Education

Bournemouth University, Bournemouth, UK (2008 – 2010)
MA Screenwriting
Part-time distance learning course that combines screenwriting craft and theory with a study of industry practice.

Bournemouth University Media School:

• One of the largest media schools in the country.
• The UK’s only Centre for Excellence in Media Practice, as designated by the Higher Education Funding Council.
• The first UK University to offer full degrees in Scriptwriting at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.
• Maintains a high profile in the industry through the high employability and success of its graduates.

Phase One, Screenwriting Craft:

1. Writing in vision, sound and voiceover, pure visual storytelling, the student must write a 20 minute film script using interior monologue only.

2. Observational research, the student must carry out a week of observation in a location and write a 30 minute place-based script where narrative, plot and character emerge from the chosen arena rather than being imposed upon it.

3. Professional Script reports, the programme begins to develop students’ future employability in the screen industry by training them to write professional script reports.

Phase Two, Industry practice:

4. Study of industry practice, a report into where students learn about commissioning, budgeting, production, distribution and other areas of industry practice.

5. Writing the Television Drama Series Episode, students work as “commissioned” writers on a one-hour television drama series, guided on a one-to-one basis by professional drama writers.

6. Analysing the Television Drama Series, students research and write a tutor-guided essay on the genre of the series they have chosen.

Phase Three, Major Project:

7. Major project proposal, involves writing a proposal for a television drama series, and plotting the episodes.

8. Major project script, an episode of the proposed television drama series.

9. Major analysis essay, a dissertation based on the chosen script project.

 

Initialize Films, Oxford, UK (2006)

Writing for Soaps

Three weekends of training involving short lectures and analysis of soap formats, workshops, writing tasks and feedback on participant ideas from a TV executive

Skills gained:

• Developed a virtual soap opera and worked as a team to write an episode each for a week of shows
• A broad overview of the process of soap opera writing and the roles involved, such as story-lining and script editing
• Experience of drama writing in a team

 

Oxford Film and Video Makers, Oxford, UK (2004)

Introduction to Screenwriting

22 week course designed by the UK Film Council to train writers in writing for television, covering:

• Developing ideas, stories, plots; premises; characterization; genres; adaptations; outlines; treatments; dialogue and re-writes
• Illustrated screenwriting theory by taking an idea, developing it into a three sentence premise, expanding it into a treatment, turning it into an outline and finally fleshing it out into a five-minute script
• The course finished with a look at writing for television and a pitching session with a professional producer

Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK (2001 – 2002)
MSc Business Intelligence

Hull University, Hull, UK (1998 – 2001)
BSc (Hons) Biology, 2.ii

Kimbolton School, Kimbolton, UK (1988 – 1998)
4 A levels and 9 GCSEs