A protege of the legendary filmmaker Billy Wilder, instructor Rex McGee's film credits include Warner Brothers’ PURE COUNTRY, starring George Strait, Hallmark’s WHERE THERE'S A WILL, starring Marion Ross and Keith Carradine, and the IMAX film, TEXAS: THE BIG PICTURE, for the Texas State History Museum in Austin. Rex has sold over 20 scripts for film and television since receiving his BA in Cinema from USC.

Have you ever had a great idea for a movie but didn’t know where to begin? It can certainly be overwhelming as screenwriting has it’s own style, rules and format. This 6-week course will give you a great foundation to write a feature screenplay of your own. 

Students will learn and understand Character, the basis of compelling drama, have a fundamental understanding of the dramatic scene, understand how Theme is expressed through characters and story, learn how to make an emotional connection with the audience. enhance their collaborative skills through group discussion and collective brainstorming, conceive and develop story ideas that will make compelling films, and facilitate the expression of their unique artistic, cinematic voice.

In addition to studying all of the aspects that make a great story for the screen, we will cover topics such as screenplay formatting, how to structure a screenplay properly, the top 10 deadly sins to avoid when writing a screenplay, and you’ll have an opportunity to write several original scenes of your own.

COURSE TEXT & SOFTWARE:

• Our course text is THE TOOLS OF SCREENWRITING by David Howard and Edward Mabley.
• Students will need screenwriting software on their computer for this class. Install FREE screenwriting software to your device, using: Celtx, WriterDuet, or FadeIn. You can also purchase FinalDraft.

COURSE OUTLINE:

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

Through a series of exercises, students will learn the 5 major narrative beats of cinematic storytelling through DISCOVERY, DECISION, BOXING MATCHES, IMPROBABLE CONNECTIONS, and how to AVOID CLICHES.

ONLINE COURSE STRUCTURE:

This class meets weekly via Zoom. Come prepared for an engaging course with live interaction on Zoom each week and plenty of writing, reading, and talking!

Tuition is $395. You can pay for the course in full  or use Shop Pay or Affirm to pay over time with equal Monthly Payments. Both options are available at checkout.

• Class size limited to 12 writers
  

• Class starts Tuesday, October 1st, 2024

• Class will meet weekly on Tuesday nights via Zoom, 7PM - 9PM Central Time.

• Tuition is $395.

Contact us HERE if you have any questions about this class.

Instructor Rex McGee is a native of North Texas and a protege of the legendary filmmaker Billy Wilder. McGee has sold over 20 scripts for film and television since receiving his BA in Cinema from USC. He has worked in both Los Angeles and Texas as a screenwriter and journalist, and he has conducted screenwriting and creativity workshops at SMU for the last 20 years. His film credits include Warner Brothers’ Pure Country, starring George Strait, Hallmark’s Where There’s a Will, starring Marion Ross and Keith Carradine, and the IMAX film, Texas: The Big Picture, for the Texas State History Museum in Austin. A member of the Writers Guild of America, West, he has collaborated on his screenplays with directors Jon Amiel, John Putch, Peter Masterson, Robert Mulligan, and Billy Wilder. He adapted his own original screenplay of Pure Country for the musical stage.