Hello everybody! I am considering to enrol in online screenwriting school. Do you have any suggestions or experiences to share? I think that the online solution would be better for me because I work, but it would be great if you can recommend some non-online universities or courses as well :)
Screenwriting : Screenwriting Bachelor Degree by Francesco Volpi
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Pick yourself up a copy of the Screenwriter's Bible by David Trottier to learn formatting and structure. You can use free programs like Celtx to write your screen play in. Start writing, put down all the ideas that come to you and figure out the stories you want to tell. I'd also suggest Writing for the Green Light by Scott Kirkpatrick to help refine your scripts/stories. Bottom line, I don't think it's necessary to go to school to be a screenwriter but if that's the path you want to take, more power to you.
Thank you both of you, guys! Your advice is much appreciated!
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Read scripts. Lots of scripts. Then watch the movies that the scripts were made from and compare. Do this over and over and you'll learn screenwriting. You don't need to spend money (although the books recommendations above are great ones) to learn to write screenplays. Here's a link to a bunch of downloadable scripts:
https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/script-download-links-9313356d361c
The main benefit of film school is the networking. If you do it online, you're missing that experience, so I would really question the value of an online program.
Thank you guys, your pieces of advice are much much appreciated!
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All you really need is a PhD meaning you can pile it on higher and deeper than the rest of us.
Does anyone know which schools/programs Dalton Trumbo, Billy Wilder and William Goldman enrolled in?
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Steve, from what I remember from the Nobody's Perfect bio, he did not go through any higher ed but struck out on his own in all kinds of odd jobs that led to his stories to write and direct.
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Goldman has a Masters degree from Columbia and Trumbo attended USC. Writing sample spec screenplays didn't exist in their time. They wrote for newspapers and published books.
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You are both correct
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I remember reading a Script Magazine article years ago that listed 4 schools. It may be a recurring yearly thing so it's not a bad idea to check them out. Just be cautious of if any of the schools they list advertise in their magazine.