IP: Fade In: First Steps to Screenwriting

Do you have a great idea for a film, but have no idea where to begin?

Or maybe you have too many ideas, and don’t know which one to follow?

Or perhaps you have an idea, but aren’t sure if it’s a feature, TV series, or short?

In this workshop we’ll focus on learning the fundamental “pre-writing” tools you can

use to identify, test, and develop your idea into something you can confidently bring to page one

of your screenplay.

Workshop Breakdown:

-Instructor Introduction and Welcome

-Ideas and Inspiration

In this section we’ll explore where we get our ideas, how to choose “the best” idea if we’ve got

more than one, and whether inspiration is really all it’s cracked up to be.

-Titles and Loglines

Now that we’ve got our idea, we’ll test it out with a couple of simple exercises. What’s the title,

and what’s the logline? Easier said than done, but it provides some valuable clues about the

viability of our idea…

-Choosing Your Medium

So we have an idea, it’s got a name and logline, but what is it? Film? TV? Half hour, one hour,

limited series? We’ll build a framework to help us distinguish between each medium and make

sure we’re working in the right direction.

-Blue-Skying

Okay, time for the fun stuff! What’s going to happen in our story? The sky’s the limit!

-Break

-Story Breaking

Now comes the hard part. Which ideas stay, which ideas go, and what do we save for later?

-Beat Sheets

Let’s figure out our turning points or big “beats” and make sure they’re working for our chosen

medium.

-Outlines and Treatments

A few rules and a little bit of formatting to take care of here, then we’re off to the races.

-Deadlines and Routines

How can we find time to complete our pre-writing and actually start writing our script? Let’s talk

strategies and techniques for getting things done.

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About your teacher:

Geoffrey Gunn is a writer, producer, and director specializing in independent film. His past

writing and co-writing credits include anime legend Mamoru Oshii’s GARM WARS: THE LAST

DRUID and the dark comedy DIRTY WEEKEND, both of which enjoyed international film

festival runs before finding their way to theaters, home video and streaming services. Additional

writing credits include the Lionsgate release SIREN, micro-budget darling CINEMA

PURGATORIO and the Lifetime thriller FATAL FAMILY REUNION. With over 15 years of

experience in the business of independent film, Geoffrey also routinely works as a panelist,

teacher, and consultant on the topic of screenwriting and filmmaking.

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