Summary
Learn the the writing tools and exercises that helped your Stage 32 Educator write for HBO, NBC, CBS, and FOX!
Receive 13 script downloads, 5 scene examples & 4 character and dialogue exercises
This class is suitable for all levels. Whether you are an accomplished writer, or just starting out, this class offers you the opportunity to continue to improve your writing skills.
Think of some of your favorite films or screenplays. Chances are, you can quote them all day and all night. That’s because great dialogue sticks with you forever. It elevates scripts with good concepts to great movies.
But writing amazing dialogue is a skill and that skill takes time to learn. And there are tricks to making sure that all your characters stand out and are compelling at every turn. Great dialogue makes that happen.
Brian Herskowitz is a screenwriter and producer with over 3 dozen films under his belt. He is a master at story and dialogue and simply an incredible teacher.
In this exclusive 4-part, on demand class, Brian will teach you everything about writing killer dialogue. From showing how dialogue can be used to propel your story forward to finding authenticity in every character’s voice to handling exposition in a professional way to implementing subtext to strengthen character and story and all points in between, you will leave Brian’s class with an entirely new perspective on dialogue!
PLUS! You will receive the following downloads from Brian:
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"As a collaborator with Brian and a guest in his class, I am hugely impressed with his screenwriting knowledge. I heartily recommend him and his course."
- Jason Alexander
(Seinfeld, Shallow Hal, Listen Up)
"The course was everything I needed and then some. An excellent course."
"Mr. Herskowitz is very knowledgeable, patient, and superb at discerning problems and helping us solve them."
"A solid course in which I felt I had learned a LOT by the time it was over."
What You'll Learn
Week 1- Explaining Dialogue
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What is Dialogue?
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What does dialogue do?
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How to use dialogue to propel your story forward?
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A glossary of terms.
Assignment: Write a character bio that affects your characters' dialogue (voice).
Week 2- Authenticity in Voice
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What makes dialogue stand out?
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How to make the voice of the character Authentic via dialogue.
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Elevating the character with dialogue.
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Examples of good (and) bad dialogue from movies.
Assignment: Identify dialogue from your writing that is weak and rework them.
Week 3- Exposition
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What Is Exposition?
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How does reducing exposition affect page count?
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How to avoid cringe-worthy and "clunky" dialogue?
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Workshop pages in class.
Assignment: Identify exposition in your screenplay. Rework those pages
Week 4- Subtext
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How dialogue and character lead to scene work.
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What is subtext?
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How to implement subtext?
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Examples of subtext from films.
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Q&A with Brian
Assignment: Identify scenes where subtext can infuse more tension.
WHAT TO EXPECT:
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This class will consist of four on demand sessions, roughly 2 hours in duration and go significantly more in depth than a standard webinar.
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Each class is roughly two hours in duration with an assignment for you to complete at your pace before you move on to the next
Who Should Attend
Screenwriters looking to improve dialogue in their script
Directors wanting to help actors get better performances
Producers looking to trim script pages through dialogue
Executive
Brian is a veteran film and television writer and producer who has worked on over 2 dozen films and television shows.
Some of his film credits include the feature film BUCKY AND THE SQUIRRELS, which starred Jason Alexander from SEINFELD, BEFORE SOMEONE GETS HURT, which starred Michael Welch from TWILIGHT, MUSICAL CHAIRS, which was directed by Susan Seidelman from SEX IN THE CITY and TIO PAPI, which was directed by Fro Rojas. As director/writer/producer, he is slated to begin production on a new film BEFORE MOONRISE.
In television, his writing credits include working with HBO, NBC, CBS, Universal Television, FOX on shows such asHERCULES: THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS, DREAM ON, BLOSSOM, RENEGADE and more. He was on the producing team for the critically acclaimed TOUR OF DUTY where he was recognized by the TV academy for his contribution to the show by the Emmy winning post-production sound department. Brian co-wrote the FOX pilot MANTIC with Jason Alexander. Also, he worked as a punch-up writer on BOB PATTERSON and LISTEN UP.
As a director Brian wrote and directed the award-winning short film ODESSA OR BUST starring SEINFELD’S Jason Alexander and RUSHMORE’S Jason Schwartzman. His new short content series MURRAY GHOST which he directed, produced, wrote, and edited is currently making the rounds on the festival circuit.
He currently has a nine-episode podcast, IDENTITY THEFT, running on Spotify. This is the first offering from the THRILLING STORIES podcast series.
Testimonials
"I have a master's degree and a doctorate; Brian is by far the most caring and
best teacher I have ever had."
"The course was everything I needed and then some. An excellent course."
"Mr. Herskowitz is very knowledgeable, patient, and superb at discerning problems and helping us solve them."
"A solid course in which I felt I had learned a LOT by the time it was over."