Event Details
Monday
January 4, 2021 5:00 pm
via Zoom
RSVP
Break All the Screenwriting Rules!
Which screenwriting rules are “sacred”—and which can you break sensibly and creatively for maximum impact? Some of those guidelines exist for good reasons, and violating them shows a lack of professionalism…whereas others are practically MADE to be broken. We’ll use plenty of examples and get granular to break down multiple myths, making you a more masterful writer in the process.
Some of the topics and techniques we’ll cover include:
- 5 nonnegotiable fundamentals every exec MUST see in your opening 5 pages to know they’re in good hands
- The myth of needing “likable” characters…and what’s actually behind it
- How to enhance your voice with images, fonts, page design, and more—without going overboard
- The #1 quality every producer, actor, and director is looking for, even if they don’t realize it yet
- What’s changing about TV act structure because of streamers…and what will never change
- How to free yourself from the “tyranny” of knowing your exact ending ahead of time
- 10 techniques to genuinely hook us with your very first scene
…and a whole lot more. Hope to see you there!
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Timothy Michael Cooper is an award-winning filmmaker, comedy writer, and script consultant. He wrote and directed the Writers Guild Award-nominated Concierge: The Series, starring Kate McKinnon. His short comedy Lemon premiered at Tribeca, played at dozens of international festivals and on United Airlines, and is currently in development as a sitcom. Plus, he’s been part of the writers’ room for the Writers Guild Awards for the past six years, writing monologue jokes and sketches for numerous hosts/presenters.
Through his company, Blueprint Screenwriting Group, he’s taught hundreds of writers. His clients and students have sold their scripts to major studios; staffed on multiple network and cable TV shows; screened/won at SXSW, Sundance, Tribeca, Cannes, etc.; and got their movies and shows made across the globe.
Timothy is a proud member of the WGAE, the Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective Writers’ Workshop, the Hollywood Radio & Television Society, and the WGAE Softball Team.
About The Fundamentals of Screenwriting Series
The Fundamentals of Screenwriting with Timothy Michael Cooper is a WGA East seminar series that aims to live up to its name – to teach the fundamentals for screenwriters that need a refresher or journalists and other screenwriting novices looking to learn for the first time.
