| Course Description |
This seven-week course is designed to assist Screen/TV Writing and Directing concentrates approaching graduation to take a cool critical eye on their material and
revise it with an eye to concerns that are both creative and pragmatic. Is the screenplay in the strongest possible shape in terms of core story aims,
fundamental structure, a compelling path in? How do you attract financiers to a script? How about actors? Is there a scene, or scenes, that an actor with some visibility who can boost funding chances would just die to play? If not, why not? How about questions of producibility – screenplay length, number of locations,
complexity of scenes to be shot, probable budget? How can writer-directors and creative producers (without whom no movie could be made) forge stronger collaborative relationships, ones respectful of the unique offerings all parties bring to the table?
These are just some of the points of focus in First Features Lab, a course modeled somewhat on the famed Sundance Institute Labs, which so many Columbia Film
Program faculty have attended and been shaped by, including the instructor and creator of this class. First Features Lab allows for an intensive focus on one project per week. Everyone in class will read that screenplay, deliver 2 pages of written notes on the script, and come to each session ready to discuss the material in depth. Ideally screenplay material has already gone through at least one Script Revision class and also been workshopped in a student’s thesis workshop, to gain individual advisors’ input. Creative Producers attached to the project under discussion are a key part of these sessions and can benefit from hearing both the instructor’s notes and those from classmates.
The goal is to create a rigorous space for examining the first feature screenplay with an eye toward production, collaboration, and leaving Columbia with the strongest
piece of material possible upon graduation. For the final class, each creative team must present a 1-2 page document outlining next steps for a revision of the screenplay, with clear, actionable ideas about how to push the material closer to being competitive in the marketplace. A class plan follows. All students must commit to attending every session of this class and show up for everyone in the lab with passion and dedication to thematerial under discussion. Another goal is to form a strong collective that can continue to provide support and feedback beyond the duration of the |
