UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

DEPARTMENT OF CINEMATIC ARTS

CTWR 515A
SECTION 192370D
WRITING THE SCREENPLAY
FALL 2008
Instructor: Tom Benedek
Fridays: 10AM -12:50PM
Classroom Location: Waite Phillips Hall - 603
Office Hours: By Appointment -- Fridays 1-2PM or as available.
NOTE: Please email instructor to set an appointment by the Wednesday afternoon before
Fridays class.
email: Benedek@usc.edu
phone: 310 9188132
COURSE GOALS:
During the Fall Semester, in 515A, students will develop their projects through beat
sheet/story outline into a completed first draft screenplay. Subsequently, in 515B,
students will rewrite their scripts into a final first draft.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Through classroom discussion of student writing and targeted study of screenplays, and
films, students will strengthen their familiarity with the structural elements of the feature
length motion picture screenplay with well-developed characters, plot, setting.
Through their writing work, students will continue their exploration of the guiding
elements of dramatic structure, character development, plot, styles of storytelling.
Students will present brief studies of 2 films with genre/structure/subject matter
relationships to their thesis screenplay projects.

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TEXTBOOKS:
THE TOOLS OF SCREENWRITING: A WRITERS GUIDE TO THE CRAFT AND
ELEMENTS OF A SCREENPLAY by David Howard and Edward Mabley; St.
Martins/Griffin; New York; 1993.
MAKING A GOOD SCRIPT GREAT by Linda Seger;
Samuel French; Hollywood; 1994.
SUBMISSIONS OF WRITING FOR CLASS DISCUSSION
Writing assignments must be emailed IN PDF FORMAT to the instructor no later than
Wednesday 6PM prior to scheduled Friday class.
GRADES:
Please see the attached Definition of Grades and Marks.
Your course grade will breakdown as follows:
Final Story Outline
Weekly Assignments
Class Participation
Final First Draft

20%
20%
30%
30%

.
First Draft Screenplay in hard copy AND electronic form(PDF) due by 5pm, December
17, 2008.
GENERAL RULES & GUIDELINES
Due dates are non-negotiable. Assignments that are due on a given date must be
submitted on that date.
Class attendance is mandatory. If you have more than two unexcused absences, it will
result in a reduction of one grade from your final course evaluation. The only way an
absence can be excused is with medical documentation.
Adaptations of other written material are not allowed unless authorized by the
instructor. All written material submitted for this class must be your original work.
Proofread your assignments. Spelling and grammatical errors will influence grades.
Use a good dictionary, thesaurus and do not rely on a computer spell-checker program.
Reading the required student writing, textbook assignments and in-class handouts is
a course requirement.
Viewing/reading assigned films and screenplays is a course requirement.

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Students are expected to participate in class discussions when student writing, films,
scripts, treatments, handouts are being analyzed/evaluated.
Students with Disabilities:
Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to
register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of
verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure this
letter is delivered to me as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301
and is open 8:30 a.m. 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The telephone number for
DSP is (213) 740-00776. Should you have any questions, you may contact your Writing
Advisor in the Writing Division office.
Academic Integrity:
The School of Cinema-Television expects the highest standards of academic excellence
and ethical performance from USC students. It is particularly important that you are
aware of and avoid plagiarism, cheating on exams, submitting a paper to more than one
instructor, or submitting a paper authored by anyone other than yourself. Violations of
this policy will result in a failing grade and be reported to the Office of Student Judicial
Affairs. If you have any doubts or questions about these policies, consult SCAMPUS
and/or confer with the instructor.

Class 1
INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE
RULES OF THE ROAD FOR CLASS DYNAMICS
THE BEAT SHEET
PROCESS OF CREATIVE DECISION MAKING IN OUR OWN WORK
PROCESS OF WRITING
PROJECT IDEA PRESENTATIONS
Assignment #1: Watch and/or read GLADIATOR
Assignment #2: Prepare project idea for presentation
Assignment #3: Read The Tools of Screenwriting, page 1-23

Class 2
OVERVIEW OF SCREENPLAY STRUCTURE
PROJECT IDEA WORKSHOP
Assignment #1: Watch and/or read AMERICAN BEAUTY
Assignment #2: Work on Project Idea/First Act of Beat Sheet
Assignment #3: Read The Tools of Screenwriting , page 24-51
Class 3
THE FIRST ACT
WORKSHOP PROJECT IDEAS/BEAT SHEETS
Assignment #1: Watch and/or read AMELIE
Assignment #2: Work on First Act of Beat Sheet
Assignment #3: Read The Tools of Screenwriting, page 52-76
Class 4
CHARACTER ESTABLISHMENT
BEAT SHEET WORKSHOP
Assignment #1:
Assignment #2:
Assignment #3:
Assignment #4:

Watch and/or read PULP FICTION

Complete First Act of Beat Sheet
Read The Tools of Screenwriting, page 77-97
Identify 2 films for project case study

CLASS 5
TURNING POINTS OF PLOT ABOUT THE PIVOTAL DRAMATIC SCENES
BEAT SHEET WORKSHOP
PRESENTATION OF PROJECT CASE STUDY FILMS
Assignment #1: Watch and/or read YOU CAN COUNT ON ME
Assignment #2: Work on Second Act of Beat Sheet
Assignment #3: Read The Tools of Screenwriting, page103-113

CLASS 6
THE SECOND ACT MORE ON PLOT DEVELOPMENT
BEAT SHEET WORKSHOP
Assignment #1: WATCH AND/OR READ FIRST PROJECT FILM CASE STUDY
Assignment #2: Complete Second Act of Beat Sheet
CLASS 7
THE THIRD ACT - EXPECTATIONS FULFILLED/UNEXPECTED
EVENTUALITIES
CASE STUDY PRESENTATIONS
BEAT SHEET WORKSHOP
Assignment #1: Watch and/or read WATCH AND/OR READ SECOND PROJECT
FILM CASE STUDY
Assignment #2: Complete Third Act of Beat Sheet and/or write (Opening of Act I) 10-15
script pages
CLASS 8
SUB-PLOT
WORKSHOP BEAT SHEETS/FIRST 10-15 SCRIPT PAGES
Assignment: Write (Act I) 10-15 script pages
CLASS 9
SCENE STRUCTURE
WORKSHOP - BEAT SHEETS/SCRIPT PAGES
Assignment : Write (Conclusion of Act I) pages 15-30

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CLASS 10
WORKSHOP - SCRIPT PAGES
Assignment: Write (Opening of Act II) pages 30-45
CLASS 11
WORKSHOP - SCRIPT PAGES
Assignment: Write (Act II) pages 45-60
CLASS 12
WORKSHOP - SCRIPT PAGES
Assignment: Write (Conclusion of Act II) pages 60-75
CLASS 13
WORKSHOP - SCRIPT PAGES
Assignment: Write (Opening of Act III) 75-90
Class 14
WORKSHOP - SCRIPT PAGES
Assignment: Write (Act III) 90-105
Class 15
WORKSHOP - SCRIPT PAGES
Assignment #1: Write Conclusion of Act III
Assignment #2: Proofread, lightly revise and polish first draft of screenplay

First draft of screenplay in hard copy AND electronic form(PDF) due by 5pm, December
17, 2008.