During this course I’ve had the opportunity to revisit some of the old skills I had learnt during my diploma comma and learn some new ones. One of the great things about collaborating is that you’re exposed to so many different ideas from so many different people. It’s incredible the variety of creative processes that people incorporated in order to finish their final assessment. Audio/visual potential was pressed in Picture This, which is ofcourse apt when you think of how film is constructed. If your story doesn’t translate well to screen, perhaps it should be written as a novel. If there is no imaginable soundscape, perhaps convey the story in stills. There has to be a very clear audio and visual potential of a story in order to make it acceptable for screen and this is really something I’ve tried to take into consideration. I feel like one of my weaknesses was leaving at least one of these elements out.

People took inspirations from real world events, and events that occurred in their own lifetime. Going through everybody else’s screenplays, it was clear that some people paid particular attention narrative progression and the depictions of the passing of time, some people prioritised conversational depth and richness,and others placed emphasis on character development. That’s the really amazing thing about Screenwriting. Even though we are taught the same content, ultimately, the nuances in our completely individual life experiences expresses itself in our creative writing. In terms of the class dynamics everyone including our tutor got on so well. There was a casual yet productive air to each class, and I think it was this that fostered a good creative flow.

During my prior to the course they taught screenwriting as though it had one fixed formula. This studio  made me aware of all of the different styles that you can create a script including formatting and and expression of dialogue. I feel like the only problem with having free rein is the potential to step outside the boundaries of what is accepted in terms of format. Having the one fixed style does create a sense of security. But as indicated during class, it’s the scripts that challenge these boundaries — after plenty of experience operating within them — that help communicate the most compelling and successful stories. It’s certainly something that I’m going to think about and pay attention to beyond graduation.