film, video & TV training | professional development

Discipline/s:	writing & directing
Level:	Advanced
Course code Date/s & times:	Saturdays April 6, 13, 20, 27, May 4, 11, 18, 25, Jun 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, Aug 3, 10, 17, 24 (10:00am to 5:30pm)
Contact hours:	102 plus script edit (post-course)
Places:	10
Fee:	$1,450 Open Channel Members / $1,740 Non Members (Membership: $55 / $44 concession - join Open Channel here)
Prerequisites:	Applicants should have completed Screenwriting Introduction, or have scriptwriting experience, plus a concept in development.

 

Anyone can write. To write well, takes a great idea, ambition, and craft.

In Open Channel's unique 17-day intensive screenwriting course, you'll learn the secrets of the craft that have taken others years to learn.

Could it be your film or TV idea that is the one everyone talks about around the water-cooler?

Screenwriters just need to start.

And the journey for great screenwriters starts here at Open Channel.

"It is so important for us as a culture to develop great Australian stories that entertain as well as enlighten. Congratulations must go to Open Channel for having the foresight to run such a course which I think is the only one of its kind running in Australia."
Marilyn Tofler, Screenwriter (Whatever Happened to That Guy?, Foxtel)

ABOUT THE COURSE

Open Channel’s 17-week intensive screenwriting course, Concept to Script, is designed for new screenwriters to turn their great idea for a film or television series into a commercially-viable first draft screenplay.

Let your idea be guided by some of the industry’s leading practitioners, in a collaborative and protected script workshop environment.

Hollywood has long been developing scripts under the “writer’s room” model, a model where the group dynamic under careful leadership produces incredible results.

Here’s what you will learn:

The course is facilitated by Jo Dillon, International Script Consultant on television and films for major Production Companies, Script Assessor for Film Victoria, and screenwriter of Workhorse which screened at Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, one of the world's leading international festivals for short films.

Jo will guide participants through the process of writing your first film or show, teaching the  essential elements of screenplay structure, and guiding the room to critique your work as you progress. Learn how to:

• Find and hone your concept
• Develop your story premise
• Create compelling characters, build character profiles and improve characterisation
• Find your structure, devise Plot and construct narrative
• Format your script
• Write effective dramatic scenes
• Write dialogue
• Write for different budgets and formats
• Work collaboratively with other writers
• Read a screenplay, script edit and write coverage
• Pitch your film or TV show

The course includes Guest classes by leading industry screenwriters, on topics of format (i.e. Film, TV) and genre (i.e. Comedy, Drama).

Finally, at the end of the course, participants will receive script notes on your writing, and also have an opportunity to pitch to practice your script (sales) pitch to leading Production Company, such as Ruby Entertainment (Kath And Kim, Crackerjack).

Participants in this course also receive a complimentary 1-year Associate Membership to the body that represents screenwriters in Australia, the AUSTRALIAN WRITERS GUILD. www.awg.com.au

Who should do this course?
Concept to Script is aimed at new writers who wish to pursue a professional career in screenwriting and/or directing film and television drama, and offers the opportunity to develop and write a treatment/script over a 5 month-period supported by industry professionals.

Where can I go after this course?
Graduates will continue developing a feature screenplay or television series commenced in the course. This course can be accredited toward an Advanced Diploma in Screen and Media (Feature Film & TV Series Development). Open Channel also offers Initiatives such as pitching competitions for members to help you develop your project further.

Are you interested in being Accredited for this course?
This course can be accredited toward an Advanced Diploma in Screen and Media (Feature Film & TV Series Development). Contact training@openchannel.org.au for more information.

How do I Enrol?
To Apply, send a 1-2 paragraph synopsis of a film project by email to training@openchannel.org.au along with:
a) a signed copy of our Unsolicited Submissions Agreement
b) a short course enrolment form (course code: C2S) - Short Courses Application Form (pdf)
Note: If you wish to enrol in this course as part of a full Advanced Diploma of Screen and Media, rather than as a standalone short course, please contact us for further instructions.

Tutors

JO DILLON
International Script Consultant, Jo Dillon is a writer and script consultant. She has worked in development with independent film producers, directors, screen agencies and writers in the UK and , since arriving in Australia in 2012, as a development consultant to local independent producers, as an assessor for the AWG and Film Victoria, and as a lecturer and script mentor at Open Channel. She works across all genres in drama, docudrama and documentary. She is used to working with both emerging and established writers and many previous clients and their projects have gone on to achieve critical and commercial success. She trained with The Script Factory and Arista and has an MA in Creative Writing. She is a former UK national newspaper journalist. Jo Dillon is an experienced developer of documentaries and drama for independent film and television. She works with producers, writers and screen agencies to develop scripts and ideas, and worked as Head of Development for the UK’s Yipp Films from 2004 - 2006. Jo came to TV and film after a decade in journalism, writing mainly on politics for national newspapers and appearing as a regular current affairs commentator on radio and television. She is also a creative writer, both for the screen and in prose. Jo’s screen credits include the confronting UK Short Film, Workhorse.

CHRIS THOMPSON
Screenwriter and Lecturer. Chris is a writer, director and teacher. A former Artistic Director of St Martins Youth Arts Centre in Melbourne and HotHouse Theatre in Albury-Wodonga and has written for theatre, film and television. His plays have been nominated for four AWGIE awards, winning twice and his screenplay for the feature film The Tumbler was nominated for the QLD Premier’s Literary Awards and won the 2007 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award. He was co-creator and head writer for two seasons of Shock Jock on TV1-Foxtel and writer for the digital dome-show, Problem With Pluto at the Melbourne Planetarium. Earlier this year he was script editor on a new television project for Buon Giorno Productions and is currently developing a new half hour series with Mondayitis. Chris has reviewed teenage fiction for Viewpoint Magazine since 1995, has been an AWGIE judge for many years, lectures at ACU in theatre and playwriting, is a member of the Grants Panels for the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation, on the national Board of the Australian Script Centre and is Chair of the Victorian Writers’ Centre.

