London Film School, offer full-time MA Degree courses in both Film Making and Screewriting.

“Ellis´ teaching is simply inspirational. He manages to strike a perfect balance between healthy criticism and encouragement. He has a clear and flexible approach, and though passionate about this subject we were at all times free to explore our own vision. I have certainly advanced with my project and seen it go in directions that I did not expect!” Maurice Caldera, Novelist & Writers’ Gym II Participant Summer 2009.
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From Treatment to Script

The Writers' Gym uses games and practical exercises to stimulate creativity in screenwriting. While structure and analysis are well covered in courses and books, less attention is paid to the creative side to screenwriting. The Writers' Gym aims to corrects this imbalance.

In this 8-session course, the emphasis is on being playful, finding your voice as a writer and developing your writing process as you work on your screenplay.

Building on the techniques of Writers' Gym I, the course focuses on the development of a single feature project for each participant. Spread over 4 months, there is the opportunity for writers to develop their stories through a series of structured exercises.

Writers will be encouraged to use their creativity at all points in the development process to keep their work fresh, lively and original. During the course, the participants will get stuck into writing a first draft of their project.

There will be class exercises but we will also track the progress of the individual's projects, troubleshooting and offering practical guidance. Writers will be given a one on one tutorial and also have email support from the course tutor during the course.

We will also case study a particular screenplay, understanding the tools used and seeing how we can apply them to raise the game of each screenwriter.

The group will be no more than 8 writers to allow time for sufficient feedback and space for each writer and their projects. There will be some reading and also home assignments to keep the projects on track.

With intervals of 2-4 weeks between classes we have allowed space for writers to progress their projects so that significant advances can be made by the end of the course.

APPLICATION

Writers are required to submit a one page description of the project they would like to develop on the course. Ideally this should be a summary of the story you have in mind. If not, you can give the general idea, the key characters and the storyworld.

Applicants also need to present a short personal statement of what they hope to achieve on the course, including a brief history of this particular project.

Screenplays or treatments generated or started on this course will be read and given feedback by the tutor. (No more than one screenplay per participant).

Priority will be given to writers who have previously attended Writers' Gym I. Participants who have not attended Writers' Gym I will also need to include a CV.

Maximum Participants: 8

Fee: £480.00

 

ELLIS FREEMAN BIOGRAPHY

With a background in print and TV journalism, Ellis has been writing screenplays for over ten years. He has had commissions from BFI, Channel Four, The Film Council, Rai (Italy), Fox Searchlight and the MEDIA programme.

With Brazilian director, Henrique Goldman, he wrote 'Princesa', a feature about a transvestite prostitute living in Milan. The film was screened at the Sundance festival 2001 and has been released in the US, UK, France, Germany and Scandinavia. He also co-wrote 'January 2nd', a comedy feature for Matt Winn which screened widely at festivals.

Ellis began teaching at the London Film School five years ago with script workshops on the MA Filmmaking course and is delighted to be teaching on the MA Screenwriting as well. In February 2006, he led the first Writers' Gym workshop as part of the Scenario festival at the Institut Francais. Using this experience, he developed the Writers' Gym into an evening class to help new writers find their voice, develop ideas, writing habits and stretch the mental muscles you need for writing screenplays.

 

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How to apply

Please submit the following items (email applications preferred):

• Application Form
  (click to download)
• CV

• Personal Statement (i.e. a few brief paragraphs explaining why you’re applying for the course, what you hope to gain from it etc.)
• 3 page writing sample
• 1 page outline of the project you'd like to develop on the course

Email us:
Carolyn Atherton:
workshops@lfs.org.uk

Postal Address:
Workshops Admissions,
The London Film School,
24 Shelton Street,
London, WC2H 9UB, UK

Telephone us:
+44 (0)20 7836 9642

Fax us:
+44 (0)20 7497 3718

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