The Art of Screenwriting

A practical, skills-based guide to screenwriting, taking you from your initial idea to a finished short film script over the course of eight weeks.

The Art of Screenwriting will provide a practical, skills-based guide to screenwriting, taking you from your initial idea to a finished short film script over the course of eight weeks.

Experienced writer Kenton Hall will cover all aspects of screenwriting and working in the film industry, enabling you to take part in the full script-to-screen process. Writers of all levels of experience will be encouraged to develop, pitch and refine a short film script, while developing both their craft and industry knowledge.

All participants will write a script at the end of the course which will be edited to professional standards.

"Kenton showed a great deal of passion about the subject and this transmitted to the participants. We were all impressed with his depth of knowledge and effective methodology in kick-starting our creativity. High recommendation from me for course and tutors." – The Art of Screenwriting course participant

Course Breakdown:

Week 1: An introduction to screenwriting

Week 2: The 'light bulb' moment: is your idea any good? – ideas and pitching

Week 3: Structure and why it matters – structuring your script

Week 4: A bunch of authors in search of some characters – writing convincing characters

Week 5: The plot thickens – plot construction

Week 6: Your first draft and how much it sucks! – writing your script

Week 7: How I learned to stop worrying and love my script editor – editing and refining your script

Week 8: Giving up your baby: what happens next? – how a script is developed into a film

ABOUT THE TUTOR

Kenton Hall is an award-winning Canadian writer, director, musician and teacher, with numerous short and feature film credits to his name – both behind and in front of the camera. Alongside his work as a novelist, screenwriter, musician and actor, he has taught The Art of Screenwriting here at Phoenix for more than a decade.

He wrote, directed and co-starred in the feature film A Dozen Summers, now available on Netflix; published the comic memoir Bisection, about living and parenting with bipolar disorder; co-wrote the Audible Drama Getting Better, starring Rhod Gilbert, Kathryn Drysdale and Mark Gatiss; co-adapted, for audio, the lost silent horror film London After Midnight starring Art Malik; and wrote the Doctor Who musical spin-off Children of the Circus and its novelisation. Somewhere in between he released the triple album Idiopath as Kenton Hall & The Necessary Measures. He both looks and is tired.