TIM FERGUSON
Australia's internationally acclaimed 'comedy doctor', Tim Ferguson is a comedian, producer and screenwriter. He toured internationally with comedy trio the Doug Anthony Allstars (DAAS) and is Australia's foremost narrative comedy teacher. He has written for dozens of comedy and entertainment TV series in Australia and Britain. Recently, Tim wrote The Cheeky Monkey – Writing Narrative Comedy (Currency Press).

MICHAEL HARVEY
Screenwriter and Producer
UK born, Michael Harvey has worked in the Australian film and television industry for over 30 years. Starting with Crawford Productions, writing for Homicide and Division 4, Michael has over 60 hours of writing/editing credits on all four major TV networks (see IMDB and also the current Australian Writers’ Guild Writers Directory). In 1976, Michael studied Direction at the Australian Film and TV School and with his graduation film, Goodbye, Johnny Ray..., won the AFI’s Silver Short Fiction award for 1979. Since then he has written for some 25 separate programs including, amongst others, ABC-TV (Phoenix and Janus), Crawfords (Carsons Law), JNP (A Country Practice), ATN-7  (Home and Away), Simpson-Le Mesurier  (Skirts), and also devised and wrote Gatekeepers, a five-part drama for ABC Radio. Michael has also written and directed a number of training films including Ruth, a 30 mins dramatised educational video concerning Alzheimer’s Disease. In 1989 Michael edited and co-wrote Galbally!  the ‘top-ten’ selling autobiography of prominent Victorian lawyer, Frank Galbally. After gaining two previous AWGIE nominations (Tv Drama, Education), Michael received the 1995 AWGIE (TV Series Drama) Award for an episode of the ABC-TV series Janus.  Subsequently, Michael devised the television drama series State Coroner and – with David Taft – formed HARVEY TAFT PRODUCTIONS. Together, they produced 29 hours of State Coroner (in partnership with Crawfords Australia) for Network TEN, Australia. The telemovie pilot episode of State Coroner, written by Michael, received both an AFI and an AWGIE nomination in 1997. With the assistance of Film Victoria and Screen Australia Michael wrote and developed a number of feature film and television scripts, including Dirt Game, The Last Dream, Option B, and CHA$. Michael co-produced, with David Taft, the television series Dirt Game for the ABC which won an Australian Director's Guild award and an Australian Cinematographers Society award. Michael is a past Victorian Vice President and State Chairperson of the Australian Writers’ Guild, the recipient of the 2000 Richard Lane Award for services to the Guild, and has delivered lectures in TV writing for both the Guild and various tertiary institutions.

MICHAEL BRINDLEY
Screenwriter & Script Consultant
Michael has worked extensively as a script consultant and reader for all Australian government film funding bodies and for the New Zealand Film Commission. When he ran the Australian Film Commission Script Office in 1987-8, he was responsible for the entire script development budget.  In 1993 he consulted to the West Australia Film Council (now Screen West) on script assessment and script editing and wrote guidelines for reader reports, which are still used, in adapted form, by a number of other film funding bodies.  A screenwriter since 1978, when he graduated from the AFTRS, his credits include Prisoner, Punishment, Taurus Rising, Bellamy, Blue Heelers and Police Rescue. He was a staff script editor on the top-rating A Country Practice and went on to become Story Producer on this show.  Michael Brindley co-wrote the award winning feature film, Shame, (New York Times Review extract) which was invited to many festivals, beginning with the New York Museum of Modern Art ‘New Directors, New Films’. It went on to worldwide theatrical distribution and was remade as a telemovie for US Lifetime cable. He wrote the ABC mini-series Half A World Away and, with Karin Altmann, the top-rating telemovie One Way Ticket.  On the AFI award-winning Series I & II of Geoffrey Atherden’s Grass Roots Michael was a writer and the series script and story editor. He was the ABC network executive supervising MDA-Medical Defence Australia Series I & II, which won three AFI awards, including Best Television Drama. Michael has lectured at RMIT University (where he was a founding teacher in the Advanced Diploma In Professional Screenwriting), La Trobe University, VCA Film School and AFTRS. He devised and taught courses in Adaptation, Script Analysis and Feature Film Writing. He has also lectured in New Zealand for the NZ Film Commission New Writers Scheme. He was a script advisor to the AFC SP*RK program in 2004 and 05 and a participant in 2008.  Michael wrote the guide on Synopses and Treatments for Screen Australia, What Is A One-page synopsis? and The Screen Hub Guide to Script Format.  In 1996 Michael received the AWG Hector Crawford Award for Script Editing.

Testimonials

"Thanks so much for the concept to script class. It really de-mystified the process of writing without taking the magic of film away. I came away with such a greater understanding of structure, plot, scene construction, character development and more. At the pace I'm writing at the moment I'm seeing a first draft completed within the next month!!! That's not something I would have imagined six months ago. So once again THANK YOU!!!"
Leena

"Thanks for your help last week. It has been so good reviewing the tape I recorded when working with actors in class, and making changes. I'm working to get rid of any scene that is people sitting around talking and instead making things happen through action. It's making massive improvements to my story! Your course is so good!"
Past Student