Genre: The Bio-Pic : a brilliant day workshop for aspiring screenwriters

Our friends at Script thought you might like this... a brilliant day workshop for aspiring screenwriters...


GENRE: THE BIO-PIC


A Script WORKSHOP

Saturday 13th March 2010

BVSC, Digbeth

10am - 5pm

£50 (£40 concessions)



Biopics are crowd pleasers and regular Oscar winners – with bankable actors often attracted to the challenge of playing a real and notable figure. But while the facts of someone’s life might offer elements of plot, how can writers prevent biopics becoming episodic documentaries – and how far can or should a screenwriter ‘stretch the truth’?

This 1 day course will examine how to find the best story in a ‘life’, how to develop gripping character stories and how to approach those legal and copyright issues that might arise. It will also examine the conventions that define the genre and look at some of the ways that filmmakers are stretching and challenging the ‘rules’ to push the genre forward.


By the end of the course you should have acquired a deeper knowledge of the biopic, along with specific tips and techniques to progress your own scripts and ideas.

The following films will be referred to in discussions; it is recommended that participants view them prior to the workshop:


The Damned United

Hilary and Jackie

The Nowhere Boy


Claire Ingham is a producer and film and television script developer. She works on projects at all stages of development - currently ranging from the adaptation treatment of Eoin Colfer’s bestselling novel The Wishlist to the final draft of Helen Cross’ original feature Stratford Road. Claire has previously worked for a number of film and television companies in development roles. She was Head of Drama Development at Impossible Pictures for four years where she headed a small team, commissioning and developing a range of TV and film projects for all the major broadcasters, including Jed Mercurio’s contemporary retelling of Frankenstein and Michael Chaplin’s family film Pickles.



GENRE: THE BIO-PIC : FULL PROGRAMME




10 – 10.15 REGISTRATION AND COFFEE





10.15 – 11.30 SESSION 1

WHAT IS A BIO-PIC –

The appeal for producers and audiences

Some conventions and challenges of the genre

Legal considerations



11.30 – 11.45 BREAK





11.45 – 1.00 SESSION 2

CHARACTERS AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

When is a life story a dramatic story?

A real person as a dramatic character





1.00 – 2.00 LUNCH





2.00 – 3.15 SESSION 3

STRUCTURING THE BIO-PIC

Dramatic Structure and Dramatic Form

Strategies for handling the dramatic events of a life without becoming simply episodic





3.15 – 3.30 BREAK







3.30 – 4.45 SESSION 4

INNOVATIONS IN THE FORM AND IN THE MARKETPLACE

Expanding the genre

Using blends of fact and fiction

Experiments with structure

Using biography to inspire other kinds of stories



4.45 – 5.00 Q & A

http://www.scriptonline.net/  For more info or to book.