Script Development
- Course overview
- Recent credits and successes
- What you will study
- Fees & funding options
- Entry requirements
- How to apply
Location London
Duration 14 month course
Commitment Part-time, fortnightly Monday evenings + weekend workshops
Next intake September 2022
Application deadline 05 May 2022
Overview
This is the only comprehensive vocational programme in script development in the UK.
“The course was rigorous, challenging and stimulating, the standard of teaching was excellent.” Sasha Breslau, 2020 graduate, Head of Acquired Series - ITV
This part-time, fortnightly online evening course takes place over 14 months and aims to give students all the skills and expertise they need to develop scripts for film and television.
Students get access to new screenwriters and regular industry speakers, as well as working on a practical development project with a screenwriter.
All NFTS students can attend Masterclasses. Recent guests include David Fincher (Fight Club), Greta Gerwig (Little Women), Steve McQueen (12 Years A Slave), Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz), Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag), Ben Wheatley (Free Fire), Rapman (Blue Story), Louis Theroux, Debra Granik (Winter’s Bone), Denis Villeneuve (Bladerunner 2049), Lynne Ramsay (You Were Never Really Here), Sam Mendes (1917), Asif Kapadia (Senna), Joanna Hogg (The Souvenir), Russell T Davies (Doctor Who) and Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire).
Recent credits and successes
What you will study
The Diploma offers the most comprehensive contemporary overview and on-going practical learning in an intensive professional environment. The programme combines lectures, seminars and workshops alongside talks and panel discussions with current industry practitioners, as well as supervised practical work with a screenwriter.
There are continuous written assignments (some assessed, some not) throughout the taught section of the programme which are mostly practical and designed to be useful to a career in development, as well as other areas of the film industry.
The programme consists fortnightly 2hr online sessions held on a Monday evening from 7pm - 9pm, plus 3 intensive weekend workshops running from September to April.. The Final Project element of the Diploma is a six-month supervised development project, which begins in April when students are paired with a screenwriter. The delivery of all assessed material for the Final Project is due in October.
Course Leader
The course is led by Anna Seifert-Speck a script & story editor with an international background in talent development and experience as an executive producer. Past projects include: Francis Lee’s Ammonite (Cannes 2020), Dark Matter and God’s Own Country (BIFA winner 2017/BAFTA nominated), Dan Kokotajlo’s Apostasy (BAFTA nominated), Ben Sharrock’s Limbo (Cannes 2020), Harry Macqueen’s Supernova, Alice Lowe’s Delia, Sally El Hosaini’s Jones, Paul Wright’s Cuckoo, Rubert Jones’ Joy Unbound.
Entry requirements
We are looking for people who:
- Already work in development and feel they may benefit from a structured course in story theory and working practice in order to build their confidence and resources
- Already work in the film industry and are keen to develop or hone their skills when working with scripts and writers, to get the best work from those writers
- Are producers keen to get an edge on finding and nurturing new writing talent
- Have experience in other creative industries and would like to explore script development and believe that they can bring new experience and ideas to the process of developing scripts and cultivating writers
- Have a passion for film, a love of storytelling, can demonstrate initiative, and have an enthusiasm for, and a commitment to, working collaboratively
While many applicants will have a degree from a British or overseas university, we will consider applicants who do not have a degree if they have an impressive portfolio, a creative track record or an alternative qualification.
If you are an EEA or International citizen, you must already be in possession of UK settled/pre-settled status or another visa which allows you to study for the duration of the course. If you do not already hold a UK status, unfortunately we cannot accept your application as we are currently unable to support a visa on our Diploma courses.
If you have any questions, please email info@nfts.co.uk.
How to apply
Application deadline:05 May 2022
Applicants must supply a short piece (750 words max) telling us about a film or TV drama you wish you had developed. Please include:
- The reasons you have chosen this piece.
- A brief description of the main story line and the protagonist’s story arc.
- Your ideas around what you think might have improved the script.
Applications open 3rd January 2022. We are happy to receive applications from 3rd January until the midnight of the application deadline date.