Screenwriting – Page 75 – On Screenwriting and Media with Dr. Rosanne Welch

From The Journal Of Screenwriting 3 : Re-writing theatrical documentaries: The broadcast version

Highlighting the articles in the latest edition of the Journal of Screenwriting, of which I am the Book Reviews Editor. Hopefully these abstracts will entice you to did a little deeper into the history and future of screenwriting. — Rosanne

Re-writing theatrical documentaries: The broadcast version
Phoebe Hart

In the funding matrix for major theatrical documentaries, television networks are often sought out as commissioners, particularly in territories such as Australia, where a plan in the form of distribution agreement and/or broadcaster pre-sale is required to access screen agency funds. As part of the deals with the broadcaster, there are mandated deliverables in the form of a ‘broadcast version’ of the documentary film, typically one hour in length or as a series. For producers, this arrangement raises much-needed production finance and capitalizes on the property’s reach and earning potential by exploiting the various distribution windows available. However, these deals lead to vexatious practical concerns in re-versioning for broadcast as documentary screenwriters are challenged to make changes while attempting to maintain the tone of their work. This research delves into the creative and cognitive processes as experienced by screenwriters who must ‘cut down’ a theatrical version of a documentary for broadcast. The research presents three case studies drawn from in-depth interviews, which are examined via a thematic analysis methodology to understand the processes of re-writing, including changes to narration, tone, style, character and narrative arcs, and thematic treatment. The research examines what is sacrificed due to time restrictions and viewer sensibilities, and whether or not the key intentions of documentary screenwriters can be preserved.

The Journal of Screenwriting is an international double-blind peer-reviewed journal that is published three times a year. The journal highlights current academic and professional thinking about the screenplay and intends to promote, stimulate and bring together current research and contemporary debates around the screenplay whilst encouraging groundbreaking research in an international arena. The journal is discursive, critical, rigorous and engages with issues in a dynamic and developing field, linking academic theory to screenwriting practice.

Get your copy and subscription to the Journal of Screenwriting Today!

* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!

#MentorMonday 2 – Bri Castellini – Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

Today’s Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting #mentormonday spotlights the multi-talented Web series queen Bri Castellini! (IMDB)

Bri Castellini is an award-winning independent filmmaker based in Brooklyn. She has an MFA in Writing and Producing for Television and a B.A. in creative writing, studying in New York and Oregon, respectively.

By day, she’s a crowdfunding specialist for Seed&Spark, the community director for Stareable, and an adjunct professor for Long Island University-Brooklyn and Stephens College. She is known for the short films Ace and Anxious (2017, writer/director) and Buy In (2019, director/co-writer) and the web series Brains and Sam and Pat Are Depressed (2015-2016, 2017-present respectively, creator/writer/star) as well as the upcoming web series Better With You (2019, director). She has been described by collaborators as a “human bulldozer” and is honestly kind of flattered.

Follow and Like the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

Netflix Premieres “Raising Dion” by Executive Producer Carol Barbee, A Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Guest Lecturer

Support the friends of the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting alumni by checking out their new works when they premiere.

This week Netflix dropped “Raising Dion” – the new show by guest lecturer Carol Barbee, who will discuss the creation of the show at our January workshop.

Read a review of Raising Dion from The Los Angeles Times

Follow and Like the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

Quotes from When Women Wrote Hollywood – 46 in a series – Lillian Hellman

Do you know about these women screenwriters? Many don’t. Learn more about them today!

Buy “When Women Wrote Hollywood” Today!

If it was possible for one woman to shake up a world, Lillian Hellman did it, and shook it till it raged back at her. When one goes about searching for information about Lillian Hellman, there is a never ending bounty about her trials and tribulations, her accomplishments and failures, and most of all, about her personally. However, it is extremely hard to find anything wholly positive about her.

In Defense of Lillian Hellman
by Kelley Zinge

Buy a signed copy of when Women Write Hollywood or Buy the Book on Amazon

†

Paperback Edition | Kindle Edition | Google Play Edition

* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library

Screenwriting Panel at the Writers Guild Foundation via Instagram

Follow Rosanne on Instagram!

From @writersguildf – Writers Guild Foundation

Happening Now: We team up with @ColumbiaChi to talk about how locations inform and impact characters on TV with @qu33nofdrama, @SparksAnthony, Matt Lutsky, @RosanneWelch and Connor Kilpatrick.

* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!

