raindance.co.uk: Write and Sell the HOT Script

Learn the basics of the art and craft of screenwriting with techniques and tools valuable to a scriptwriter at any level. This course will also enable you to develop a realistic marketing plan for a finished script.

Tutor:	Elliot Grove	Venue:	Craven Street Rehearsal Rooms, 10 Craven St, London WC2N 5PE
Date:	Saturday 13+Sunday 14 March	Duration:	2 day weekend
Time:	9:30am - 6:00pm	Price:	£250 + 17.5% VAT

Order online or register by calling Raindance at 0207 287 3833 For Raindance Members Discounts log into the Members Area
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Getting your idea from your head to a sheet of paper means a journey of just eighteen inches. Approach the journey in the right way, and you will arrive safely. Start this journey unprepared and you will end up wandering and confused, your idea locked inside you, those eighteen inches may as well be a million miles.

Discover the insider trade secrets that are designed to keep outsiders from breaking into the industry. Find out shortcuts to success, and how to map out a hugely rewarding career, learning from the success and failure of others. Learn how to maximise your personal resources in order to create an image and mystique about yourself and your work. Discover proven techniques that enable you to master the page and show it who's boss. Learn how to guide your idea down the page. A hot script is the quickest way into the film industry.

Christopher Nolan (The Following), Spike Lee (She's Gotta Have It), Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs), Jane Campion (The Piano), John Hodge & Danny Boyle (Shallow Grave) and Robert Rodriguez (El Mariachi) are some of the writer/directors who launched their careers with their first script.

Day One: The Business Of Screenwriting

Do you want to write a movie but don't know where to start? Elliot Grove leads you through the bewildering array of story structure and genre theories. Learn how to formulate a realistic plan to write the type of screenplay sought by film script buyers.

Create interesting, memorable characters
Devise characters that grow in your script and outlive the movie
Conflict and tension in a story
Building great dialogue
The essential building blocks of a script
Story structure paradigms
Setting the social stage to develop dynamic stories

Day Two: The Screenwriting Process

You don't get paid for writing a screenplay. You only get paid when you sell it. This is the money day, when you learn how to write what sells, and how to sell what you write.

Playing the Movie Game and winning as a screenwriter
Simple, logical and effective marketing
How professionals market scripts
Getting producers to read your script
How to get good coverage.
Query letters
The three ways scripts are bought and sold
How much money can you earn from the sale of your script
The Ten Thousand Monkeys Theory for writers explained
Getting an agent
Realistic career paths

Writers, directors, actors and producers interested in the entire story process from idea to script to screen.

Elliot Grove has worked intensively with writers at Raindance since 1992. He explains the tricks of the trade from practical experience and reveals some of the latest paradigms through lecture, exercises and video clips.

Elliot Grove founded Raindance Film Festival in 1993, the British Independent Film Awards in 1998, and Raindance.TV in 2007.

He has produced over 150 short films, and 5 feature films. He has written eight scripts, one of which is currently in pre-production. His first feature film, TABLE 5 was shot on 35mm and completed for a total of £278.38. He teaches writers and producers in the UK, Europe. Japan and America.

He has written three books which have become industry standards: RAINDANCE WRITERS LAB 2nd Edition (Focal Press 2008), RAINDANCE PRODUCERS LAB (2004) and 130 Projects to Get You Into Filmmaking (2009). His first novel THE BANDIT QUEEN is scheduled for publication in 2010.

Open University awarded Elliot and Honourary Doctorate for services to film education in 2009.

For a BBC interview with Elliot Grove, click here.
Read Ellot's Screenwriting FAQ's

"Thanks for this weekend. (Write and Sell The Hot Script). You cured me of procrastination, and now a bestseller is being written. I had several ways to write what I had to write, which stopped me from actually getting on with it. Truly, I am grateful. A great course without the bullshit. A few years writers block/procrastination gone. Sincerely, THANK YOU." - Stuart Wells, screenwriter

"Thanks so much for a most enjoyable seminar - especially the rotating bookcase story!" - Helen Hofmann, Screenwriter

"It was a real pleasure to meet you and hear your words of wisdom on the script course this weekend. Your own personal history is fascinating and I can tell you have had to overcome some serious shit in your life to get to where you are today and I take my hat off to you for that. (All grist to the mill for the writer!)" - Peter James Thomas

“The courses was packed with very valuable information with many options on where and how money can be raised. The information was real, realistic and supported by a lot of true life examples Elliot was able to share with us. The course highlighted the complexities of raising finance in this competitive industry, but it also gave encouragement as there are many avenues for first time script writers like myself. I have since entered my scripts for a number of grants. Besides being informative and exceedingly valuable it was also fun as we all had a chance to pitch some screenplay ideas at the end, with Elliot doing an honest, if sometimes brutal, critique. In 2 hours I learnt all I needed to know to go and sell my own script.” - Neil O’Neil, screenwriter www.screenplays.co.uk

"I want to thank you Elliot for making the complicated simple, and the impossible, possible." - Sean Eagan, screenwriter

"We covered a lot of ground in a very engaging fashion. Informative and definitely constructive it not only provided me with a useful set of tools with which to approach writing but boasted my confidence." – Matt Gibbs, whom has since gone on to get a series of short films into pre-production for the SCI-FI Channel

“’Write and Sell a Hot Script’ is a must do for any aspiring script writer. This truly professional course was headed by Eliot Grove whose knowledge and experience in the industry made you feel that the information you were being given was sound. The advice on preparing a script was inspiring, although I must admit the 'how to sell' was daunting - but welcome. It really opened my eyes to the realities of script writing and selling. The whole concept of Raindance with its after course contact and support keeps you on track even after you have found yourself sucked back into the dross of everyday life. I am a tortoise at the beginning of a long road, but I feel with the tools Raindance have given me I will one day cross that finishing line.” – Gill Poulter

"It was absolutely brilliant and incredibly inspiring. I’m finally going to start putting all of my ideas on paper. I’m hooked now I think, going to join when I paid next. And start going on some of the other writing courses." – John Perry, Dennis Publishing

"Elliot:

Your book is amazing. I'm reading it now.

I tried to read another one but it ended up in the bin. I can't even remember the name of the author - it was appalling. It took this guy 200 pages to tell his readers that it's very important to prevent the audience from falling asleep while watching a movie.
It's very clear that you have a long experience in the trenches.

I am one of those unfortunate folks who are in the process of 'writing a screenplay'. Needless to say, I recently found myself washing an old set of sheets I'm never going to use, emailing people I don't particularly like and going food shopping in exotic areas. The dust rabbits under the bed have been dutifully removed.

Your book is helping me to get back on track. Your tools and hints are giving me focus.
I'm sure you've heard this one before, but I want to say it anyway - good job!

Best wishes,

Lara

Raindance Writer's Lab:
Elliot Grove's screenwriting book based on his 15 years experience working with writers.

The Writer's Journey:
Christopher Vogler's groundbreaking book on mythic structures in storytelling

Evening: Writers Lab:
Elliot Grove's clear and concise course filled with useful advice and information on writing and selling your script

Weekend: Lo-To-No Budget Filmmaking
Discover how to turn your script into a movie on a minimal budget.

Weekend: Hands-On Directing For Film and TV
Discover what the grammar of directing means and how to apply it.

Watch quality independent films for free on www.raindance.tv