London on Film: British Script and Cinema Analysis

A screenplay is one of the most unappreciated forms of writing. It is also one of the most complex. The novelist or poet communicates directly with their audience. The screenwriter must initially communicate their ideas, emotions, and themes into a literary work that involves many intermediaries before it reaches an audience.

As a result the screenwriter must negotiate a path often crowded with problems that don’t arise for the novelist or poet. The screenwriter must communicate with a director, a production designer, an editor, actors, costumers, and a director of photography, studio executives, investors, etc.

At the same time, the screenwriter must intimately understand both the conventions of storytelling and the psychology of an audience, while never losing sight of the needs, desires, and human flaws of the characters in the story.

The ability to juggle these conflicting demands tests the most skillful of screenwriters and makes the creation of a first-rate screenplay a rare event.

Thus begging the question – either as someone writing a screenplay or someone analyzing one – what makes a good story well told?

The aim of this class is to explore, analyze and understand the elements and approaches to screenplay writing. In order to accomplish this goal we will examine how a screenwriter utilizes structure, plot, character, archetype, theme, and symbolism to create a screen story well told.

At the completion of the class, you will be able to achieve the following objectives:

1.  Have a solid understanding of the building blocks and design of a screenplay.

2.  Have an appreciation of the centrality of structure and character in the creation of a screenplay.

3.  Have an understanding of the various approaches to screenplay writing.

4.  Have an understanding of how to write professional script coverage.

5.  Have an understanding of what elements make a “good story well told.”

This course examines the role that the capital has played in British film from the early, silent years to today. Many directors have used the iconic status of London as either the protagonist or backdrop in films of different genres, from the silent era to World War II documentaries, from the “swinging London” of the 1960s to the social satires of the 1980s, and from gangster films to romantic comedies. The course explores the significance of this world city and its representation of Britishness. It also provides the opportunity, where possible, of exploring the real locations and venues where films were shot.