From The Journal Of Screenwriting 2 : The screenplay as boundary object by Rosamund Davies

The screenplay as boundary object
Rosamund Davies

Described by Pasolini as a ‘structure that wants to be another structure’, the question of what kind of thing-in-itself the screenplay might be has produced a range of answers. Screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière has used the metaphor of the chrysalis – of vital importance in the process of the caterpillar’s metamorphosis into a butterfly – but useless and empty once the butterfly, or film, has emerged. Film scholar Claudia Sternberg has considered the screenplay’s status as a ‘second rank’ text, in relation to the ‘first rank’ film performance. The idea of the screenplay as blueprint is common. Meanwhile, scholars (e.g. Maras, Millard, Price) have raised issues with such definitions, pointing out their limitations. In this article, I propose the notion of the ‘boundary object’ as a useful way of thinking about the role and nature of the screenplay within the development and production of a screen narrative. My starting point is sociologist Susan Leigh Star’s concept of the boundary object, defined as an object that allows different individuals or groups with heterogeneous skills, knowledge and interests to cooperate towards a common goal by creating a ‘shared space’, situated at the boundaries between their habitual spheres of practice. I propose that, avoiding the problems inherent in an analogy such as the blueprint, the concept of the boundary object offers a useful starting point for understanding and analysing the role of the screenplay in audio-visual production.

Get your copy and subscription to the Journal of Screenwriting Today!

* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!

#MentorMonday – Laura Brennan – Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

Today’s Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting #mentormonday goes out to none other than the Pitching Goddess herself — Laura Brennan! (IMDB) We are so lucky to have her on staff as one of our mentors!

Laura Brennan’s eclectic writing career includes television, film, theater, web series, fiction and news. Behind the scenes, she has helped production companies develop movies, TV pilots and limited series. She has taught pitching workshops to executives at Netflix and Film Victoria, as well as MFA programs and undergraduate classes at universities including Stephens College, University of California, Los Angeles, University of Southern California, Boston University and National University. A graduate of Yale University, Brennan has won awards for journalism, television writing and fiction.

Follow and Like the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

1 Year Ago – When Women Wrote Hollywood Launch Party at the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Workshop

1 Year Ago! A fun, fun time – and we’ll be doing it again next August at the Autry!

The essays in When Women Wrote Hollywood were written by students (now alumni) of the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

Follow and Like the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

†

Paperback Edition | Kindle Edition | Google Play Edition

* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library

Rosanne Speaks About Doctor Who At Who Con San Diego This Weekend – October 4-6, 2019

For the second year in a row I’ve been invited to do a couple of my favorite lectures about Doctor Who to the attendees of the SD (San Diego) Who Con which happens this coming Friday-Sunday October 4-6th.

It’s a chance to wear my new 13th Doctor (played by actress Jodie Whitaker who I first saw in Broadchurch) shirt and trenchcoat (which I bought from a vendor at last year’s SC Who Con). I’m updating two of my lectures on the show and its quality writing and then doing a ‘superbowl/commentary’ group watch of an episode called School Reunion which I use in my television writing courses as an example of a tight script/backdoor pilot.

* Friday. October 4, 2019

1:00-2:00
Dr. Rosanne Welch
How Doctor Who Redefines Masculinity: Join Dr. Welch in a discussion about masculinity and Doctor Who.

3:30-5:00
Dr. Rosanne Welch
School Reunion Workshop: Dr. Welch will deconstruct the David Tenant episode “School Reunion” to show how well written it is, highlighting the set-up/payoff style of writing; the 4-act structure and the deft inclusion of exposition.

* Saturday, October 5, 3019

11:30-1:00
Dr. Rosanne Welch
School Reunion Workshop: Dr. Welch will deconstruct the David Tenant episode “School Reunion” to show how well written it is, highlighting how the set-up/payoff style of writing; the 4-act structure and the deft inclusion of exposition.

* Sunday, October 6, 2019

11:00-12:00
Dr. Rosanne Welch
Gender Diversity in Doctor Who: Join Dr. Welch as she discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the various writers and showrunners of the program.

This all came about thanks to a chance meeting on the Raleigh Studios lot with a wonderful fellow Who fan who happens to bear a striking resemblance to Alex Kingston, the actress who played the character River Song. Her office was strewn with Who memorabilia so I stopped in one day to say “Hi” and talk Who and she connected me to the organizers of the event. So the moral of this story is – say “Hi” to more people often. You never know what new (time) travels might be right around your next corner- — Rosanne

WHO CON 2019 “WHODUNNIT?”
OCTOBER 4 – 6, 2019

AT THE FOUR POINTS SHERATON HOTEL
8110 AERO DR, SAN DIEGO, CA 92123 [Map]

Dr. Rosanne Welch Joins The Executive Committee of the Screenwriting Research Network

Presenting my talk at most recent SRN Conference in Porto, Portgual

I’m pleased to announce that I am beginning the first year of a two year term on the Executive Committee of the Screenwriting Research Network. I will assist with editing the newsletter and meet via Skype once a month with some of the most wonderful colleagues I’ve had the chance to work with so far in my career.

The Screenwriting Research Network was established in 2006 by Ian Macdonald when it became clear that there was interest across the world towards research on screenwriting, but individual scholars tended to be isolated. I’ve been a member since I attended my first conference in Madison, Wisconsin. Since then I’ve presented at – and listened to fascinating presentations – in such wonderful international locations as Leeds, New Zealand, Milan and Porto, Portugal – with Oxford and Vienna next on the list.

And I’m most excited about the fact that the 2022 conference will be held at my home campus of Stephens College!