Screenwriting 101 (weekend course)
Screenwriting 101
May 25–26
10–6pm
He’s helped write Academy Award winning movies, he’s worked with Steven Spielberg, he’s developed hit television shows, and now he’s teaching Screenwriting 101! Michael Lucker hosts this fun and inspiring six week course, where you’ll learn about Idea, Character, Plot, Scene Design, Dialogue and Rewriting through engaging lecture, film clips, screenplay excerpts and original class exercises.
Ultimately, you will leave the course having completed your own 15-page short film script! You get to apply what you’re learning, ask questions and get weekly feedback, thus ensuring you’re walking away with a toolbox full of new story techniques – and the knowledge to use them! As an added bonus, at the end of the course Michael will provide personalized notes on your 15-page script. (Scroll down for complete syllabus.)
Cost $249 Screenwriting 101, May 25–26, 10–6pm — 100% Safe and Secure – We are PayPal verified. Enroll now and you’ll get an immediate email confirming your seat. Instant confirmation only available online.
Here’s the syllabus:
The Big Idea
Where does it come from? Where will it go? Screenwriting vs. Coal mining. Compelling, distinctive, marketable ideas. Choosing a genre. Themes and titles. Settings and arenas. Your new best friend. What you know or want to know.
Charismatic Characters
Heroes, opponents and allies. Do we like them? Do we have to? Personal need vs. want. Strengths and weaknesses. Motivations and destinations. Quirks and arcs. Point of view. Free psychotherapy.
Story Structure
Situation, complication and resolution. Shakespeare who? Goals and obstacles. Act turns and plot twists. Inciting incidents. Gauntlets and graves. McGuffins and red herrings. Drama = Conflict. Open or closed mysteries.
Pounding Out Pages
Formatting fun. Scene design. Style and rhythm. Active vs. passive. Adverb power. The Wham-O Chart. Beginnings and endings. Underestimating and overwriting. Time and discipline. Baby steps.
Unforgettable Dialogue
A window to the soul and psyche. Communicating values and morals. Avoiding cliches and noses. Escaping exposition. Let the character write. Intuition vs. Imagination. Keeping it real.
Rewriting the Writing
Laughter, tears and fears. Overlapping tension. Peeling onions. Sex, violence and other nifty stuff. Painting the canvas. Fourth walls and flashbacks. Killing darlings. Hemingway’s theory. Pride and prejudice. Is it done?
Cost $249 Screenwriting 101, May 25–26, 10–6pm — 100% Safe and Secure – We are PayPal verified. Enroll now and you’ll get an immediate email confirming your seat. Instant confirmation only available online.
About Instructor Michael Lucker
Michael is a writer, director, producer and creative consultant with twenty years experience creating film, television, animation and digital media. He has worked in production for ABC, NBC, CBS and HBO before becoming assistant to Steven Spielberg at Amblin Entertainment on feature films Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade, Arachnophobia, Joe Vs. The Volcano, Always, Back To The Future ll & lll and Jurassic Park. He went onto work in creative affairs at Hollywood Pictures, helping develop the movies Crimson Tide, Terminal Velocity, Taking Care of Business and Straight Talk.
Michael has penned over twenty feature screenplays for studios such as Paramount, Disney, DreamWorks, Fox and Universal, including Vampire in Brooklyn, Home On the Range and Spirit, which won the Academy Award in 2002 as best animated feature. He also served as screenwriter on the animated sequels to Mulan, Lilo & Stitch, Emperor’s New Groove and 101 Dalmatians.
An opportunity to consult for Turner Entertainment took him home to Atlanta in 2007. Michael went on to develop multiple television projects with such companies as Encyclomedia, Shed Media Group and Crazy Legs Productions before launching his own production company, Lucky Dog Filmworks. His network writing, directing and producing credits now include Animal Planet, Cartoon Network, DIY, History Channel, MSNBC, Travel Channel, Discovery, Weather Chanel, NBC and TBS.
Since his return Michael has lectured at various colleges throughout the southeast including Emory University, Clark University, Morehouse College, Georgia State University and the Creative Circus. He also served as screenwriting mentor for the Atlanta Film Festival, Southeastern Writer’s Conference, Georgia Writer’s Association, and Atlanta Writer’s Club, discovering a passion for teaching he never knew he had. Thus, “Screenwriter School” was born, an entertaining and educational lecture series where Michael shares his wit and wisdom of life in the trenches with aspiring writers throughout the southeast.
CLASS LOCATION:
887 West Marietta Street
Suite S-103
Atlanta, GA 30318
Cost $249 Screenwriting 101, May 25–26, 10–6pm — 100% Safe and Secure – We are PayPal verified. Enroll now and you’ll get an immediate email confirming your seat. Instant confirmation only available online.
