Factory News
Upcoming Writers' Factory events

Opportunities
Screen writing competitions and other opportunities

Events
Screen writing events and classes

E-BULLETIN: February 2011

Welcome to the Writers' Factory's E-Bulletin for February 2011.

These monthly bulletins contain information about future Writers' Factory courses as well as information relevant to screen writers across the UK and internationally. The Writers' Factory E-Bulletin is divided into three sections: Factory News, Opportunities and Events.

We would appreciate any feedback you have on our
E-bulletin and if you have any information that you would like circulated to our subscribers, please email this to info@writersfactory.co.uk by the end of the first week of each month.

Events
Story Design in the Short Fiction Film
Scotland Directs
Mark Millar Workshop
Celtic Media Festival 2011
Scottish Screenwriters - Welcomes New Members
ScreenGRAB - Available Online
BAFTA - Screenwriters on Screenwriting Channel
Thirteen Week Course in Filmmaking
Euroscript - Screenwriting Courses and Events
Read more

Factory News

The Writers’ Factory courses have been highly successful in developing screenwriters, many of whom have gone on to produce short film scripts or pursue their interest in writing at Film School. All courses are screen-industry approved and are delivered by experienced screen industry professionals.  Courses offered through the programme include:

Introduction to Screenwriting Express
Run over 2 weekends, this course is designed to help students explore storytelling instincts and the craft of screenwriting and offers the opportunity to develop and write a commercial ten minute film. 

Introduction to Screenwriting
Delivered over 22 weeks, this course is designed to help students develop a range of skills and critical facilities in the field of screenwriting and offers them the opportunity to develop and write a short screenplay.

Feature Film Course
Delivered over 22 weeks, this course is designed to help emerging screenwriters to develop a range of skills in the field of feature film writing and offers them the opportunity to write a feature length screenplay. 

*You must have completed the Introduction To Screenwriting course or have a relevant qualification in order to participate on this course.

Training for Trainers
These courses are open to experienced screenwriters, script consultants and development producers who would like to run courses training emerging writing talent.

Visit www.writersfactory.co.uk for details on current courses

Opportunities

Creative Scotland - Investing in Screen
Creative Scotland
Location: Scotland-wide
Deadlines: Rolling

Creative Scotland invest in the development and promotion of Scotland’s screen industries in a range of initiatives, projects and activities designed to develop talent, audiences and businesses across the country.

Unless otherwise stated, application to all investment strands are accepted on a rolling basis until funds are committed.

For further information, please visit http://bit.ly/g5kpIv

The Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival is committed to finding and celebrating the work of filmmakers who explore mental health in film. Its annual open film submission gives filmmakers the opportunity to share their work and ideas with audiences across Scotland and internationally.

The closing date for entries is Friday 6th May 2011. Entry is free. Please email smhaff@gmail.com for submission guidelines and entry form or visit http://bit.ly/fWlzpH for more information.

BBC Writersroom and BBC Comedy Commissioning are joining forces in a nationwide competition to find new comedy gold.

Write it, send it in - and you could be in line not just for a comedy masterclass but also an intensive week away developing your idea hand in hand with BBC comedy producers and established comedy writing talent. This is an opportunity not to be missed - if your idea leaps every hurdle then you may even get the chance of having your work performed at their Sitcom Showcase in the newly opened Studio in Media City, Salford.

The challenge is to write an original narrative comedy script with series potential.

You will need to send a script that’s between 15 – 30 minutes/pages long and a one page outline of how your series would develop. The work must not have been previously commissioned, optioned or produced and this opportunity is for writers who have not yet had a network commission.

For more details, visit http://bbc.in/gkGvKB

Introduction to Multiplatform for Media Professionals - online - has been designed to enable print and broadcast journalists and other media professionals to transfer their media skills to content creation for new multi platforms.

Over 12 weeks incorporating online research, activities, discussions, web conferencing and video, Introduction to Multi Platform for Media Professionals-Online, will provide an overview of the challenges and opportunities that multiplatform working offers and present strategies and skills to navigate and survive as a freelance content creator in the new media landscape.

Introduction to Multi Platform for Media Professionals-Online is aimed at print and broadcast journalists and other media professionals working in traditional media who need to develop their professional skills in the new arena of multi platform content creation.

For more information and to book a place on the course, visit the website at http://bit.ly/h9Vm8K

Following on from the success of the Sequel to Cannes Short Film script competition, this year an additional category has been added for a Feature film script.
 
There are cash prizes of £500 and £100, production company readings by two small independents looking to develop a script and written feedback from a professional film industry script-reader.
 
Full terms and conditions along with the official entry form are on the website http://bit.ly/i1MZVN

The Television Consultancy Company is calling all filmmakers to enter into a competition to win a £15,000 to production grant to produce the next instalment of their short film 'Entangled', a comic horror film about wires and plugs taking over the world.  

To enter, submit either a script (either dialogue or treatment script) of no more than 2,000 words outlining what happens next.  The winning team will win production finance to see their idea transpire to film, with the full support of an established production company.

Email your entries to helena.reed@tvcgroup.com or call 020 7535 5800.

