Cinematic Storytelling

An eight week class for screenwriters. Create an original story that could be produced as a movie. Participants will select the films to watch, with a focus on popular Hollywood  Sci-Fi Fantasy Films. Learn how to pitch your story to Hollywood Producers.

This course reviews and analyzes the fundamentals of writing a feature film including; classic structure, plot, theme
and character. Students interested in the art of the cinema as well as those who are interested in expanding their writing and storytelling skills will benefit from this course with examination of the fundamentals of cinematic
rendering that includes visual and aural representation and writing in scenario. Discussion will include how themes are cinematically represented, dramatic tension, progression of plot, themes, and characters.

About the instructor:

The instructor, Richard Michaels Stefanik, was a Screenwriting Fellow at the American
Film Institute, where he wrote, directed and produced a short film Michael & Christina. He was also Producer-Director of the comedy movies Henry Dodd and Once in a Blue Moon, the short movie The Magus. His short films can be viewed at IMDB: www.imdb.me/TheMorpheusPhoenixMovie

Richard is the author of Structures of Fantasy, a screenwriting book that analyzes the dramatic and comic elements found in popular movies. He has taught Story Design and Screenwriting Seminars in cities throughout the world, including London, Copenhagen, Los Angeles, Orlando, Las Vegas, New York, and Hollywood. Richard
has lectured about story structure at Sony Studios, Universal Studios, Warner Bros and at Paramount Studios.

After working at several Hollywood studios, including Paramount Pictures and WaltDisney Productions, Richard
published four novels: Monte Carlo, Entanglements, Once in a Blue Moon, and Elixir. He received M.A. degrees in Philosophy from University of California, Berkeley and Georgetown University, and has studied Logic and
Philosophy at Oxford University in England. He is now developing a Sci-Fi Fantasy movie project: The Chronicles of Morpheus Phoenix.