Factory News
Upcoming Writers' Factory events

Opportunities
Screen writing competitions and other opportunities

Events
Screen writing events and classes

E-BULLETIN: September 2011

Welcome to the Writers' Factory's E-Bulletin for September 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
360 Narratives: Challenge, Collaborate, Create - Bookings Open Soon
Cafe Flicker - Call for Submissions
Screenwriting Course with Screenwriting Goldmine
Write Camera Action
The 21st Annual Women in Film & Television Awards - Call for Nominations
Getting Started: Writing a Screenplay
Foundation Skills in Screenwriting
Syd Field Mastering the Craft of Screenwriting
How to Write and Pitch TV Drama  
Screenwriter's Diploma
Serious Screenwriting 2011 BAFTA - Screenwriters on Screenwriting Channel
Euroscript - Screenwriting Courses and Events
Read more

Factory News

Writers' Factory Introduction to Screenwriting
Edinburgh Skillset Screen & Media Academy
Location: Edinburgh, UK
Dates: 22 September 2011 - 8 March 2012

The UK Film Council commissioned the Writers Factory syllabus to provide writers with foundation skills in screenwriting, and it’s now a well-established part of Scotland’s creative writing landscape. The course takes place over 22 weeks and encourages you to explore more fully your storytelling instincts, study the craft of screenwriting, workshop with your peers, and develop and write a commercial ten-minute film.

It’s delivered by multi-award winning Edinburgh-based film and television producer, screenwriter and experienced Writers’ Factory lecturer, Nigel R. Smith who trained at the Media Business School in Spain and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the US.

For more details, visit http://bit.ly/mXhU7z

This course is heavily workshop based and includes new thinking on the craft, particularly relating to the central importance of genre and theme. You will move from idea to completed rough draft within a supportive developmental environment. 

You must have taken Writers’ Factory Screenwriting courses or have a postgraduate qualification in screenwriting. Apply with a short sample of screenwriting to info@screenacademyscotland.ac.uk

The course is delivered by multi-award winning Edinburgh-based film and television producer, screenwriter and experienced Writers’ Factory lecturer, Nigel R. Smith who trained at the Media Business School in Spain and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the US.

For more details, visit http://bit.ly/qsUPB7

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

Enter today! Space is limited.

This year, teams will be accepted on a first come, first served basis.

For further details, visit http://bit.ly/qzdKyY

The 8th Glasgow Film Festival and its associated Music, Youth and Short Film Festivals will run throughout February 2012 in venues across the city. The Festival is committed to supporting Scottish talent and providing audiences with the opportunity to see the best of world cinema.

Many films selected through the submission process have played to enthusiastic crowds at Glasgow over the last couple of years and gone on to secure wider distribution.
 
For further details, visit http://bit.ly/qGqR22

The Scottish Book Trust Mentoring Scheme supports established and emergent writers, playwrights, screenwriters and author/illustrators who have a specific project on which they would like some dedicated support. Mentoring creates an intimate, sharing environment in which the mentee grows in confidence and unlocks their potential, allowing them to move forward in their writing careers. 

Successful applicants will be matched with another writer or industry professional with appropriate experience, and The Scottish Book Trust will support them as they work together over an intensive period of nine months. 


For further information, please contact caitrin.armstrong@scottishbooktrust.com or visit http://bit.ly/pQjBQ1

IdeasTap, the online arts and funding organisation, has teamed up with Sky Arts to launch a new bursary for young artists. The Sky Arts Ignition: Futures Fund will offer five young artists £30,000 each to fund their work for a full year. The fund is open to artists aged 18-30 living in the UK and Ireland, and is designed to bridge the gap between formal education and becoming a working artist.

The Sky Arts Ignition: Futures Fund is open to individual artists working in visual art, theatre, performance art, film, music, dance or literature. The scheme will also provide each artist with a mentor from Sky, who will help develop their skills and knowledge in the arts and commercial sector. The artists will also have the opportunity to showcase their work on Sky Arts – be it on TV, online or on demand.

The deadline for applicants is 19 September 2011. Two winners will be selected during this round of funding. The next round will open in early 2012 from which three further winners will be chosen.

For more information, and to apply for the Sky Arts Ignition: Futures Fund, please visit http://bit.ly/lLvV25

First Light Movies provides grants to projects that enable young people to participate in all aspects of film production.

The funding is available to organisations such as schools, youth services and community and voluntary groups that work with young people aged between 5 and 18.

