First Acts: Art and Structure For a film to be successful, it must accomplish several things to set the story on its proper track. This course explores the creation of a screenplay’s first act in both principle and in practice. In examples from several films, both classic and recent, we discover how these elements have been successfully employed in a variety of genres. A screenwriter is someone who takes us on a journey, one that we couldn’t, or possibly wouldn’t, want to experience otherwise. She or he is the chart-maker, the navigator, the original artist, and the person who stands behind the curtain. This course takes you behind that curtain to illuminate the dramatic elements found in a screenplay’s first act; from the opening image to the first turning point. In the end, participants will not only understand some of the mechanics involved in setting up the story, but will have seen them at work through the review of film clips from the work of several different screenwriters. If you love film and are interested in knowing more about the mechanics of successful storytelling, this course is for you.
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