Storytelling Through Film

Class Description

Want to tell your story through a new medium? In Storytelling Through Film, students will learn to tell a complete, engaging, and compelling story in one of the most creative, dynamic, and fun ways possible: through film. We will explore basic elements of screenwriting, and learn the stages of a film production and how each phase impacts our story. Each week, we will focus on a different element of screenwriting––including genre, structure, character and story development––explore how it is translated to the screen, and then put it into practice in our own work. Over the course of the class, we will analyze and discuss several films to help students gain a complex understanding of stories that follow the Hollywood paradigm as well as those that defy it (including films by filmmakers such as Alejandro Iñárritu, Raisa Bonnet, Barry Jenkins, Benjamin Cleary, Matthew A. Cherry, Keola Racela or Guillermo del Toro.) We will end each week with a writing exercise to develop our distinct voices as writers, and by the end of class, you will write a treatment of your own. You’ll also have the opportunity to share your treatment to receive constructive feedback from your fellow writers and storytellers.

You will come away with a better and more well-rounded understanding of filmmaking as a medium for story-telling, a draft of a treatment for your story, and the skills and feedback to continue building on it.

Class Format

This is an Online: On-Demand class that will take place on our asynchronous online learning platform, Wet.Ink. Weekly lessons and assignments open each Wednesday. Students will receive an invitation to Wet Ink before 5pm on the first day of class!

*NOTE that while our handy dandy "Schedule" tab states a 6-7pm class time, there are actually no live meetings for this class! Assignments and deadlines will be given by your instructor. Students will have access to the online class portal starting at 5pm on the first day of class. Instructions for logging onto the online portal will be emailed to registered students before 5pm the first day of class.

Scholarship Information

Thanks to the excellent literary citizenship of our donors, scholarships are available for all GrubStreet classes. To apply, click the gray "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" button. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you must complete your application at least one week before the start date of a class. Please await our scholarship committee's decision before registering for the class. We cannot hold spots in classes, so the sooner you apply, the better. Scholarships cannot be applied retroactively.

For more more detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.