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We're back in the Writers' Room for the Breakdown Webcast: The First 10 Pages! The first 10 pages - or the opening sequence of the script - is so important and a good "First 10" will establish the tone and genre, introduce the main character, clarify the world of the story and the status quo, indicate the theme, and above all set up the dramatic question. That is why we will be breaking down some of the most memorable scenes and sequences found with the first 10 pages of our favorite film and TV series. We will also explore 7 types of openings and how they can launch your narrative - without falling into the trap of being cliche or derivative. As part of the webcast, you can download the complete scripts we discuss by clicking here. Once you have wrapped up the webcast, make sure to head on over to the Private Writers' Room Lounge to discuss your favorite opening scenes from film and television. And let us know why! Full Bio »
We're back in the Writers' Room for the Breakdown Webcast: The First 10 Pages! The first 10 pages - or the opening sequence of the script - is so important and a good "First 10" will establish the tone and genre, introduce the main character, clarify the world of the story and the status quo, indicate the theme, and above all set up the dramatic question.
That is why we will be breaking down some of the most memorable scenes and sequences found with the first 10 pages of our favorite film and TV series. We will also explore 7 types of openings and how they can launch your narrative - without falling into the trap of being cliche or derivative.
As part of the webcast, you can download the complete scripts we discuss by clicking here.
Once you have wrapped up the webcast, make sure to head on over to the Private Writers' Room Lounge to discuss your favorite opening scenes from film and television. And let us know why!
The Breakdown
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"Thank you Jason--this webinar was PHENOMENAL--I never heard anyone break down first 10 like this--I loved the way you described each way it's done, then the clip, and then the screenplay. It gives us frameworks for watching the first 10 of movies, and options for ways to look at our own scripts. You are a genius instructor!" - Ricki L.
"Jason - you have raised the bar AGAIN with this breakdown. Thank you so much." - Stephen P.
"Ditto, Stephen" - Jenny R.
"Jason, thanks for breaking down the first 10 pages in a new way with so many great examples! So much food for thought as I examine and rethink the openings of my screenplays!" - Martha C.
Dark comedies intend to make light of events that would otherwise be considered too painful to discuss. The hope is that viewers will gain a cathartic experience, or simply laugh at some absurd situation. During this webcast, Jason Mirch discusses the 6 principles of how to make Dark Comedies work, while showing clips of some of the best dark comedies as examples.
We're back in the Writers' Room for the Breakdown Webcast: Tackling Tone. Tone is the most elusive element of screenwriting. Particularly because much of the tone of a project is conveyed by much more than just the script. Tone is really the culmination of every artistic and aesthetic choice made during the production process from the screenplay, the angles of the camera, the choices the actors make, cinematography, pacing of a scene, music, costume design, and more. During this webcast, we discuss how to capture tone on the page in ways that you are able to convey a vision that can be interpreted by the other artists who will come to work on the project. We examine some of our favorite films and television series to see how tone was captured on the page and then realized on the screen. We also discuss tips on how you can achieve balance and clarity in your tone.
Using the films Annihilation, Arrival, Avatar, Legion, and Mad Max: Fury Road as examples, we'll be discussing and describing visually original concepts.
We're kicking off the first Writers' Room of 2020 with a deep dive into antiheroes - one of the most difficult character types to write. During this supersized 90 minute webcast, Director of Script Services, Jason Mirch explores the complexities of characters from some of our favorite films and television series including Joker, Kill Bill, The Social Network, The Irishman, "Fleabag", "The Sopranos", "Sherlock" and more to find out what makes them tick...and why we love them. We discuss the how screenwriters craft compelling antiheroes and I will give you specific types of antiheroes to consider when writing as well as tips on how to write them!
We're back in the Writers Room this afternoon for a special The Breakdown Webcast with Industry Veteran Producer and Writer, Laurie Ashbourne!Laurie Ashbourne is a writer-producer, artist, and script doctor with over 25 produced credits to her name and many in various stages of production right now, including a sitcom with Kenan Thompson, an animated feature with the director of MULAN, and an original story she wrote (10-31) was recently purchased and fast-tracked to production with acclaimed producers Eli Roth and Roger Birnbaum.
We're back in the Writers Room for a special Breakdown Webcast: Breaking Down Career Goals for 2021! We're officially on the back-half of 2021 and this is a perfect time to assess what we have accomplished so far - and our goals for the remainder of the year. Are you on track? Are you ahead of where you thought you would be at this time? Do you need a bit more of a push and support from your fellow members? During this webcast our members discussed what they have accomplished so far this year, as well as their creative and professional goals for the rest of 2021.