Grants are delivered through two different funding streams:

• The Studio Awards which provides grants of up to £30,000 for between two and four films of up to 10 minutes
• The Pilot Awards which provides grants of up to £5,000 for one short film of up to five minutes in duration. 

For more information, please visit http://bit.ly/jY2P7F

This pioneering screenwriting consultancy service covers the project development of a feature film from initial idea to third draft screenplay.

The service consists of extremely practical and extensive online lessons covering the essential areas of craft needed to write a screenplay in any genre. But, more importantly, the script development is structured around six milestones for the successful applicant to reach, guiding themb through the various stages of writing a screenplay. 

For more details, visit http://bit.ly/mR5oYh

To express your interest please email info@screenacademyscotland.ac.uk or phone 0131 455 2572.

Sixty Second Stories is a global survey of cinematic storytelling from a new generation of filmmakers.  Emerging filmmakers from all over the world are being asked to produce Sixty Second Stories - the best ninety stories will become a feature film.  The feature will premiere at the 2012 Berlinale, before playing festivals around the world.

To find out more, download an entry form and preview some of the other films submitted so far, visit http://bit.ly/oedONF

Spread the Word is offering the chance for writers on a low income to receive valuable feedback on their work from the Literary Consultancy for free.

The Literary Consultancy is the UK’s leading manuscript assessment and editorial service and their team of editors, authors and industry professionals provide expert market-aware appraisals. If successful, you will receive detailed and honest feedback on your work, as well as advice on marketability and where to go next.
 
You can be a writer of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, screenplays or treatments but, to be eligible for the scheme, you must be on a low income. This could mean you are a full-time student or over 60 or on income support, or in receipt of Working Tax Credit, on Job Seekers' Allowance or disability benefits. But if none of the above applies to you, they will also consider other financial factors.

To apply, you will need to send a sample of some of your creative work along with an application form.
 
For further details, visit http://www.spreadtheword.org.uk/index.php?id=miscellaneous&text=3445

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 http://bit.ly/gPOsz4

Events

360 Narratives: Challenge, Collaborate, Create - Booking Opens Soon
360 Narratives, in association with Playwrights' Studio, Scotland
Location: Stirling, Scotland
Date: 19 November 2011

Welcome to 360 Narratives, a safe haven for professional writers to explore other forms of writing. Be challenged, collaborate and create new ideas and projects with your peers.

Working in teams, writers from different fields will collaborate to develop ideas and projects reproducible in two or more forms e.g. a book and a film, a game and a comic, a children’s picture book and a play, etc.

Open to established children’s book writers, novelists, playwrights, screen writers, graphic novelists and games developers, the programme aims to broaden networks and find common ground to create characters and worlds. Writers will share practice and experiences, and build new ideas and projects together.

The programme consists of:

• an open weekend collaboration event to meet fellow writers;
• a written application process to attend the residency;
• a deeply immersive week long residency;
• a supported approach to industry in whatever ways are appropriate to your projects.

It all starts on Saturday 19th November in Stirling at an Open Weekend.

Further details will be available on the website soon - www.playwrightsstudio.co.uk/360narratives.htm

Cafe Flicker is an informal networking event for film makers to screen their work, discuss it with others and network with other film makers. 

Join GMAC at 7pm on the first Wednesday of every month on the 5th floor of Trongate 103 for this unique opportunity to have your films screened on the big screen. Film submissions are accepted up to 6:30pm.

For further details, visit http://bit.ly/pFq3i5

This seminar comprises of two intensive, interactive days, designed to focus your creativity, your screenwriting skills and improve your networking. 

It will be run by two very experienced practitioners: Producer / Script Editor / Script Consultant Philip Shelley (Waking The Dead, BBC; Inspector Morse, ITV), who also runs the Channel 4 Writers Course website, and Screenwriter and Script Consultant Philip Gladwin (Trial & Retribution, The Bill (both ITV ), who also owns and runs the Screenwriting Goldmine website. 

If you’re a screenwriter who’s looking for new inspiration, and if you want to learn some very specific and highly effective techniques for writing and selling a great screenplay, then this two day workshop is for you. 

For further details, visit http://bit.ly/quFLIW

A series of workshops for film writers, directors and actors for development and feedback.

Write Camera Action meet on the third Monday of each month at The Centre for Contemporary Art, 350 Sauchiehall St, Glasgow.

For more details, visit http://on.fb.me/lRHlPF

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@writersfactory.co.uk www.writersfactory.co.uk
Charity No: SC036767