CINEMA 75B: Intermediate Screenwriting, and CINEMA 75C: Advanced Screenwriting will be taught as contemporaneous online hybrid courses, with shared weekly Zoom sessions on Thursday evenings from 6:00-8:00 PM during asynchronous learning weeks and once-monthly in-person sessions. I will record the Zoom sessions and post the recordings.

In-person meetings in Spring 2025 will take place on Thursday evenings from 6:10-9 PM in CH (Cloud Hall) 221 on the following dates: 1/23, 2/20, 3/20, 4/24, and 5/15.  

Following the work of creating Act I of a feature screenplay in CINEMA 75A: Screenwriting, CINEMA 75B: Intermediate Screenwriting will focus on writing Act II and on deepening and strengthening your screenwriting skills. You can expect to receive more in-depth notes on your work and to do targeted rewrites.

CINEMA 75C: Advanced Screenwriting will focus on completing Act III of a feature screenplay and on devising a plan for an overall rewrite of the work.

Both courses will place a heavy emphasis on mutual student support for the creative work of the class. Each week, you will be expected to read your peers' work and to give thoughtful, timely written feedback to peers who are workshopping their scripts.  

While CINEMA 75A: Screenwriting will be an introductory class with a greater focus on acquiring basic skills and on studying representative films and screenplays, CINEMA 75B and CINEMA 75C will maintain a central focus on writing and workshopping student scripts. 

In-Person sessions will be used in part to screen films that represent highly original stories or approaches to cinematic storytelling. 

COLLAB PROJECT:  Students in both classes will have the option to apply to collaborate with directing and producing students to produce short films based on short scripts or screenplay excerpts of 8-10 pages.  Details to follow!

TEXTBOOKS

Building on the curriculum from CINEMA 75A: Screenwriting, I'll assign review reading in The Screenwriter's Bible, 7th Edition, by David Trottier. 

A second required text will be Alternative Scriptwriting: Beyond the Hollywood Formula, 6th Edition, by Ken Dancyger, Jessie Keyt, and Jeff Rush. This text profiles a range of approaches to contemporary narrative screenwriting.

SCREENPLAY FORMAT

Final Draft, the industry standard script formatting software, will not be required for these courses. However, you must write scripts in standard screenplay format.

You can use a free formatting program such as Highland II or Celtx. Final Draft will also be available in the CCSF Cinema Department Lab on campus and is often available for purchase at a student rate. 

However you choose to format your scripts, you will need to submit them to me in PDF format for student workshops.

The following is a standard screenplay format sample from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 

Screenplay Formatting 

COVID & REGISTRATION

CCSF students are no longer required to provide proof of COVID vaccination in order to register for classes. However, masking for indoor classes for both students and faculty remains highly recommended. I plan to remain masked and to keep the classroom door open during In-Person sessions.

WAITLIST

If the course is full before the semester begins, you'll be able to sign up for the waitlist. On the first day of the class, the waitlist will no longer appear, and students interested in adding the course will have to request to add the class. Add/Drop Procedure. Though you will not see the waitlist once the semester begins, I will keep a copy of the list and approve Requests to Add in that order.

ATTENDANCE & DROPPING THE COURSE

Our course will begin with Module 0, which will include an assignment to introduce yourself and to respond to another student's post. 

Students who have not posted to this assignment by the beginning of our SECOND WEEK, when Module 1 will be published, will be dropped from the course as "no-shows."

Students who miss assignments for more than two weeks must contact me to discuss their situation to avoid being dropped for non-participation.

CANVAS SUPPORT CENTER HUB

Please use the following link to access the Canvas Support Center Hub:

https://ccsf.instructure.com/courses/39802

DISABLED STUDENTS PROGRAMS & SERVICES

Please use the following link to access Disabled Students Programs & Services (DSPS):

https://www.ccsf.edu/student-services/support-programs/disabled-students-programs-services