We, this year students and I, attended the oral presentations of the graduating students. I was in the jury, they were part of the audience. Hence they could learn what is the final step of their scriptwriting training. They were also able to mingle with their fellow writers to get tips on how to work this year.
The presentations were brilliant, teasing the audience to read the scripts. I sat with 2 producers, 3 scriptwriters and the Master headteacher. We had to evaluate the students works, based on the presentation and the scripts we read. Not as easy as it could seem : learning the writing technics and tools is one thing. Mastering and using them to tell a great story in a skilled manner is another.
In our scriptwriting lesson 103, we discussed the top priorities for the students during this year, based on what they learned from these presentations. Start writing ASAP was one conclusion. Giving consistent roots to situations and characters was another. Being aware of what they want to write and why was the 3rd big lesson.
I believe attending these presentations impacted the way they rewrote their exercices for lesson 103. As a matter of fact, theirs stories had really grown and developed since they had an idea 2 weeks ago. The improvements were evident.
So far, we have only worked on structure. Structure is the base. Sharing and discussing it with other writers is a very good tool to get it rolling and improving. Comparing again the written text with the initial intention is another. I believe everyone now understands the worth of the 2 lines pitch.
Le pitch en deux lignes :
Cette histoire est (une comédie romantique, un drame psychologique, un film noir, etc.) à propos de (personnage, caractérisé d’un ou deux adjectifs) qui veut, a besoin, cherche (l’objectif)
Tout commence quand ( votre protagoniste fait qqch pour atteindre son objectif)
Ensuite (le tournant majeur / plot point / turning point)
Mais (un bouleversement de l’histoire)
Jusqu’à (le climax, la tension maximum, la surprise)
Finalement (la résolution, ce que le protagoniste a appris)
Histoires en construction 