 1/29) Week 2 01/22 01/24 RECESS: Martin Luther King Day Discussion: - Short film of the day Critique/Due: - Narrative Pitches #2 Week 3 01/29 01/31 Discussion: - Short film of the day Critique/Due: - Narrative Pitches #3 - Peer Review of Treatments Due: - Treatments (Bring 3 copies) Assign: - Revised Treatments (Due: 02/07) ***This syllabus is subject to change by the Instructor, as needed.*** 5

6 Week 4 02/05 02/07 - Script Formatting - Peer Review of Treatments Assign: - 2-page verbal script (Due: 02/12) - Character Development Reading: - Chapter 3 Character and Emotion Due: - Revised Treatments Assign: - Character Bios (Due: 02/14) Week 5 02/12 02/14 - Read-through of 2-page verbal scripts - Read-through of 2-page verbal scripts Due: - Character Bios Week 6 02/19 02/21 - Plot Structure - Outline Reading: - Chapter 4 The Three-Part Nature of Film Structure Assign: - Outline (Due: Individual meeting) - Schedule Individual Meetings - The problem, the confrontation, and the revelation Reading: - Chapter 6 Fade In - Chapter 7 The Middle - Chapter 8 Fade Out Assign: - Schedule Individual Meetings - First Draft Script #1 (Due: 03/28) 6

7 UPDATED: 01/11/2013 Week 7 02/26 02/28 Week 8 03/05 03/07 Week 9 03/12 03/14 SPRING BREAK SPRING BREAK Week 10 03/19 - Scene Construction Reading: - Chapter 9 Constructing the Scene 03/21 - The Dialog Reading: - Chapter 10 The Dialogue * Storm Drill at 10:20 a.m. Week 11 03/26 03/28 - The Subtext Reading: - Chapter 11 The Subtext of Meaning - Peer Review of First Draft Script #1 - Assign: - Revised Script #1 (Due: 04/04) - Script #2 (Due: Finals Week) Due: - First Draft Script #1 Week 12 04/02 04/04 Discussion: - Short film of the day Discussion: - Short film of the day ***This syllabus is subject to change by the Instructor, as needed.*** 7

8 - Peer Review of First Draft Script #1 - Pitch Script #2 Due: - Revised Script #1 Week 13 04/09 04/11 - Schedule Individual Meetings Work Day: Peer Review Script #2 1 st Draft - Schedule Individual Meetings Work Day: Peer Review Script #2 nd Draft Week 14 04/16 04/18 Week 15 04/23 04/25 Week 16 04/30 05/02 (If needed, have 2 students present on the same day). Work Day: Peer Review Script #2 Final Draft Finals Week TBA Due: Script #2 8