Series four of topical comedy sketch show Newsjack begins on 7th February 2011 for six weeks and they're once again holding an open call for new material. Newsjack seeks to comically scrutinise the news, views, and issues of the day. It aims to be irreverent and satirical, a kind of younger brother to the more "grown up" Radio 4 topical shows like The Now Show and The News Quiz. The production team accept sketches and short jokes every week of the six week run. The best submissions will make it into the show. The production team read and select material on Monday and Tuesdays. The show is broadcast on Thursday nights.

Deadline for sketches: Mondays by 12pm. Deadline for one-liners: Tuesdays by 5pm. To find out more and send them your work, visit http://bbc.in/e6YIyj or email newsjack@bbc.co.uk

Production company Squarebox Yellow - with access to funding and distribution - are searching for their next project. If you have a feature length script you are looking to get produced then please get in touch with them on mara@makingugly.com

For examples of their work please visit www.makingugly.com

Events

Story Design in the Short Fiction Film
Glasgow Film Festival
Location: CCA 5, Glasgow, Scotland
Dates: 19 February 2011, 11 am

Richard Raskin, filmmaker, screenwriting professor and editor of the journal Short Film Studies, proposes a fresh, nonformulaic model for short fiction script development. Unlike sequential models which focus on a series of steps a story is presumed to pass through as it unfolds, Raskin’s approach is based on the view that short film storytelling can best be described in terms of opposing properties that balance one another in a dynamic interplay. Raskin will illustrate his lecture with short film examples. A must for filmmakers, writers and anyone wishing to gain a deeper appreciation of short film.

All tickets £4. Go to http://bit.ly/fBXwDt for more information and to buy tickets.

Following the success of its new writers’ initiative Scotland Writes, BBC Scotland is delighted to announce Scotland Directs, a year-long scheme to encourage and celebrate new directing talent in Scotland. Join BBC Scotland and a panel of top directors for a discussion about directing for television and the transition from short filmmaking. Learn how you could move your career forward as they announce a competition to find the best new directors in Scotland.

The event is free but ticketed. Go to http://bit.ly/eSa0CT for more information and to reserve tickets.

Mark Millar, the Coatbridge-born comic-book writer and filmmaker will lead this workshop which will examine the art of writing for graphic novels.

Cutting his teeth writing for 2000 AD and DC Comics, Mark Millar graduated to Marvel Entertainment ten years ago and in that time has written some of the most successful comic books in the English language. After writing everything from the X-Men and Spider-Man to Superman and Batman, he started the Millarworld company to create and own his own material (in tandem with his artists). The first two of these books, Wanted and Kick-Ass, have been blockbuster movies as well as outselling even established characters like Spider-Man. Millar is currently hard at work on a sequel to Kick-Ass, the Superior movie and directing Miracle Park, his first full-length feature film.

For more information and to buy tickets, please visit http://bit.ly/dVdY72

In 2011 the Celtic Media Festival returns to its birthplace of the Western Isles of Scotland. With some of the most scenic views to be found in the United Kingdown and beyond, the landscapes of the Islands roll from the sea to the mountains. Flights to several major cities operate seven days a week and multiple ferry routes make reaching this beautiful part of the world easier than you think.

The main venue for the Celtic Media Festival 2011 is the An Lanntair Arts Centre in Stornoway. A modern, purpose-built facility, An Lanntair will be a high-tech and comfortable base for delegates and guests attending the event. Please visit www.lanntair.com to see more.

Festival activities are expected to take place in various venues around the town. Please visit http://bit.ly/fhXHmH for more details.

Most meetings will start off with a short Industry Talk and Question and Answer session, followed by workshopping of scripts and outlines in the second part of the evening.

Meetings are suitable for everyone with an interest in learning about Screenwriting, from those with no experience at all, to working professionals. Bring along work on the night and each piece to be workshopped should be no more than 10 pages.

For details of all the meetings, visit http://bit.ly/e1EHtW

Issue 1 of screenGRAB, Edinburgh screenWORKS' new monthly film and digital media e-magazine is now available online. It features articles, reviews, competitions and more.

To find out more visit http://bit.ly/dKlHWu

For more information, contact info@edinburghscreenworks.co.uk

IMT Hurricane are offering a free thirteen week course in film making, including script writing, story boarding, cinematography and video editing.

You will also have the opportunity to gain practical experience within the industry working with actual film makers, and the chance to complete a short film for your own show reel.

The course is free to New Deal clients from the London and Essex area, and offered at a very competitive rate to everyone else.

To make sure you live in a funded area, visit http://bit.ly/fMwFEg email fm@imthurricane.org or call 02086911900 and ask for Ben

For more information, visit http://bit.ly/fMLcWZ

Screenwriting Courses and Events
Euroscript
Location: London
Dates: Ongoing

Euroscript’s goal is to facilitate the production of highest quality marketable screenplays for film and television. Euroscript comprises a team of experienced and diverse industry professionals including producers, working screenwriters, script consultants and film-makers

Training is at the heart of the Euroscript programme. They offer a wide range of courses and events to help develop your screenwriting, marketing and networking skills no matter your level, using experienced industry practitioners giving personal feedback on your work.

Euroscript offer a diverse range of: Day and Weekend Courses, Evening Courses, Project Development Workshops and Free Events

For all upcoming courses and events, please view the Euroscript monthly calendar http://bit.ly/h9BcMv

Writers' Factory @ Playwrights' Studio, Scotland
CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD
Telephone: 0141-332-4403 Textphone: 0141-332-3208
info@playwrightsstudio.co.uk www.playwrightsstudio.co.uk
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