To enable new filmmakers to make an impact with unconventional screenwriting techniques; and to give experienced writers new tools for telling their stories in a fresh and original way.

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Tutor:	Josh Golding	Venue:	Venue:	TBC
Date:	27/28 November 2010	Duration:	2 day weekend
Time:	9:30am - 6:00pm	Price:	£250 + VAT

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Every development executive says they’re looking for ‘original stories’.  But what does that really mean?

This course is about ‘Maverick Screenwriting’ – stories that dare to think outside the box.  For those who want to move beyond 3-Act structure – who see the world in a different way – who want to give their imaginations free rein, or who are just plain tired of naturalism – Maverick Screenwriting is for you.

What do films like RESERVOIR DOGS, MEMENTO, AMORES PERROS, DONNIE DARKO, and BRICK have in common?  They were all made by new filmmakers, without stars and for low budgets.  In spite of that, these films succeeded because of the brilliance of their conceits, as well as the originality of their storytelling.  If you want to get yourself noticed, you too should be thinking outside the box.

‘Maverick Screenwriting’ will teach you how to play with time, fantasy and logic in the service of stories that change the way we look at the world.  Do you want to make movies that cross cultural and national boundaries?  Do you want to refresh and explode genres?  Are you tired of films that tell the same old, tired cliches?  Do your stories really reflect the unique way you look at the world?

‘Maverick Screenwriting’ will give you the practical tools to craft original screenplays that break the mould.  And if you’re writing for the mainstream, you’ll get plenty of ideas for giving your classic stories an original twist.

Day One: Think Differently

Focus on freeing up your imagination, learning how to see and think differently about screenwriting. 

Topic Covered Include

• The ‘60s New Wave’ and the origins of ‘Maverick Screenwriting’.  Every generation makes it own revolution – and so can you.
• What happens next – or why are we here?  The difference between plot-driven and concept-driven films.
• “Of course every film has to have a beginning, a middle and an end.  But not necessarily in that order.” (Jean-Luc Godard)  Become your own Time Lord by playing with time and causality.
• Everything connects - using the image system to structure your anti-structure film.  Learning to write visually – cinematically – will raise your screenwriting to a higher level; and ensure your story ‘hangs together’.
• Follow the Yellow Brick Road – making sense out of chaos by following the emotional line.  Great stories, no matter how they’re told, still have to engage and impact us emotionally.
• Absurdism – the sane response to an insane world.  Absurdism – like comedy – is about saying the unsayable, imagining the unimaginable, and still making sense
• Taking your concept to the end of the line.  If you want to satisfy your audience, you have to take your concept and run with it – right to the end of the line.

Day Two: Practical Techniques

Discover the practical techniques that make Maverick Screenwriting work.  There will be lots of examples, interactive fun, and opportunities to reconceive your own ideas in startling new ways.

Topic Covered Include

• Magic transference – stepping through the looking glass.  How to enter another dimension – and take your audience along for the ride.Flirting with unreality – what to do when things get weird.  If you want to make your audience believe, you have to seduce them; and to do that you have to make them empathise.
• Location and setting – unlocking the fourth dimension.  In the world of your story, everything has meaning and nothing is wasted.   Make sure your world is an expression of the characters who inhabit it.
• You left my umbrella where? – alternate and parallel realities.  There’s a whole universe of possibilities out there – myriad worlds, just like our own, same but different.
• Character POV to the max – creating highly subjective or multiple realities.  Turn the mundane into the multilayered by manipulating point of view.
• Circularity in films – same old, same old, but different.  Working with time, seasons, and the daily grind.
• New high-concept – applying ‘Maverick Screenwriting’ techniques to the mainstream (‘The Usual Suspects’, ‘The Sixth Sense’, ‘The Truman Show’ etc.).  Give those classic stories a dynamite twist.
• Thinking out of the box – what structure is right for you?  Your stories should reflect how you feel about the world, what you believe, what you fear; everything that drives you crazy, or that makes no sense.

Screenwriters, development executives and producers looking for new ideas and inspiration. 

Josh Golding has been a producer, story editor and script consultant for twenty years, working for Hollywood companies like the Samuel Goldwyn Company and MGM/Pathe, and extensively for the BBC in the UK for whom he produced two films, and developed numerous tv dramas and features. He is currently an Associate Lecturer in screenwriting at Central St. Martin’s College, for whom he has devised a beginners and intermediate programme. He teaches regular advanced seminars independently, as well as consulting widely for independent production companies. Check out his website, www.goldrushfilms.co.uk

Being John Malkovich Buy the movie HERE
BrickDonnie Darko Buy the movie HERE
Groundhog Day Buy the movie HERE
In the Mood for Love Buy the movie HERE
Memento Buy the movie HERE
Mulholland Drive Buy the movie HERE
Primer Buy the movie HERE
Pulp Fiction Buy the movie HERE
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Buy the movie HERE
The Truman Show Buy the ovie HERE

"I can hardly recall a moment when I've been learning like this and enjoying it so much at the same time (maybe ice skating when I was 4)."
John Hale

"I really enjoyed the course and I'm looking at films - I know this is going to sound cheesy, but I'm saying it anyway - as if for the first time."
David Lennon

"What I have learned has crystalized and clarified so many aspects of story-craft and given me the confidence that I do 'get it' and can 'do it' and 'will succeed' as long as I just keep at it."
Rene Wells

"I loved your course so much - yet it has only enhanced my enjoyment of watching films - which is pretty incredible when I consider how fearful I am of analysis blowing away the magic."
Sharon Kendrick

"I plainly and simply enjoy your classes so much. I love the feeling of leaving the classroom with my head pounding with information and all kinds of ideas. I now feel the possibilities are endless, that it's something worth getting really excited about."
Madeleine Wilson

"A hugely enjoyable and enlightening experience. It has been wonderful to experience film in a way I never thought possible. I certainly will never look at a film in the same way again."
Danica Farran

"Thank you very much for all your insight and amazing knowledge.  Many people have good understanding of a subject; but imparting it to someone else in such a precise and understandable way is a gift."
Ammir Shafik

"Hugely stimulating & fun – I’ve become quite passionate about the whole business of writing."
Adrian Merchant

"How brilliant your Maverick Screenwriting Course was. I’ve done a few now and they’ve been interesting, but yours really hit the nail on the head."
Jayne Marar

Read an interview with Josh Golding
Read Josh Golding's article on how to make your script a 'good read'.

Free Articles:
How To Start A Screenplay
A Good Read
Characters to Die For
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
A Long Slow Finish
One Clear and Simple Theme to Rule them All

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

To book, call Raindance on 0207 287 3833

For course details and updates, please see our training calendar

Click here to learn about receiving up to £800 in funding from Skillset’s Film Skills Fund. To be eligible you must be a UK national with demonstrable professional experience in the entertainment industries, and must also be able to show how your course at Raindance buttresses potential career goals. Note that funding applications must be submitted at least 5 working days prior to the course start date. 

Maverick Screenwriting