COURSE OVERVIEW
Discover your own individual voice and become a better screenwriter.
How can you as a screenwriter put yourself ahead of the game and grab an audience’s attention? Is it a coincidence that successful screenwriters often return to the same themes and write different versions of the same core story over again? Could it be that the key to their success is that they are writing from a place of unique emotional truth and it’s this that really connects with audiences the world over? We take a radical approach to screenwriting, in which the writers themselves become the focus of the process. We’ll teach you everything you need to know, in this 6 month Certificate Course, delivered across the UK and online.
Content Tabs
An individual ‘voice’ is the currency of the writer – it’s what shapes our work, makes it distinctive, and most importantly, what makes it sell. To make your mark in this demanding and overcrowded industry you need to develop stories that only you can write.
In this highly competitive world of writing for film and television, the screenwriter can’t merely learn the principles, art and craft of screenwriting to ensure success. A ‘good story well told’ is simply not enough.
Over the course of 6 months, in weekly classes and in 1-2-1 sessions you will learn the art of screenwriting but more importantly be encouraged to trust your instinct and discover your own individual voice. Putting this first and centre will help you find the stories that resonate for you - and ultimately an audience.
Participants in this course will adopt a variety of methods to put these new-found home truths into working practice. Over the course you will discover and hone your voice, develop market-ready treatments and a full-length screenplay for a feature film or pilot for a TV series and learn some of the skills needed to pitch yourself and your work to Industry professionals.
The goal, on successful completion of the course, is to have a number of projects at various stages of development that are ready to be presented to the Industry.
You will develop a number of stories from concept through to treatment or bible and beyond, via a combination of discussions, exercises and development workshops. You’ll be expected to write in your own time and deliver work in advance of each class. In addition, you will be supported by one-to-one tutorials on alternate weeks for individual feedback and guidance. A group forum and online support will be available via an online platform.
This course is open to UK applicants and EU/EEA Nationals with UK pre-settled/settled status (subject to meeting residency requirements) and applicants who are currently in the UK on a valid visa for the full duration of the course.
We’re looking for people who are passionate about screen stories and eager to pursue or further develop a career in screenwriting. You should have a good general education, but no other specific educational requirements are needed for this course. Previous experience of writing screenplays, or knowledge gained from a university or college media course, would be advantageous, but not essential.
If you have any questions, please email info@nfts.co.uk
The following item(s) should accompany your online application:
- Submit 10 pages along with a one page outline of a short, feature or television screenplay. The screenplay should be formatted to industry standard (as per Final Draft, Celtx etc.) but delivered as a PDF file. The one page outline should be related to the script and both should be contained and uploaded in one document.
We are happy to receive applications until the midnight of the application deadline date.
Graduate Success
Students of this course leave with an enforced confidence in their writing, allowing them to explore stories across film and high-end TV.
Recent credits and successes include...
The Girl Before
Writer Marissa Lestrade
Graduate Success
Students of this course leave with an enforced confidence in their writing, allowing them to explore stories across film and high-end TV.
Recent credits and successes include...
Natalie Cutler
The only UK writer to secure place on the CANNESFILMS Unlimited 2022 writers’ residency with her script Offside, which she wrote on the course.
Graduate Success
Students of this course leave with an enforced confidence in their writing, allowing them to explore stories across film and high-end TV.
Recent credits and successes include...
Dead Canny
Writer Anna Costello
Nominated for the Writers’ Guild Awards besides Big Boys and Derry Girls.
