Event Details
Monday
January 10, 2022 5:00 pm
via Zoom
RSVP
Act 1: The Critical Springboard to Every Great Script
It’s the New Year—what better time to dive into a brand-new script? But if people aren’t hyped by your first act, they’ll have little incentive to read the rest of your screenplay.
That’s why Act 1 of your pilot or feature is so utterly critical—yet a surprising number of screenwriters don’t go far enough, or lose focus right out of the gate. We’ll examine all the vital checkpoints you need to make your first act a thing of beauty, passion, intrigue, and excitement.
Some of the topics and techniques we’ll cover include:
- Drop us into your story with a big, bold, head-spinning set piece
- Stun readers with a never-before-seen main character right out of the gate
- 7 methods to mix up your structure and keep readers guessing
- Establish a compelling, time-sensitive question by the end of Act 1 that compels us to read more
- Compose page 1 dialogue that sizzles and intrigues
- Nail your lead’s very first line, descriptor, and action
- Don’t just hit the expected opening beats—knock them out of the park!
…and a whole lot more. Hope to see you there!
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.
Watch the previous installments of the Fundamentals of Screenwriting series here.
