Directing - Film Technique and Aesthetics, by Micheal Rabiger, Fopcal press, 2003
The Film Sense & Film Form, two books by Sergei Eisenstein
The Aesthetics & Psychology of the Cinema, by Jean Mitry, Indiana University Press, 2000
The Visual Story, by Bruce Block, Focal press, 2007
In The Blink of an Eye, by Walter Murch, Silman-James Press, 2001
Art of the Moving Picture, by Vachel Lindsay
Projections (all issues), ed. John Boorman & Walter Donahue
The Parade's Gone By, by Kevin Brownlow
American Silent Film, by William K Everson, de Capo Press, 1998
Literature and Film: A Guide to the Theory and Practice of Film Adaptation, by Robert Stam, Wiley-Blackwell, 2004
Adaptations: From Text to Screen, Screen to Text, Ed. D. Cartmell & I. Whelehan, 1999
Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner , by P.M. Sammon, 1996
Literature Through Film: Realism, Magic, and the Art of Adaptation, by R.Stam, 2005
Making Movies, by Sydney Lumet, 1995
Final Cut: Art, Money, and Ego in the Making of Heaven's Gate, by Stephen Bach

Blackboard access. Library Resources. Silent films & Screenplays available on internet.

A module designed to develop screenwriting students' understanding of film grammar and visual storytelling. By the end of the course students should have a greater degree of appreciation of the visual elements of cinema and their sources in both the visual arts and literature; a greater understanding of how the techniques for efficient visual communication in cinema have developed from the early days of silent film up to the present day, as well as a greater command of writing effective and economical cinematic visuals in screenplay form. This provides the basis for the work of the second semester: an introduction to the realities of pre-production, from the finding of source material, through cinematic adaptation of literary work, to the actual work undertaken by the various creative personnel on a film before filming begins.

1. (50%) A PORTFOLIO of work, comprising:
A Report detailing the research and workings of a group presentation in which the visual communication techniques at work in two films: a pre-sound era film and a contemporary film of the same broad genre, are compared and contrasted, together with a transcript of the presentation text (750 -1000 words) (LO 1, 4)
A complete original short silent script ( 5 - 7 pages/equivalent to 1500 - 2500 words), together with an Evaluation (500 words) (LO 2, 3, 7)

2. (50%) A GRP CSWK, comprising:
Coursework conducted by a small group (2 or 3 students), equivalent to 3000 words per student, comprising:
An Adaptation Proposal (500-750 words) (LO 2)
An adapted screenplay ( 15 - 20/equivalent to 2000 - 2500 words) (L.O. 2, 3, 5)
A pre-production folder, presenting work prepared as if by the primary personnel of a film (Producer, Director, Art Director, Sound Designer, Cinematographer, etc.) showing the creative planning of an actual proposed production (1500 - 2000 words) (LO 4, 6)
Individual Evaluations of the process (250 - 500 words) (LO 7)

Key Information Set:
Assessments: 100% Coursework

In Semester 1 the emphasis is on silent film. There will be a series of short lectures accompanied by reading and screenings, followed by seminar workshops and formal exercises in scripting images and creative thinking. Initially, the emphasis will be on viewing and theoretical reading with a view to student presentations in which a film from the silent era is compared/contrasted with a modern film. Students then begin work on an individual project to write a complete short silent film, supported by tutorials.

In Semester 2, this greater understanding of cinema is exercised and broadened by a return to modern cinema and assessments requiring an adaptation of a short literary work, as well as a Production Folder covering all aspects of pre-production and planning of a film.
The early weeks will be concerned with the adaptation process: reading potential source material and writing proposals. Lectures and screenings will examine the complexities of adaptation, particularly with reference to the equivalence of literary and cinematic style, and will also introduce the various creative production roles and analyse how the work of each creative collaborator influences the meanings picked up by audiences. Working in small groups with tutor supervision

Key Information Set:
Learning & Teaching: 12% scheduled activities, 88% guided independent learning.