1. General information about the training program
- Training program name: Film and television script writing skills
- Training subjects: All subjects who have graduated from junior high school or higher, have the need to study film and television scriptwriting.
- Training unit: University of Social Sciences and Humanities
- Certificate name: Film and television script writing skills.
- Training duration: 60 hours
2. Training objectives
The training program on Film and Television Script Writing Skills equips learners with basic and necessary knowledge in the field of film and television scriptwriting: film and television production process, cinema art, film and television script analysis, how to build a film and television script, how to organize a team of screenwriters to carry out a film and television project, etc.
3. Program output standards
3.1. About knowledge
- Master basic knowledge of the creative process of a film and television screenwriter: from finding ideas, forming outlines, building characters, to storyboards, completed scripts...
- Master knowledge of the film and television production process: Learners must grasp the entire process of creating a film from the initial idea to the final product reaching the audience; the "characters" participating in that production process and the position and role of the screenwriter in that production chain.
- Master the basic knowledge of cinematography such as: the components that make up a film (sound, image,...); film content units (sequence, scene, shot...); concepts of some basic issues of cinematography (staging, cinematography, sound in film...). Learners also grasp the differences between feature films shown in theaters and television films, between fiction and non-fiction films (documentaries).
3.2. About skills
Learners will grasp the basic skills of writing a screenplay from forming ideas, developing ideas into a plot, forming characters, knowing how to develop the plot according to different structural forms. Based on the understanding of types/genres of cinema/television, learners will also distinguish and choose screenwriting skills appropriate to the type/genre to write each different type of screenplay.
3.3. About moral qualities
- Have the right attitude about the function and role of screenwriting and screenwriters in the process of creating film and television works.
- Have a clear and appropriate attitude about the role and responsibilities of a screenwriter with other stakeholders in the process of creating film and television works; especially with regard to scripts.
3.4. Job position and professional development opportunities
Students can participate in film and television script writing activities as screenwriters in film and television production units, or as independent screenwriters.
4. Structure of the training program
Total accumulated hours: 60 periods, including:
- Total class time: 40 periods (divided into 16 sessions, each session 2.5 hours)
- Total time for writing graduation work: 20 periods, content includes: 01 detailed outline of TV series and 01 completely written episode
5. Program content
5.1. Introduction to cinema and film and television production system
(5 periods)
- Provide basic knowledge about cinema art (For example: Film structure; film narrative, staging, filming, editing...) and basic knowledge about the history of world/Vietnamese cinema
- Provide basic knowledge about the structure of the film and television production system, thereby understanding the role of the screenwriter in that production system.
5.2. Film script writing skills (7.5 sessions)
The course helps students grasp the basic operations in building the structure of a film, with the components of a film script, the process and operations of writing a film script.
5.3. TV script writing skills (20 sessions)
Television script writing skills is the main subject in the course, providing basic knowledge and skills in television script writing.
5.4. Movie/TV script analysis (7.5 periods)
- This subject provides students with the knowledge and skills to analyze film scripts through in-depth research on aspects of the screenwriting profession, as well as other aspects of the film creation process. The subject will prioritize the practice of skills by requiring students to apply the knowledge they have learned to analyze a number of specific film scripts (including Vietnamese films, foreign films, commercial films, art films, and author films). The scripts of students in the course are also the priority subjects for the practice exercises.
5.5. Practice writing TV scripts (20 sessions)
- This topic is conducted by students at home under the guidance of the instructor. Students write 01 detailed outline of a TV drama script and 01 script for a complete episode.
- The detailed outline and script for an episode must follow the standards of a television script and be the student's own creative product.
6. Form of testing - evaluating learning outcomes
After 40 hours of class, students will write a graduation work with a duration of 20 hours. The graduation work includes: 01 detailed outline of a TV drama script and 01 script for a complete episode. The work must meet the following criteria: be the student's own product, meet TV drama script standards, and can be used to make a film.
Students will receive a graduation certificate after meeting the following requirements:
- Attend at least 87.5% of class time (35 periods).
- Achieve at least 50/100 evaluation points for graduation work
7. Reference materials
1. David Bordwell, Kristin Thompson, History of Cinema (2 volumes), National University Publishing House, Hanoi, 2007
2. David Bordwell, Kristin Thompson, Cinematic Arts, Hanoi National University Publishing House, 2007
3. Warren Bucklan, Film Studies, Tri Thuc Publishing House, 2011
4. Timothy Corrigan, A Guide to Writing About Film, Tri Thuc Publishing House, 2011
5. Timothy Corrigan, Literature and Cinema, The Gioi Publishing House, 2013
6. Ray Frensham, Self-taught Screenplay Writing, Tri Thuc Publishing House, 2011
7. Trinh Dan Phuong, Theoretical and practical issues of film and television screenwriting (Lecture), Internal circulation
8. Hoang Cam Giang, Film script analysis (Lecture), Internal circulation
